I wish I would have known....a breastfeeding survival guide
- SharleenMarie
- Oct 2, 2019
- 6 min read
No one told me breastfeeding would be worse than pregnancy!!! They warn you about how hard the third trimester is. They bombard you with scary delivery stories, but not a single person said “hey, breastfeeding is harder than all of those things”. As a matter of fact no one told me anything. I google researched a lot to prepare. When my son was born the lactation consultant at SIUH was on vacation so there was no one there to help me figure it out. My first morning in the NICU with him the nurse said “you need to start feeding him”, so I pulled a boob out and he immediately started smacking his cute little lips and sticking his tongue out. It was the most adorable thing I had ever seen. Until he latched, holy shit that hurt! I yelped a little and the nurse asked if I was ok. Having pride and not wanting to sound weak I said we are perfect! He began feeding with what I thought was really great tenacity for a guy who was struggling earlier in the day. What I didn’t know was that I was doing it all wrong.
From day one my nipples cracked and started bleeding. I couldn’t believe how strong this kids latch was. It felt like he was trying to suck my soul out through my boob. And he was hungry so he would nurse for about 20 minutes on one side every 2-3 hours. The best thing I did to help my milk come in was after I would feed him in the NICU, I would go back to my room and pump each side for an additional 10-20 minutes each side. It felt like all I was doing was feeding and pumping. In fact Jaye even came and massaged my left boob because it just didn’t seem to want to produce colostrum the way the right one would. Over time this created an issue because then Banks would only latch on my right. By pumping after feedings I was able to bring additional colostrum to the NICU so when he was whimpering in between feedings they could give him some additional with out building the habit of nursing too often. If you would like to try this with your baby you can use a dropper or syringe to feed them the first few days. By day two I had full milk supply. My body realized this kid was hungry and the pumping gave great additional demand reflex. I was able to pump 2-3oz each session when my milk came in and by the second day of milk supply I was easily able to provide 4 oz bottles at each feeding. Because my nipples were so bloody I opted in to switching off between bottle and breast, but always supplying the milk.
After four weeks of intense pain. I mean full blown tears and fear of feeding time I realized something must be wrong. Everything I read online said it wasn’t supposed to still hurt, let alone have me bleeding for this long. I first thought since he is so big maybe he is just too strong. Then I realized people breastfeed kids until they are like five (strange, but true). So I started researching latch issues. Turns out he had a very shallow latch that caused him to be too forceful on the tip. I watched YouTube videos and bought every product in the breastfeeding world. No products helped, but the videos did help teach me how to help retrain his latch. Several moms recommended nipple shields to me. All though a lot of people swear by them they didn’t work for me at all. I also decided I hated the Phillip Avent bottles! They were reinforcing his shallow latch and even though I owned a hundred of them I boxed them up and put them away. My best find out of all the bottles we have used are actually the Lansinoh bottle you pump into and ordering the slow flow nipples for them. They are more similar to a nipple for a deep latch which has helped tremendously.
Here’s a link to one of the video’s that helped me retrain his latch. It took practice!
Notice the part where you have his bottom jaw attach first. This part helped me so much!
I also wanted to build up a strong milk supply so I pump every two hours during the day. I bottle feed him and store any excess. The best advice I found to help continue to increase supply was to over pump. This means you pump until you are completely dry and continue pumping for at least 10 minutes on empty. This does require me to be hooked up to the pump for up to 45 minutes sometimes, but with the hands free pump bra I can still do a ton of other stuff.
I now have a pretty healthy milk stock in the freezer for when I return to work and our little guy is still getting more than enough to eat. I exclusively breastfeed at night because it’s important to me that I am still able to give him the benefits of direct feeding, but also because at night it is comfortable for us to both be in bed. He’s not a good night sleeper so anything to keep him from screaming has and will be done. My favorite feeding position is lying on my side with him in front of me feeding. Just be careful, because on those really long nights sleep deprivation can take over and you may fall asleep with baby too close to you. Try to make sure you can stay up for the whole feeding before putting them back to a safe distance from you. Banks also has reflux so I have to sit him upright after every feeding for about 20 minutes so the milk doesn’t come back up and burn his throat. This is easy to do in bed after feeding. I just roll him on top of me and sit up to hold him. Where ever you decide to nurse, keep a station close by with everything you might need. I keep wipes, chapstick, my giant water bottle, snacks, hand cream, tissue and a phone charger. All with in one handed reaching distance. This saves me from having to yell for Jaye to come help me or leaving myself abandoned for 45 minutes while he is at work.
I also got great advice from a friend who said keep your pump supplies in the fridge in between pumping sessions so you don’t have to wash it every single time. Such good advice because other wise you are constantly sterilizing everything every two hours! This allows a few pumps before you wash.
I recently ordered the 8 oz Lansinoh bottles to pump into because you will always produce more milk in the morning and some times I will get between 16-19 oz in my first session! A great start to the day. If you only have small 4 oz bottles you will have to change them out several times, which can be tricky mid pump.
BabyTracker App was actually a recommendation from Jaye that has come in handy. We don’t track every single thing he does, but the feeding and pumping tracker has really come in handy. I can quickly glance and see when he’s about to get hungry or know if I have pumped enough for the day. We also used the diaper tracker the first month so we knew he was healthy and how many diapers we might need to order.
Make sure your pediatrician gives you vitamin D drops for the baby. You can add one drop to a bottle of breastmilk or put a drop on your nipple and make sure they latch for at least 30 seconds after applying. They should have these for free in the office and they are super important as we are all vitamin D deficient, baby will really need this nutrient support at first.
I take two supplements. I first finished me prenatal, but then ordered two things that have seemed to work well for me. I don’t know that i attribute my milk supply to them directly, but I like the added nutrient benefits.
I do believe that your diet plays a huuuuuuge role in how you produce and the nutritional value of your milk. I will at some point add some of the recipes that Jaye made for me to help me out the first month. Eating the right foods to support milk production will make your life easier, you feel better, and help support what your baby’s growing body needs. Here is a link to some foods that you will want to incorporate into a healthy diet.
https://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/breastfeeding/foods-that-increase-breast-milk-supply/ I also make sure I eat oatmeal every morning. Instead of milk or water, I use oat milk to really support my galactagogues food intake.
For more tips and tricks, or if you have a story to share please reach out in the contact page and let’s explore more together. If you have serious concerns about milk supply or feeding issues be sure to contact your physician or seek a lactation consultant.
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