Breastfeeding tips
Ask for help, especially in hospital. It is so much easier trying to master breastfeeding in hospital as you can ask the midwives at anytime of the day. However you need to feel comfortable with the midwife otherwise you won’t relax and your baby will sense that. Keep pressing the button until a midwife that you like responds.The first time with my son I had to ask for so much help as he wouldn’t latch on properly and it was weird at first having someone help me and focus on my breast, but I was so happy I kept asking as I still had difficulties at home, but had the confidence to keep persevering.
Second time around with my daughter I was also having trouble and the midwife who was helping me made me feel SO uncomfortable. She marched in, grabbed my boob, grabbed my daughters head and shoved them together. I was uncomfortable, she was screaming and no breastfeeding was happening. Because I was confident I could do it by myself, I said to her ‘thanks, but I’ll keep trying”.
Believe in yourself and your baby. It probably took me 6 months until I felt comfortable with breastfeeding .
I found I was so confused with what the midwives said, the Child Nurse, books and family members all said. Listen to your baby and they will let you know when they want to be fed. If your baby sleeps lots, then you may have to ensure they are getting enough feeds. (My kids never slept that long so didn’t have that problem.)
Read the books, listen to the advice and then make YOUR own mind up about how and when you want to feed your baby. Some babies love to be fed on demand, some are happy with routine and some just go with the flow of what the parent wants to do.My first child had a relaxed ‘routine’ which I loved and he loved as he never had to cry for food as he was fed before he got to that stage. My second child didn’t want a routine and wanted to be fed more often so she was fed every 2-3 hours.
As long as your baby is happy, having lots of wet nappies then you are doing a great job!
