I can't believe it's May already. Remember way back in January when I asked for your nursing tips for Motherwear's Spring Catalog? I held onto all of the 30+ entries we received and have been posting them slowly. The first two posts were on getting support and pumping. So, finally, here is some more of your great advice.
The best nursing tip I ever received was while I was still in the hospital from a maternity nurse. I was having trouble keeping Annika awake long enough to nurse well. No amount of unswaddling or tickling was helping. She needed to nurse a lot, too, because she was extremely jaundiced (blood-type incompatibility coupled with trauma during birth) and the doctors were about to force supplementing on us. Anyway, the nurse said she had the same trouble with her little one. She told me to pull Annika away from my breast slightly and the baby's instinct is to suck the nipple back in - even when she's fast asleep! This little trick worked like a charm! We didn't need to supplement and she kicked her jaundice with a lot of nursing and the help of a biliblanket. At 10 months, I still use this trick at night when she's fallen asleep at the breast and I want to fill her up for a long stretch of sleeping. - Bobbi Lynn, shown at left with her daughter Annika.
This is the best tip I've ever gotten, and I don't know what I'd do without it! I'm very prone to plugged ducts. Prevention is key, of course, so avoiding things like underwire bras helps a bunch! But what do you do if you GET one? Hot compresses, massage, a REALLY hot shower all help, but here's the trick that works wonders for me: Lay the baby down on a flat surface, like the bed, kneel over her, and let her nurse on the affected side. This has never failed me; gravity and a baby sucking work together to remove the plug every time! - Heather, shown at right with her daughter Elizabeth (see her blog). Here's an illustration of this position.
GET SUPPORT! As someone who has had a rough start with nursing (cracking, bleeding, nipple infections, thrush four times, Raynaud's and a chom ping newborn), I felt my commitment to breastfeeding waning at times. I found daily support with a lactation consultant as well as other providers and women who had also had difficulties with breastfeeding. Technical assistance and emotional support has done me wonders. After six months I am happily breastfeeding my son with much more ease and the knowledge that I can get through the harder times when they arise. - Melinda.
The best tip I can offer is this: A lot of women are under the impression that you have to stop breastfeeding your child if you have a breast infection. This is just not true. In fact, it is proven to be better for you and your baby to continue nursing as usual. By the time you've noticed any signs of an infection your baby has likely already ingested antibodies to it, helping his body to build immunities. The best way to get over a breast infection or plugged ducts is to nurse a lot and drink plenty of fluids [and in some cases antibiotics]. Nursing is hard enough. Don't let anyone discourage you. If done right nursing can be an absolutely beautiful experience for mother and baby. - Kenzie, shown at left with Cayden and Christian.
My #1 breastfeeding tip: trust your instincts. Don't worry about what anyone else tells you about how you should be doing things, and just do what feels right to you. That may be really hard, especially with your first baby, because parents, in-laws, doctors, nurses, friends, relatives, authors of parenting books and experts on TV will offer so much advice on what you should be doing or what the baby needs. You know better than ANYONE what your baby needs. So if you feel like putting your fussy baby to the breast even though she nursed just 20 minutes earlier, do it. Don't worry about what the proper feeding schedule, frequency, duration, intervals, etc. should be. Breastfeed with confidence and know that your natural instinct as to what your baby needs trumps everyone else's well-intentioned advice. - Kelly, shown at right with her son, JJ.
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