BREASTFEEDING 101
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Introduction Course 101 with References
It’s not as simple as putting baby to the breast.
The Book I Found Most Helpful:
Dr. Jack Newman's Guide to Breastfeeding
There are steps to breastfeeding, and every single step can be a hurdle, like it was for me. But good news is, you may be lucky and breeze through fine! As I later learned, like any new life skill, it takes practice to get better. But unlike other life skills, you’re not at leisure to learn at your own pace. A crying baby demands milk, now. Honestly, for mothers who struggle as I did, an entire college education on the subject of breastfeeding would barely be enough to feel competent at the moment of truth.
BABY’S POSITION
Cradle hold: The obvious position you naturally hold the baby; supporting head and bum, across newly deflated belly.
Football hold: Holding baby with one hand on one side. I found this hard because I have no upper arm strength- you can wedge a pillow under the supporting arm though. Helpful post C-section.
Lie-down Sideways: Lie down on side, facing each other.
Lie-down Back: Lie back and let gravity hold baby for you- the position I most wanted to make work. Didn’t work for me.
Breastfeeding Positions and Tips (What To Expect)
BABY’S LATCH
The key here is to get a DEEP latch. This is how they will get the amount of milk they need and you won’t experience pain.
Terms to know:
Latching Technique
Shallow Latch
Latch Removal Technique
Dr. Jack Newman's Visual Guide to Breastfeeding (YouTube)*
*Not Safe For viewing at Work (featuring nipples).
(IN)SUFFICIENT MILK PRODUCTION
Drink plenty of water.
Massage breasts to empty breasts fully while feeding.
Nurse frequently.
Eat galactagogue foods: Oatmeal, fennel, Almonds.
Increasing Low Milk Supply (KellyMom.com)
HOW TO TELL IF BABY IS GETTING ENOUGH
Welcome to the wild world of obsessively keeping tabs on your child’s poop output. You will find many charts updated by age on how many dirty diapers to expect, with what colour and consistency.
Diaper Count Cheat Sheet (Nursing the Baby)
POSSIBLE UH-OH MOMENTS
Shallow Latch: Baby is not getting enough milk this way, and will also cause you pain. If your nipple looks like the tip of a tube of lipstick, try to get a deeper latch.
Nipple Pain: Solve the root cause (proper latch) and allow breastmilk to air-dry after nursing.
Mastitis: Oh crap, this is serious, go to the doctor. This is when your breasts are clogged with breastmilk and you get a fever and feel like you have the flu. Need antibiotics and pain meds.
OTHER THINGS I TRIED WHEN NOTHING WORKED
Nipple Shield: Bought this because terrible latch was making breastfeeding pain feel like pins and lightning were shooting into nipples. But didn’t find them helpful- need to be used properly or baby won’t be able to latch deeply to get enough milk.
Breast Pump: My last resort and solution with first baby. Exclusively pumped breastmilk. Is not the best solution for everyone, but this was the best compromise to feed my newborn breastmilk for me. This site helped me immensely when I started out and was trying to build my supply.
This is a very, very basic overview. So please continue on your search for information if you feel the need to do so. I have friends who have breastfed successfully, so you may not need much more.
Remember if you don’t succeed, the most important thing is to keep Baby fed. Don’t get too down on yourself if things don’t go as planned (I wasn’t able to breastfeed so I exclusively pumped for 11 months)!
More resources on Breastfeeding:
Breastfeeding Basics (Parents.com)