Bring Breastfeeding Back…

The Good Letdown shares the part 7 in their series on over coming early breastfeeding obstacles.  Thank you to TGL for sharing this great series!

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I knew I was going to breastfeed. But I still bought formula just in case. What if I didn’t make milk? What if I couldn’t figure it out? What if…what if…what if…

Confidence. That word is a part of our lives as women. When we walk into a room and there is another woman who is skinnier, or blonder, or has straighter teeth, how do we feel? Our confidence drops a few points…or many points, perhaps. When we start a new job or a new hobby or join a new play group. Anything new or different affects our confidence, so of course breastfeeding would have the same affect, especially on new moms!
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The Good Letdown shares part six in their series on over coming early breastfeeding obstacles.  Be sure to check back next week for part seven.

It’s late in the evening. You breastfeed your baby and put her down. 30 minutes later, she’s screaming again. You check her diaper. Dry. You rock her. No such luck. She is rooting around and sucking on her fists. She’s hungry? How could she be hungry? You JUST fed her. So you bring her to breast again. Half hour later, she’s hungry again. In an effort to support you, a well meaning friend/spouse/pediatrician nurse line suggests giving baby a bottle of formula because baby is obviously not getting enough.

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The Good Letdown shares part five in their series on over coming early breastfeeding obstacles.  Be sure to check back next week for part six.

Fear of breastfeeding in front of people, fear of not being perfect, fear of our instincts, fear of the unknown, fear of asking for help, fear of failure… the list could go on and on.

Fear will rear its ugly head at all milestones of our life. Breastfeeding is no exception. Think of other big events; say, a job interview. If you haven’t been to a job interview before you may not know what to expect. You could read books, ask for advice from friends/family who have been on interviews before, ask professionals for pointers, etc. OR… you could just show up and wing it.

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The Good Letdown shares the forth in their series on over coming early breastfeeding obstacles.  Be sure to check back next week for part five.

Although a schedule may work with an older child, trying to impose a feeding schedule on a newborn could be a recipe for disaster. Feeding on demand is most certainly a must during those first weeks. If anyone tries to tell you 10-15 minutes per boob every 2 hours and no variance from that – they are confusing a newborn baby and new lactating boobs with ones that already have a supply and relationship going.

During the first 6 weeks of nursing, a new mothers milk supply is just being established. If a new mother tries to put her baby on a schedule, every 2 or 3 hours for only a limited amount of nursing time, this could dramatically affect her milk supply. “Limited feedings by following a schedule during this critical time can limit or reduce a mother’s milk supply,” says Nancy Mohrbacher, an international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) in Arlington Heights, Ill., and co-author of The Breastfeeding Answer Book (La Leche League International, 1997), “Also, babies are not normally comfortable feeding at set intervals during their first six weeks, because their stomachs are so small.”

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The Good Letdown shares the third post in their series on over coming early breastfeeding obstacles.  Be sure to check back next week for part four.

Whether it be from a spouse, extended family, doctors, etc. They can be your best friend or your worst enemy. At any hiccup in the process it is very easy for well-knowing folks to just throw out the F word… you know… Formula. If your baby is nursing “too much” or you seem “too tired”. There it is… Formula. “It’s okay honey, you tried…

Someone suggesting formula at just the “right” time to an overly exhausted and frustrated mama could lead that breastfeeding relationship down a slippery damaging slope. Something that others don’t realize is that breastfeeding IS the lazy way. Nothing to sterilize, clean, or heat up. Expose and insert… that’s it. Let your partner/family/friends know ahead of time that formula is not an option and should not be suggested to you at any point. You being tired is not going to be fixed by giving the baby a bottle of formula. It comes with the territory of having a newborn, and it is hopefully a short period in your life as baby will start to sleep longer periods naturally once they are ready for that step.

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The Good Letdown shares the second in their series on over coming early breastfeeding obstacles.  Be sure to check back next week for part three.

Having many guests the first few weeks of your baby’s life poses another possible problem – are you comfortable with breastfeeding in front of people? Chances are if you are a first time mom the answer to this question is a resounding “NO”!

Early on I know I would try to use blankets or covers, which when you are first learning how to latch is darn near impossible. Not to mention baby gets too warm and fussy, and the whole thing just turns to frustration.It does take some time for most women to stop seeing their boobs as something to keep hidden (aka sexual and private.) Now being on my second child I am much more comfortable just doing what I need to do in order to get my baby to her food source and much less time worried about arranging a blanket to shield the view of whoever is in the room. Do people see my nipple, yeah… probably. But ya know what… I don’t really care. If they see it, it’s because they are looking too darn closely. I’m exposed for probably 5 seconds if even that, and if baby is rooting around a person should know that feeding is happening soon if they know anything about me.

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