It’s Works for me Wednesday, so here’s our World Breastfeeding Week edition!
Jenny and I were chatting last night about the things we wish we’d known about nursing before our first babies were born. We thought we’d share our list with you and see what great nuggets of wisdom you all had to share as well!
* You need to both be naked to figure it out. Attention dads: we mean “Mommy and baby,” not “Daddy and Mommy.”
* It will hurt for like two weeks. Yes, it will hurt if you’re doing it wrong, but until your nipples get past the initial shock, it will hurt if you’re doing it right, too.
* Your baby may want to eat ALL THE TIME. That’s normal. It’s even ok to use yourself as a pacifier!
* You don’t have to run and hide when you have to nurse, ESPECIALLY in your own house… no matter who is visiting!
* Nothing’s wrong with nursing the baby to sleep!
* Your boobs will get ginormous, and you may have to wear a tent to cover them, and that’s also normal. For instance, Jenny went from a 34 C to a 36E.
* A better weight-loss method has never been found.
* Nursing camisoles are fabulous.
* If you really have to (say, if you’re in a snowstorm and can’t stop the car), you can nurse a baby who’s buckled in a carseat. It just requires a little acrobatic skill.
* The BEST thing about it – that your baby will never go hungry. And it’s FREE!
* Your baby may want to eat ALL THE TIME. That’s normal. It’s even ok to use yourself as a pacifier!
I so agree with this i am a human pacifier and yes I co-sleep!
I completely agree! You go, Girls!
Hilarius!!!!! all of that is soooo true!!
Great advice! Although, breastfeeding never hurt. So it doesn’t always. 🙂
My daughter strated to feed her baby dolls the same way. Too cute but werid in public. lol
also, if your baby is crying, it doesn’t mean that she is hungry and your milk supply is low.
milk supply is not low unless the diaper count is less than 5-6 a day
LOL- Soo true! I have gone through all of that with all 6 of my little sweeties and am doing it right now with #6. This is the best time- the closeness when you breastfeed. There is nothing like it!
All for His glory, ~Rhen
The biggest lifesaver for me was learning I could nurse laying down. It had never crossed my mind to try it until my son (our first baby) was 3 weeks old and I was reading “The Baby Book” by Dr. Sears. What a blessing to sleep and feed my baby simultaneously!
The laying down thing was a life saver for me as I had a child who liked to nurse for hours and 40 times a day. My neighbor (who was nursing at the same time) suggested that I try it. Finally, I could rest and she could feed and it was great.
You are right about nursing laying down! I never really needed to with Joshua but with my daughter it’s a must! Especially on our vacation when she wouldn’t sleep at ALL!
I love your breastfeeding tips – those are great things for all moms to know :). As a lactation consultant though, I feel I have to clarify one point – breastfeeding should NOT hurt, not even for the first 2 weeks. Any pain that persists beyond the first minute or so is a sign that something is not quite right. This “something” is very often the latch, which is easier to fix the sooner you catch it, but it can also indicate things like a tongue-tie that needs clipping. Don’t try to just tough it out. If it hurts, seek help – from a professional LC, from LLL, from your hospital’s new mother support group, any qualified counselor, but do get help. You DON’T need to suffer through it when often a quick tweak will get you and your baby on the right track :).
End of PSA :).
And to everyone reading this, please take a minute to visit my blog today. My WFMW tip is a crucial one about inflammatory breast cancer. Please come and read this important information on recognizing the warning signs.
Here’s the direct link: http://aroundtheisland.blogspot.com/2007/07/wfmw-inflammatory-breast-cancer.html
Thank you for your time.
Thank you for saying that it does hurt a bit! (I have to respectfully disagree with Robin, here.) Every LC and nurse told me that my daughter was latching OK but I was convinced that she wasn’t because I had some pain. It did go away after a couple of days, though. I think it’s a disservice to new moms to say that it should never hurt if you’re doing it right.
Not that it should never hurt. It may very well be sensitive, or even a bit painful, especially in the beginning. What is important is to know that pain is generally an indicator, not something you “just have to suffer through”. Sometimes it can be something you just have to work through, like anatomy, i.e. a very small mouth and large nipples, and it will get easier as the baby grows, but there is always a reason. Even if it’s something you have to just deal with for a little while, I find that it’s very helpful for moms to understand “why”. So yes, it may hurt, but it *shouldn’t*. If it does, please try to find out why. It may very well be easily fixed.
Respectfully,
Robin
These are so great!!!
I have to admit though, aside from how hard they were, how painful they were(at times), and how they shot milk completely across the house, I did love my porn star boobs.
Totally agree with the Mom on Coffee – i really miss the generous bra size of my nursing days. What’s worse is that now that I’m done, I’m smaller than I was before pregnancy. Sorry to ruin the day of all those nursing moms, but enjoy it while you’ve got it!!!!
I hope and pray my breasts shrink after I’m done nursing.
I have to disagree with Jenny when she says hers are ginormous. I believe the only set of truly ginormous boobs she has seen belong to me. 36G pre-pregnany to 36L now, while nursing.
Oh how I love this list! How true (and funny)!!! I so miss my nursing days, my daughters are now almost 5 and 2 1/2, and I nursed my oldest until she was 21 months, and my youngest until she was 26 months, I loved every minute of it!!! Thanks so much for bringing back the memories, and sharing your wisdom for the new mommies out there 🙂