Tips for Breastfeeding and Milk Supply

Its ok , meant to add on to my post, yesterday I decided I was going to feed how I was comfortable, and forget the hospitals techniques , and all the right ways , eg positioning etc .
Now, he is feeding well,its not hurting , and we are both happy , hes looking healthy and having plenty of wet and dirty nappies .
I realised that both times with my babies, the problems have stemmed from this idea that im doing it wrong because of different advice I got from the hospital, once I let him find his way on , without caring for the "right " way to do it , things got a lot better

Caitlynsmygirl that is exactly what I decided to do. When I first had Cody and was getting used to BFing I was always worried because his mouth didn't open up as much as it did in diagrams I saw, and my nipples were so sore for that first week or so. But got some of that Weleda nipple cream and relaxed.

Now I don't even need to help him get on, just need to put his head at the right level and he dives on in

How long is it meant to take for your nipples to desensitise? I just tried feeding DD and it felt SO sore sometimes its not so sore, is this a problem with her latching I did try different positions etc.

If it continues to hurt this much then I don't think I will continue bfing its soooo sore! I tried her on a bottle of ebm afterwards and it looks like she may have just been comfort sucking cos she only had 20ml of that after about 10mins I gave her the dummy and she was happy as. DP just gave her 80ml of ebm and has ended up wearing it so thinking she wasn't actually hungry.

Mine were awful for weeks, until the LC I saw at Plunket told me it was thrush. Took a good couple of weeks to clear up, but since then have been fine. The thrush comes back every now and again, but I know what to do now so can treat it before it gets awful.

Also, nipple shields were great - although initially I used them to get H to latch, once he was a bit older I just alternated feeds (ie one feed with the shields, then one without etc) until I could feed without them.

It does get easier... even though I don's seem to be able to do it without drugs, it's still so worth it.

It took me a while to get the hang of an electric pump too. I think it just takes a wee while for your body to get used to? I find it works best for me in the morning after feeding off one side. When Jody's back in bed I read a book while expressing. I find when it's cold my nipple gets sensitive and also if I have it sucking too hard.
I hope that helps a bit

Some Tips for the EBM ladies...

Just remember that how much you express is NO WAY indicitive of how much milk baby is getting AT ALL!!! And don't fall into the trap of thinking that baby has to have X mls or you need to "see" how much baby is taking, your body makes most of what you need while baby is feeding and a pump woeks way different than baby does on your breast as well as other hormonal factors. Trust your body that baby is getting enough!

Thanks for the feedback.

Im returning to work part time and wanted to express some for when she is at the sitter's house.

So what i express may be enough for her in that respect.

Great

Chickoin wrote: Richtea, my MW told me that when she starts doing 'butterfly sucks' - when she sorta quivers her chin - she's finished feeding and just comfort sucking.

You're kidding! I thought that it was when my breasts were running out of milk and the little guy was trying to convince them to let down some more (I don't feel this 'let down' thing).
From Wed last week (6wk), he's been getting really fussy on the breast. And when I express I've gone from getting 80-100ml to getting 30-40ml and was thinking that I was running out and that's what all the fuss is about.
I've just finished having him on for about 1 hr - thinking he was starving.

Other than that - anyone else had this step backward with expressing? I wanted a bottle for his evening feed the other day, it took 4 lots of expressing throughout the day to get 100ml. A week ago (when he was 5wks) I could get 100ml+ in one morning express. Where's all the milk gone?

Hi Guys, Jaxon is 5 weeks old and had great weight gain the first 3 weeks. However, the last 2 weeks he's only put on 80g total. He's a really regular feeder (2 hourly during the day, and 2 feeds during the night) but obviously my milk supply isn't enough despite the regular feedings.

I've grabbed your biscuit recipe and noted the suggestions of chocolate, almonds, oatmeal, and gingerbeer. Is there any other advice out there to help increase milk supply? I've started having to give him a couple of formula top-ups because he's still hungry after finishing off both boobs.

I really would like to continue breastfeeding but sometimes feel like so much of my time and effort is consumed with the feeding side of things that I'm not 'enjoying' Jaxon as much as I should be.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Flutterby wrote: amykt, if I was you, I'd drop the formula top-ups, and leave Jaxon on the breast for longer - this will give him more of the valuable hindmilk, and stimulate more milk production. Milk is a supply and demand thing, if you're giving formula your body doesn't need to produce that milk. Your boobs are never empty (even though they will feel it sometimes), the fullness is foremilk, which is designed to satisfy thirst, and once that is finished your body starts producing hindmilk, which is rich and fatty and satisfies hunger, but you have to feed for longer to get this.

Couldn't agree more. Also are you particularly worried about his weight gains? I know that my wee girl would have great weight gains for a few weeks and sometimes she wouldn't put on anything for 2-3 weeks! She did however grow in length & head circum. She has always been happy & healthy with lots of wet/dirty naps, so there hasn't been cause for worry.