Pregnancy Support Group

breastfeeding is AWESOME! I bf both my girls until they were 23 months and I was pregnant. The only reason I stopped was bc it hurt with pregger boobs!

It is SO HEALTHY for you and baby! IT helps you heal and prevents post pardom depression.

I can tell you story after story of babies who were in the foster care system and were literally dieing until their foster parents started giving them donated milk and they flourished! One was deaf and blind and her body was shutting down and within 3 feedings of breast milk, she was 99% better and could see and hear!

I can't stress enough how important breastfeeding is (even if you just do it for 6 weeks!!)

I second Adadair! Be prepared that there may be complications, esp. if you have any interventions, like an epidural or a c-section, or if you are over 30 years old. The time to learn about it is now, while you are pregnant. I suggest you find a lactation consultant, and have a meeting with her, before your birth. That way, you are all equipped for when baby comes, and have a resource person handy. BF is also the only way to protect a baby less than 6 mths old from H1N1.

BF rocks. It produces healthy, happy satisfied babies, who rarely get sick, who are not overweight, and who in general, have higher IQ than those on formula. In addition, it protects you from cancers, esp. of the breast, as well as helps guard moms from developing PPD, losing weight faster, adn getting their uterus to shrink back to normal after the birth.

There is a great bf support group on DS. Join the breastfeeding support group now, and see what types of topics come up now.

The biggest thing first-time moms sometimes have problems with is, like me, assuming that it is natural, and everything will happens all by itself. Some are lucky in this, and have a baby who is a champ at latching and bf. Some can have a lot of complications!

I bf #1 for 33 mths; #2 for 40 mths; #3 for 30 mths and counting. I also bf thru each subsequent pregnancy, and even tandem nursed for some time after each new one was born. I intend to do the same this time.

The number 1 thing to remember is to bf on demand. If baby cries, stirs, puts fingers to his or her mouth, offer the breast. There is no such thing as bf too much! But if you try to put your baby on a schedule, you are setting yourself up for failure, because sooner or later, you will have milk supply issues. In desperation, yo may start to supplement with formula. But the more you supplement, the less your breasts are stimulated, so the less they will make! It ends up being a vicious circle, and ultimately, as was the case of yor friends, they will switch to formula totally.

If you want to give your baby the best start in life, keep away from any bottles, formula, and pacifiers. And remember, whereas the AAP recommends bf for at least one year, the WHO recommends until at least 2 years and beyond.

The first day was rough for me. The mid wife trying to ram my son's mouth onto my nipple, all stressed out in the hospital etc. Then the next two weeks or so were a little difficult whilst we still got use to the whole business (painful nipples, latching on issues, crying frustration... etc). But after that it was smooth sailing. Just so easy and convenient. Didn't have to stuff around with cleaning bottles which made night feeds easier and getting out of the house with baby much easier - didn't have to pack a million things. For when I had to be away I could just pump some milk and pop it in the fridge. Took me ages to pump but friends of mine said their milk would just gush out. I kept it up till 13 months and would have continued but I had to stop for medical reasons. My sister in law went for 2 years, my neighbour for about 2 years. I guess it just depends on your commitments. The society we live in isn't exactly family friendly - lack of maternity leave, lack of flexible work arrangements etc so its understandable why lots of people struggle to keep it up past a few months.
Oh and the other good thing with breastfeeding was that it help me shed the pregnancy weight really quick.I think I was back to normal in about 6 months... and it helps you to stay healthy, not exactly going to stuff your face with junk when your breastfeeding.
Try to think positively about it. Set your mind to think 'this is going to work, and I can overcome difficulties'. Good luck and enjoy!

I'm sad to hear that you are anxious about breast feeding. I think it should be something you are looking forward to. I'm shocked that you have heard so many negative things about it and that you don't know more people with success stories.

Yeah it will probably be painful and challenging but if you determine to persevere and not give up you will find it so rewarding I'm sure. I believe it's worth any pain to make it happen. It's one of the best things you can do for your baby and for you. If it doesn't happen though it's ok it's not something be ashamed of. You can only do as much as your body is willing to do.

Get excited about it! and commit in your heart to not giving up easily.

I was scared for a few weeks, but now as I'm only 2 days from my due date, I'm so excited now! I know it can cause some discomfort, but I know it'll be worth it! I have been harassed by my husband's mother and her sisters about it, they have told me I'll fail and I'll never be able to handle it. But you got to ignore that. I'm sure if you go into it with a positive attitude you'll be a success. It's not only good for the baby, but for you too! :)
I can't wait to start breastfeeding, and I'm definitely sticking with it, no matter how much it hurts. Plus the La Leche League is a phone call away and I have a lactation consultant and alot of my friends have breastfed their babies.

Debbie

I am so glad to see this post, I feel the same way. Almost everyone I know has had problem and the statistics are so discouraging. Especially with 1st time moms. My sister tried for 3 months with her first but she just wasn't producing enough milk and then had no problem at all with her second (both were c-sections). Hopefully someone can give suggestions on ways to prepare before birth to make sure you can produce enough, that is my only fear, I know there will be pain and frustration and thats okay..I just want to physically be able to to it!!!

You know what, I didn't hear any stories about problems when I had my first and felt like a complete failure when it didn't work for me. You are better off having heard the bad stories so you can be prepared to get more information and build your confidence.

It can be challenging at first, but after a while you will hopefully find your groove and it will feel as natural to you as it really is to your body!
I tried with my first but it wasn't for us. BUT I had great luck with my second and look forward to breast feeding with this baby.

Here is my advice based on the experience with both my children.
1) if your delivery allows make sure your baby if placed right on your bare skin after birth and try nursing as soon as possible in the delivery room. (hopefully the hospital staff will leave the room and give you bonding time after they take care of the afterbirth and all the mess! you should get time with baby before he or she is wisked away to the nursery and you are moved into your room)
2) in the hospital make it very clear to the staff that your baby is not to be given a pacifier or bottle under any circumstances. A card can be taped to the little bed that baby is kept in so all nursing staff knows even when there is a shift change.
3) be ready to fight or yell if you have to! My first son was given both a bottle and a pacifier because he was born at 1am and they wanted to let me rest. I didn't know they would do this and he never would latch on...I tried for 6 weeks, but for his health I had to stop trying.
With my second the card was in place but the nurse brought in a bottle of formula and told me I might want it just in case. I told her "NO WAY, that card speaks for me. This baby is not to be given supplemental formula or a pacifier at all." She insisted I might want it anyway. I repeatedly told her no I am trying to breastfeed only, please take it. Finally I told her to take it or I would throw it across the room! She got the message and took it then!
4) make sure you are comfortable with the idea of your breasts being exposed and possibly touched by a nurse or lactation consultant if you have trouble! It is something that I feel is easier to do if you are prepared ahead of time! I hate the breast examine at the doctors office so it was uncomfortable to do this, but it is how they help you!
5) don't think that you have to breastfeed for an entire year or more. If you give your baby 6 weeks that is good, six months that is even better, a year is great. I breastfed until my son was 19 months but planned to stop at 12 months, that is when I would have taken him off the bottle. Babies don't need to be on milk after they can take in food. It was hard for me to stop because he loved that mommy time, but we switched to cuddle/reading time after dinner and he is 6 1/2 and still loves that time! With this baby my plan is to nurse hopefully for a year but I am hoping to be working fulltime when baby is 4 1/2 months so we will see how that works for us.
6) be prepared for your experience to be unique. My son did not want a bottle at all. He took a bottle of expressed milk maybe 3-4 times in his life and I was a full time college student away for 4+ hours at a time. I expressed nightly and while at school. He did not eat while I was away and would make up for it when I got home. that was his fasting time like we have at night. This was his normal and he was healthy. Around 5-6 months he started drinking expressed milk from a sippy cup.
7) Make sure dad supports you breastfeeding plan. You don't have to get his permission or anything but make sure he knows why it is important to you mentally and what all the benefits are. In the beginning, there will be times baby is hungry and you are having a hard time getting everything working and all he will be able to do is rub your back while both you and baby cry! (it gets easier over time) But if you don't feel his support you might get stressed and give up. A supportive daddy is a helpful daddy!
8) Don't feel you have to skip the epidural... my first was a sleepy baby after a natural birth and my 2nd was a breastfeeding natural after a labor with pain meds and the epidural.
9) I think it is important to keep in mind that there might be a lot of obstacles you and baby have to overcome from sore nipples to latching on to finding the right position to engorgement to finding a good bra to unexpected leaking to strangers thinking they should share their opinion with you! When you know those things are ahead it is not so overwhelming when you have to face them!
10) And if you find that it is not working for you don't feel bad. I struggled with that feeling of failure with my first but he was a lazy baby and would rather not work for his food! He is almost 12 and still that way! Every baby is different and some babies don't nurse... that is why women created bottles and the first homemade formula!

Find someone to talk to now. I know the La Leche League can help and the government program WIC can help also. The hospital you deliver at should have a lactation consultant on hand.

Don't feel anxious... just relax!

I am glad to see that I am not the only one here with some anxiety about breastfeeding. I too have heard so many stories of failure and discomfort. But my hospital provides lactation consultants, my county health department offers home visits with a lactation consultant, my doctor's office offers a breastfeeding class, there is the la leche league... I must assume that with all of these supports built into so many different programs/organizations, then 1) breastfeeding is very beneficial, 2) it won't just come naturally, and 3) there are plenty of people out there to help with any potential problems. One thing I keep reading/hearing is that yes, there will be some minor discomfort the first couple of weeks, but you shouldn't get anything drastic like cracked nipples or any of those other horrors if you have baby positioned correctly.

Good luck! I think you are on the right track by gathering info now and reaching out for advice BEFORE you have a crying newborn and sore breasts.

You shouldn't feel anxious at all, but it is true that it can be challenging. I personally HATED it, but still latest 6 months, which is the goal I set for myself. WIth this one, it will be 3 months. I beat myself up in the beginning b/c I thought if my DS was crying or cranky, it was my fault...must have been something I ate. My son latched on right away and was a eating machine. I really couldn't keep up, he was always hungry. The hardest part is if your child is fussy, its really difficult to pinpoint what u may have eaten that caused it. Sure there are certain foods u should stay away from, but u have no idea how your child will react to anything u eat. The best thing u can do is relax and not set too high expectations. WIth that, I do not regret BF b/c I know it was best for my son. He is sooo healthy, been in daycare for 2 months and has not missed a day. I like to think that BF contributed to his healthy immune system

HopefulJenn offers some amazing advice.

In addition, here is something I just posted in a thread in the bf group:

"Make sure you feed on demand. Once the baby has finished, if you are really worried about having enough, then pump for an extra 10 mins. Otherwise, do not pump. THere is no need to pump, and you will just stress. How much you get out with the pump is NO indication of how much the baby will get. Here is a link on starting out right:

http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?optio...:breastfeeding-starting-out-right&catid=5:information&Itemid=17

The number one key to succeed in bf is to bf often, at least 8-10 times a day, and to bf on demand. ANy time your baby shows signs,like smacking the lips, chewing his fists or your arm, or any other fussiness...put him to the breast. Do not put him on a schedule, or that will mess up your supply. DO not watch the clock when you bf.

If you need more help, then just ask. ANd it may really make your life a whole lot easier if you co-sleep.


Here is how to increase baby's bm intake..your milk is there...you just cannot see it or measure it, like you do if you feed formula. DO not supplement with formula, as that will decrease stimulation of your boobs, and therefore decrease your milk supply...

http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?optio...:protocol-to-increase-breastmilk-intake&catid=5:information&Itemid=17

Also, keep n mind at the first 6 weeks are the hardest, and that during ta time, you are slowly building up your milk supply. It is learning curve for boh you and your baby. Keeping your baby on breast milk will SAVE YOU $1500 to $2000 year in formula and bottle costs. And it is much more convenient, because anytime your baby is hungry, you can be out shopping, or at a party, stop, st down, and feed him,without any fuss. BF in public is protected in all the US States and Canadian provinces.
It is also important to know that even if you have a poor diet, even if you drink, smoke, or take medicine, etc., most of the time, it is still preferable for you to breastfeed, rather than not breastfeed.

In the past, moms were told all kinds of stuff, which made bf unnecessarily restrictive. Here is a link on bf myths.

http://www.nbci.ca/index.php?optio...:myths-of-breastfeeding&catid=5:information&Itemid=17