What are some Breastfeeding basics

Question

I’m almost 38 weeks pregnant with my second, but never breastfed my first as I was uncomfortable with it. I would like to try this time but know nothing about it. What are some basic tips I need to know? Like how do you know how much they are eating and how do you know when to burp?

Answer

I’ve never breastfed before because I’m a FTM. But I’ve been reading a lot and got some information from my childbirth prep classes. So you want to tickle their lips to have them open your mouth. Then you want to aim the tip of your nipple to the roof of their mouth in order for them to latch on. Hold your breast while you do this. I was reading that you should do 15 min on one breast, burp, and then 15 min on the other. HOWEVER, a lactation consultant told me to DO NOT do this! And to “watch your baby and not the clock” to offer them one breast and when they are done offer the second breast. It’s ok if they don’t take it. Just start with that one next time. The reason behind this is because your body produces different kinds of milk during a feeding. Foremilk and hindmilk. You want to make sure that they are getting both kinds of milk during the feeding. If you only do 15 minute you cannot be sure that your body is giving them both kinds of milk. Also when breast feeding. Use a pacifier that’s rounded, not an orthodontic pacifier. Because this confuses the baby and they will start latching onto your boob weirdly.

Answer

Biggest advice I can give you is to check for a lip or tongue tie if breastfeeding is painful or seems impossible. My daughter had a significant lip tie that went completely undiagnosed by nurses, her pediatrician AND a lactation consultant until I caught it at NINE months. Can’t tell you how many tears we both cried the first two months of breastfeeding....

Answer

You’ve already got some great advice here so I’ll just leave a few tips from my experience. 
Don’t worry if you only ever feed off one side at a time or if it’s a short feed as long as baby is gaining weight and seems happy - some babies are just super efficient. My son only ever nursed for ten minutes on one breast and then he was done for a couple of hours, and he gained 3lbs in the first four weeks.
When you’re first trying to get baby to latch, there are a few different holds you can try but I found it easiest to hold my boob in the same hand (ie: left boob left hand) and hold baby’s head with the opposite hand so your arm was supporting the rest of your body. Then LEAN FORWARD a bit - trust me it will help. Once you have a good latch you can sit a bit more upright and get more comfortable. You also want to make sure baby opens their mouth nice and wide and takes in as much of your areola as possible. You can brush their cheek or their lips from top to bottom to get them to open wide. 
It IS going to hurt a bit - you’ve got a tiny human nomming on a sensitive part of your body - it’ll be a bit before you start to toughen up. Don’t be afraid to use nipple cream, ice or heat, or even a nipple shield if you need one. That being said if you’re crying when you feed or it’s causing you to bleed or baby just seems like they can’t do it properly then see a lactation consultant or your doctor about tongue and/or lip ties and don’t be scared to ask for a second opinion if you’re not satisfied with the answer. We nursed through a lip tie that wasn’t noticed until his first visit to the dentist. I’m so glad I know what to look for and that significant pain isn’t normal.

Answer

I’m in the exact boat as you so I’ll be looking for helpful comments as well!  Going to try and breastfeed this one. But never did with my first.

What are some Breastfeeding basics

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