She was given clear feeding guidelines — she was told not to let her baby go longer than 3 hours between feedings until he was back to his birthweight — and both the daytime nurse and lactation consultant were excellent at supporting breastfeeding, says LaSelva.
But even here, she encountered an unpleasant experience. Then, the second pediatrician who came in the following day contradicted the first pediatrician and told them to ignore what the first doctor had said.
When it comes to breastfeeding success and the best way to support new moms, the bottom line is that no matter what kind of hospital or other birth setting you choose to have your baby in, the doctors, nurses, and lactation consultants must work together to support moms who want to breastfeed. In the meantime, while hospitals and health care professionals work toward that goal, moms can make sure they have the confidence to ask for help, to trust their instincts, and to know that no matter what, the end goal is a healthy baby, whether that means supplementing with formula, pumping breast milk, choosing not to breastfeed, or doing any combination of the above.
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Registry Builder New. Continue Reading Below. Read This Next. Most Common Breastfeeding Problems and Solutions. Breastfeeding in 3 Words. Baby Feeding. First Year. First Year Groups. Go to Your Baby's Age. It was when I started ignoring my baby's cries from his bassinet to start my umpteenth daily pumping session that I started to wonder: Was it really worth this much trouble to breastfeed?
Sure, I wanted the best for my child, as any mother does, but I certainly didn't want the best for him at the expense of my sleep cycle, or my sanity, or the structural integrity of my nipples.
Most of all, I didn't want to try to breastfeed him at the expense of forming a bond with him. The first few weeks of a new mom's life are invariably a struggle, filled with diaper blowouts and bleary-eyed hourly feedings and shoveling cold mashed potatoes into your mouth because your baby won't stop crying long enough for you to eat a proper dinner, but they're also supposed to be filled with tender moments, like first trips to the park and reading picture books in rocking chairs and lying very, very still and listening to lullaby versions of Pixies songs.
I knew I was supposed to be using this time to bond with my son, yet I found myself more attached to my breast pump than I was to him. Ostensibly, breastfeeding is supposed to be an ideal way for mothers to bond with their babies during the first few weeks of life.
I'm sure for many breastfeeding moms, this is true, but for me, it has been anything but. For me, breastfeeding has been marked by frustration, discomfort, and an acute awareness that the time I have spent trying to breastfeed and bemoaning my inability to do so could have been much better spent in other ways.
In the weeks since I gave birth, I've learned firsthand just how insidious the pressure to exclusively breastfeed is, and the pain it can cause for new mothers, who are already physically and emotionally vulnerable enough as is.
But even though I do believe that the "breast is best" message is harmful, I don't fault breastfeeding advocates and lactation consultants and sanctimommies for perpetuating it. OK, maybe I do blame the sanctimommies a little bit. In fact, I'm incredibly grateful to the lactation consultant I worked with at the hospital, who, when I started crying, took me in her arms and rocked me gently and told me not to put pressure on myself, that as long I was taking care of my baby I was doing a great job.
I do, however, blame a cultural climate that teaches new mothers, and women in general, that the experience of being a new mother is invariably marked by pain, guilt, and above all else sacrifice — of their bodies, of their sleep cycles, and above all else, of their time, which will never be more valuable than it is during the rapidly waning moments of a child's infancy.
That said, I'm not going to give up on breastfeeding. But I suspect there will come a time when it's not worth it to "just keep trying. Breastfeeding Tip: It is called breastfeeding, not nipple feeding. Get as much of the areola into their mouth as possible, their mouth should be wide open when they latch. If you hold your nipple right under their nose they can smell it and will usually open wider to take in the nipple.
The nipple should be hitting the back, roof of their mouth once they are on. Skin to skin is always best. Often your provider will place your baby directly on your chest after giving birth, there is a reason for that. Hand expressing breastmilk, as seen in this video , can be spoon or syringe fed to your baby. Doing this will:.
Hand expression can actually be done for a few minutes after every feed for all the above reasons, even if your baby does have a good latch. The reason you may pick hand expression over pumping is because pumping can cause you to produce more than your baby can eat and lead to engorged, painful breasts.
This means that you will need to feed every 2- 3 hours that is feeds in a 24 hour period in the beginning, waking your baby up if they sleep through their next feed time. Ask for help. Everyone of your nurses, sometimes even your CNA is trained in breastfeeding support and most postpartum units advertise a lactation consultant.
When your nurse does rounds at the beginning of her shift, let her know that you might call her in for help. Discuss when the lactation consultant is on and how to see her. When it is time to feed your baby, change its diaper, get situated, get a drink of water and try getting your baby latched on. If you are having trouble, hit your call light and ask for help. As a new mom, ask your nurse to pull that page out and show it to you before discharge, it will save you a lot of searching in the middle of the night.
Wet and dirty diapers. If it goes in, then it must come out. In the first 24 hours, expect one dirty and one wet diaper, by day 2, two of each and day 3, dirty diapers.
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