Are you breastfeeding?

Question

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Hey! I am having my second baby and with my first i struggled when i was in the hospital with feeding, her latch was painful and i couldnt bear more than 5 minutes and no one would help me. She ended up in nicu with high biliruibin where i pumped and they supplemented . I really didnt want to try to latch after that because i was so nervous about her getting enough. I pumped for 3 weeks and then gave up and went to formula. 
I swore up and down i would never breastfeed again and threw out my pump. Well now im pregnant again and I WANT to breastfeed. 
Like i really really want to try again. Im just so nervous itll go wrong again. 
Please share your experiences breastfeeding if this your 2nd or 3rd baby. Also any tips to make breastfeeding successful this time around

Answer

You need a support system first off. And hire a lactation consultant if one isn’t provided to you at the hospital. If you really want to, you got this!

Answer

I had alot of issues breastfeeding my first also. But I went 6 months with my second and it was so much easier and kinda had a better idea on what was going to happen. I plan on breast feeding with my 3rd hopefully to a year since I stay at home now.

Answer

I had a lot of struggle with the latching in the hospital. My son had high bilirubin as well. I pumped, the hospital he was born at also offered donor milk. All of that was really helpful, but I switched to exclusively pumping as soon as we got home. 
After 3 weeks, we came across a time out in public where I had no milk, bottles or pump and he needed to eat. He latched immediately and it wasn’t terribly painful. I learned pretty quickly how to tell a good latch from a bad and was fast at fish hooking a bad latch.
Our hospital had a lactation department and that helped a lot, but I also used kellymom.com as a resource.
The biggest thing that made a difference to me was figuring out that it shouldn’t hurt. The pain I felt when he was first born and trying in the hospital was SHARP and definitely more intense than “discomfort” - it all signified a bad latch.

Answer

Try to set up a meeting with a lactation consultant ahead of time. My OBs office has a nurse practitioner who is a lactation consultant and offers consultations about breastfeeding planning at 36 weeks. But you could probably also find someone from La Leche League to meet with. Most doulas also have experience helping with breastfeeding and latching. 
Another option is to take a breastfeeding class; I’d look for in-person rather than online. Some of the online classes are great, but an in-person class at a birth center or hospital will offer you local support. You might be able to call your instructor later with questions and exchange information with other breastfeeding moms to support each other. 
You can also look at how baby-friendly your hospital is. A baby-friendly hospital will usually have nurses that are trained to help you figure out latching and positions and be supportive and will often have a lactation consultant who works in the hospital who could stop by. You might want to consider a different hospital from last time, if you have options. Or if you don’t have many choices, focus on other support to make up for the lack in the hospital. 
Basically line up as much support ahead of time as you can. So you know it’s not all on you yo figure it out by yourself.

Answer

My plan is to pump and feed pumped milk in a bottle in the day and breast feed at night.

Answer

I nursed my daughter for 20 months after an absolutely HELLISH experience for a lot of the months. To tell you the truth I was also pumping that whole time because I never got over my fear that she wasn’t getting enough from nursing. She had tongue and lip ties which we had repaired, saw multiple lactation consultants, bought several gadgets, I poured over the Internet looking for help, we dealt with insanely forceful letdown, allergies and elimination diets, clogged ducts, mastitis, you name it. I just made the decision that it was going to happen regardless of how little sleep I got, how much it cost me physically or financially, or any other factor. If it came down to her suffering for it I would have stopped, but for me to stop for any other reason just wasn’t happening. Eventually my daughter became boob obsessed, totally thrived, and was probably nursing well at the end of things despite everything that happened. Just get the picture out of your head of a woman in a flower crown having an easy, magical, effortless breastfeeding experience and do the best you can with the cards you’re dealt. Determination on those really hard days (and sleepless nights) will take you far. Best of luck to you, mama! 💗

Answer

this is my 3rd, with both my 1st and 2nd I struggled with breastfeeding but I pushed through it. I found if I relax and feed in a calm environment things went a lot better. I would sit in my room by myself so I could relax. Once baby and myself got the hang of things it was easier feeding other places. Also try different positions. Not all babies are comfortable in one position. 
With my first I was holding him in a awkward position, I thought I had him right where he needs to be but it was all wrong. 
Don’t give up especially if it’s something your really want. There are lots of places you can go to for help. Talk to a lactation consultant or 2 or 3 find one that will help you. 
You got this mama!

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