Need Help with Brestfeeding

Definitely PUMP ON DEMAND and never with-hold a feeding because you're trying to get the baby to go longer in between! That worked SOOO great with my second.

I only pumped when I was uncomfortable. (Still ended up with a freezer full of milk I threw away once my son was 18 months old...... Wouldn't drink it from a cup and NEVER took a bottle.....)

Don't give a bottle too early OR too often!

So here are the facts. The more your baby nurses the more milk you will produce and although pumping is nice when you are first starting to BF pumping doesn't stimulate the breast as well as when the baby actually eats so I would stay away from pumping as much as possible at first and just nurse your baby. Also some mom's feel that their baby must not be getting enough because they will want to eat after an hour or so from nursing. That is not the case. new babies that only nurse will eat all the time. I remember with both my babies having to feed them sometimes every hour to hour and 1/2 at first. But both my girls started out small (like 6 pounds 13oz at birth) but by the time there 6 months they were both 20 pounds! And that was from BF only. So as long as your baby is gaining weight and having lots of wet and poopy diapers and you just feed them on demand your baby will be fine. If you still really aren't producing much milk which some woman do have this happen. Then you may need to change your diet. High protein helps produce milk. so good luck with your next baby and just remember nurse on demand and your baby should get enough.

Pumping is not a good indication of supply so don't worry about that. There are two ways to gauge supply:
1) If the baby seems satisfied after a feeding and poops and pees, there is enough milk.
2) You can strip the baby to a clean diaper, weigh the baby, feed the baby, and weigh the baby again without changing a diaper even if the baby soils it while nursing. This will give you an accurate amount of breastmilk taken in. Your pediatrician's office should let you do this for free without even seeing a doctor.

This has everything you need to know:
http://kellymom.com/bf/supply/enough-milk.html

An infant's stomach is the size of a chickpea or cherry when it is born. A pingpong ball on day 3 and a walnut or egg on day 10. I don't have the conversions in front of me, but that means on day one, the baby can take 5-7ml per feeding. On day 3 22-27ml per feeding. On day 10 60-81ml. By around 4 weeks of age, most babies take 3-4 ouces every 3-4 hours. Nursing on demand instead of setting up a schedule is the BEST way to make sure your supply is sufficient.

Please try to find a La Leche League meeting near you and attend before having your baby. They will put your mind at ease about your supply and you'll know the leaders ahead of time in case there are any problems you need to contact them about. Here is LLL Ohio's website:
http://www.lllohio.org/groups/index.html

Good Luck! Don't worry until you find there's something to worry about. Only about 2% of women can't produce enough milk to feed their babies. That means you have a 49/50 chance that you'll be just fine!! :)

Everyone here has given great advice! I also recommend that you ditch the pump, nurse on demand and often, let the baby come off the breast naturally (in other words, don't time the feeding and then switch sides). DITCH THE CLOCK - WATCH THE KID!

Don't supplement or use pacifiers, both of which can impact your milk supply. Baby needs to nurse at the breast often for you to make plenty of milk.

And as for pumping, I know some women who can nurse triplets but get next to nothing pumping. Go by the baby, not the pump! Be relaxed and confident when you nurse - psychology plays a big role in how quickly your milk will let down. Drink plenty of fluid and you can take Fenugreek supplements to ramp up your milk supply.

And join a breastfeeding Moms Club - feel free to join up with us: Cape Cod Breastfeeding Moms club on Facebook. They are all LONG TERM nursing moms, which is very important!!!

La Leche is great too!
:)

Nursing on demand works much better than scheduled feeding. I was finally able to nurse my fourth baby using this. At first I thought how can this be easier than a bottle, cause it seemed like he was nursing all the time. Once I got passed the growth spurts in the beginning, it was much easier.

Try to find a calm spot to nurse and concentrate only on the baby and nursing. Drink plenty of water. I found being calm and loving toward my child helped. I also thought to myself, "More Milk". When my DS had a growth spurt, I would use "More Milk Plus" to help out. I stopped thinking that my breasts were like a bladder and once the bladder was empty, no more milk. The funny thing is that thinking that way helped me, caused even if the baby was on for quite awhile, if starts sucking hungerily, I would have another letdown.

As for pumping, some ladies don't produce a lot via pumping but can adequately feed their little one. Don't stress out. Be calm. It is helpful to have an item of your baby's around or picture. I close my eyes and pretend I have a very hungry baby latched on. Taking a deep breath and releasing it and relaxing my torso helped me. I would use the smaller bottles when pumping at first. I pumped the same amount, but the smaller ones made me feel better cause the level was higher. You may need a hospital grade pump. I really like using my Medela Pump in Style. The newer once have a letdown mode that is supposed to simulate the initial hungry sucking of the baby at first.

I guess you might have caught on that what worked best for me was to have a positive attitude. It was gruelling the first 2 months or so, but I tried my best to keep my emotions positive and give up my time to just focus on the baby. So for me, after having 3 previous children I was unable to nurse, my 4th was the charm.

If your baby is getting enough milk, they will have a goodly amount of wet diapers and poo diapers. Unless you have an accurate scale where you can weigh the baby before a feeding and after a feeding to see if they are getting enough, the only way to tell is with their diapers. In the beginning, they usually have like 8 wet diapers.

Find a good lactation consultant. Someone who you are comfortable with. If you don't like them, it isn't likely you will be helped. Like a previous poster recommended. Kellymom.com is a good source of information. That is what I did, search the internet and joined a breastfeeding support group via yahoo. It is so nice to have other mothers to relate to. :D

Hi- You have some great advice here. The key is to not over think it. Nurse when the baby wants until he/she unlatches. It may seem constant for the first few months, that's normal. Forget how much you get when you pump, it is not as efficient as the baby at getting milk out. If your baby is thriving then everything is fine, you do not need to think one minute about how much milk you are producing. If I hear one more Mom say they couldn't breastfeed because they didn't produce enough milk I'm gonna scream. While it does happen, it is extremly rare. How in the world did the human race survive thousands of years if there were all these Moms not able to exclusively breastfeed? Just don't hink too much and trust your instinct and you'll be fine. Congratulations!

My best advice is early and often. Right away after birth as soon as you can, feed the baby. Then while you're in the hospital feed him/her often - like every time she cries. There isn't much coming out at that time but what you're doing is training your production, and telling your body that you need a lot. Keep the baby awake and nursing for at least 15-30 minutes per side. Don't assume that not enough is coming out unless the baby isn't gaining weight properly. Don't supplement with formula at all or pump for at least 3 weeks. Also, have you ever been to a breastfeeding class? If you've never gone, it might help to try. Good luck!

You got some great advice here. I want to add that if you feel your supply is low there are supplements you can take and foods you can eat to increase your supply. Oatmeal works, as does a spice called fenugreek (smells like maple syrup). I used to make oatmeal pancakes and add a teaspoon of fenugreek to the batter. Worked beautifully.

I almost entirely agree with AndreaG's post.

I didn't find that the lactation consultant at the hospital was very helpful, and instincts really kicked in once we got home. I was able to nurse both kids relatively easily from day one.

Our son was a snacker from the first moment he ate. He NEVER nursed more than 15 minutes, and I almost never got to both sides. So, I had to remember which side I'd nursed last and select the other one for the next feeding.
He never lost weight in the hospital and was always in the 90th percentile from week 6 forward.

I didn't start pumping regularly for a few weeks (wished I had earlier) and used the Medela Pump in Style. I was a working mom and could pump as much as 32 oz from 8-5pm at my peak. I pumped at least 5-6 times/day when working and almost exclusively nursed the rest of the time to get the demand to increase my supply.

Medela is really the market leader and the most trusted. I honestly don't know anyone who used a different pump because they're so prevalent.

Good luck. Your child will tell you if they're getting enough. Let them guide you and establish their preferences.

I used the Medela advance pump and when i couldnt get in touch with my lactation nurse i turned to www.kellymom.com and when i nursed on demand that helped us with the milk supply.

good luck.

G.

in addition to what andrea said.

time between feedings starts when they start eating not when they stop eating. And the more they nurse the more efficient they get at it so it doesnt' take as long to get more.

Breastpumps don't work the same way a baby's mouth/suction does so you aren't going to get as much out with a pump as baby will with her mouth.

i have breastfed three healthy babies, but was not able to pump much. they got enough. it's a supply/demand thing, the more they suck the more you produce. just do it and trust in it!

It would seem like pumping would help you produce more milk, but in fact, it does the opposite! Please consult a La Leche League Leader in your area for more information! They will walk you step by step through any problems that may arise or answer ANY question you may have about breatsfeeding! Do a search for La Leche League and go to their site to find a group/leader near you!

http://www.lowmilksupply.org/

If you feel like you're having trouble, get a lactation consultant. They can help IMMENSELY. This is a "natural" thing, but it's not EASY. You can ask your ob/gyn or the hospital for referrals. Good luck!

A lot of women feel like they aren't producing enough milk and they give up, but they probably had enough milk, or would have if they continued nursing. Your body knows what it's doing, and if you work on breastfeeding, and get help from La Leche League or a lactation consultant, you should be able to work out any issues you have. Just know you can do it, keep at it, and get help when you need it, those are the most important things to get through it.

For pumps, I have a Medela single electric pump that I like. I have also tried a double Aveda, and have used a hospital grade pump. It really depends on what you plan on doing with the pump. You won't be able to pump full time and keep your supply up, and some women (like me) have a hard time pumping and could never pump enough. If you are going to be working and pumping (so a lot of pumping), you will want a double pump, otherwise you will just need a single, or maybe even no pump. Do your research online, but you may not want to purchase one until after you are sure you will pump (it is a pain, nursing on demand is much easier, and better for your supply).

I got the Ameda Purely Yours, which worked well, and used the areola stimulators, as they just seemed more comfortable.

I would drink lots of water and find a lactation consultant now that you are comfortable with, so that you can ask any questions that you have. There are supplements and even Rx that can help you if you are low on milk. You can go to the ped, and weigh, feed, then weigh again if you feel that the baby isn't getting enough to eat. There are lots of options and help out there. Congrats on wanting to breastfeed, and good luck.

Also, remember that this site (or if you want to IM me), is here to help support you if you have any questions through the process. Don't give up!