I decided during my pregnancy that I would definitely give breastfeeding a try. My sister had not breastfed her three children and my brother's fiancé had tried but my nephew became ill and they opted to then bottle-feed. On my husband's side of the family everyone seemed to have opted to breastfeed. I felt apprehensive as I have rather large breasts and my nipples have always been quite sensitive but I would do anything to ensure that my baby has the best start to their life.
Having been in the labour room for an extra 5 hours after birth (being stitched up and cleaned up) with limited handling of my baby, I was told upon reaching the ward that the optimum time to breastfeed a newborn is within the first 6 hours. This gave me one hour to try and get some milk into this tiny little human being I now had the pleasure of cuddling. Panic! I had been to an antinatal class for breastfeeding but it still doesn't prepare you. So much to consider!
It is stressful to say the least. The midwives are on hand to help out. Leave your embarrassment at the door as you let your breasts hang out and different women come to help push that nipple into your newborn's mouth!
It's uncomfortable to begin with and, no matter what they say, it does hurt! My baby was born with a tongue-tie so she found it difficult to stay latched onto my breast. This was spotted within the first few hours but I was told to persevere and baby was referred for a tongue-tie operation.
We still couldn't get baby to latch on so, to ensure she was fed, we were given a syringe and told to hand express. My husband was given instructions on how we should do this with him taking the lead to express my nipples and suck up the colostrum (1st milk) to give to the baby. If anyone (apart from the midwives) had seen this, I would have been absolutely mortified.
As we were in hospital for a week, we had a lot of support from the various midwives and advised of 2 different positions (rugby hold and cradle hold). The advice varied from person to person so we did what felt right for us.
It eventually seemed to click into place and baby was definitely getting some milk.
Around day 3 baby started to be unsettled at night and as much as she cried and we told the midwives she was very upset and was not passing any poop, we were told she was fine and it was probably just the antibiotics. On day 4 they said they would weigh baby and then we could be discharged. Baby had dropped from 8lbs to 7lbs 2oz meaning a big weight loss and additional stay in hospital. I was told to express and feed baby every three hours for the next 24 hours and then the doctors would assess the situation. I can't tell you how heartbroken I was. Firstly, I'd been desperately hoping to go home and more importantly I felt like an absolute failure to this tiny human being. She'd clearly been starving hence the tears. Why oh why had no one helped me to realise this sooner? I did cry. I couldn't help myself.
I quickly picked myself up and began expressing every 2 or so hours to ensure a 3 hour feed. The midwives were very encouraging and tried to reassure me that I was doing a good job. 24 hours later, exhausted, baby was weighed and was back up to almost her birth weight! Whoop! I could not have been happier and we were finally discharged.
I continued to express and bottle feed at home, occasionally putting baby to the breast. We had her tongue-tie operation within a couple of weeks of leaving the hospital and straight away they told me to breastfeed baby and they supported me. She latched on well and clearly was getting some milk. I continued to mix breast and bottle until my husband returned to work. I did not have time to express milk without someone there to entertain baby so I took a leap and decided to solely breastfeed with the exception of a nighttime expressed bottle. We had a weigh in a couple of weeks later and her weight has continued to go up!
Here are my thoughts on feeding options:
I can't really comment on formula as I have only used a little bit of formula (to give my breast a rest after the 24 hour manic expressing in hospital). If you read the internet there are suggestions it stretches your baby's stomach but I cannot comment on this. I will be switching over to formula when baby goes to nursery as I will be working full time and I will not have the time to express enough unfortunately. My hope is to continue to breastfeed during the evening and through the night but it all depends on my milk supply once I am no longer feeding baby during the day.
Having been in the labour room for an extra 5 hours after birth (being stitched up and cleaned up) with limited handling of my baby, I was told upon reaching the ward that the optimum time to breastfeed a newborn is within the first 6 hours. This gave me one hour to try and get some milk into this tiny little human being I now had the pleasure of cuddling. Panic! I had been to an antinatal class for breastfeeding but it still doesn't prepare you. So much to consider!
- How do you hold the baby?
- How do you get the baby to latch on?
- How, with large breasts, can you hold baby and ensure your breast isn't going to smother the baby?
- How do I know if the baby is getting any milk?
- Am I even producing milk?
It is stressful to say the least. The midwives are on hand to help out. Leave your embarrassment at the door as you let your breasts hang out and different women come to help push that nipple into your newborn's mouth!
It's uncomfortable to begin with and, no matter what they say, it does hurt! My baby was born with a tongue-tie so she found it difficult to stay latched onto my breast. This was spotted within the first few hours but I was told to persevere and baby was referred for a tongue-tie operation.
We still couldn't get baby to latch on so, to ensure she was fed, we were given a syringe and told to hand express. My husband was given instructions on how we should do this with him taking the lead to express my nipples and suck up the colostrum (1st milk) to give to the baby. If anyone (apart from the midwives) had seen this, I would have been absolutely mortified.
As we were in hospital for a week, we had a lot of support from the various midwives and advised of 2 different positions (rugby hold and cradle hold). The advice varied from person to person so we did what felt right for us.
It eventually seemed to click into place and baby was definitely getting some milk.
Around day 3 baby started to be unsettled at night and as much as she cried and we told the midwives she was very upset and was not passing any poop, we were told she was fine and it was probably just the antibiotics. On day 4 they said they would weigh baby and then we could be discharged. Baby had dropped from 8lbs to 7lbs 2oz meaning a big weight loss and additional stay in hospital. I was told to express and feed baby every three hours for the next 24 hours and then the doctors would assess the situation. I can't tell you how heartbroken I was. Firstly, I'd been desperately hoping to go home and more importantly I felt like an absolute failure to this tiny human being. She'd clearly been starving hence the tears. Why oh why had no one helped me to realise this sooner? I did cry. I couldn't help myself.
I quickly picked myself up and began expressing every 2 or so hours to ensure a 3 hour feed. The midwives were very encouraging and tried to reassure me that I was doing a good job. 24 hours later, exhausted, baby was weighed and was back up to almost her birth weight! Whoop! I could not have been happier and we were finally discharged.
I continued to express and bottle feed at home, occasionally putting baby to the breast. We had her tongue-tie operation within a couple of weeks of leaving the hospital and straight away they told me to breastfeed baby and they supported me. She latched on well and clearly was getting some milk. I continued to mix breast and bottle until my husband returned to work. I did not have time to express milk without someone there to entertain baby so I took a leap and decided to solely breastfeed with the exception of a nighttime expressed bottle. We had a weigh in a couple of weeks later and her weight has continued to go up!
Here are my thoughts on feeding options:
- Breastfeeding ensures your baby gets those nutrients and antibodies they need.
- Breastfeeding gives you quality bonding time (skin to skin).
- Breastfeeding is quick and cheap. No formula to prepare or buy. You don't have to take a million things out with you to prepare food.
- Breastfeeding can be done discretely and there are lots of aprons etc out there is you are shy like myself. You just need baby to get used to it before venturing to public places as they may kick up a fuss.
- However, Breastfeeding is hard as you don't know what your baby is getting.
- Your nipples can get sore and cracked if your baby is not latching on properly.
- Expressing is a good way to monitor what your baby is getting and can mean they go longer between feeds.
- Expressing is painfree.. it's just a weird sensation.
- Expressing can take a while. I've been known to express anywhere from 20 mins to 2 hours.
- You can express in public but it's really not very attractive!
- Although you will have a target amount you want to express, don't share with your husband. I cannot tell you how many times he has looked at me disappointed when my milk is slow coming and it doesn't look like I'll hit the target. The words I've uttered to him in response are probably best not to be repeated!
- I personally hate the fact that my already large breasts are now enormous from breastfeeding/expressing, however, as my husband says 'people pay good money for breasts that big.'
I can't really comment on formula as I have only used a little bit of formula (to give my breast a rest after the 24 hour manic expressing in hospital). If you read the internet there are suggestions it stretches your baby's stomach but I cannot comment on this. I will be switching over to formula when baby goes to nursery as I will be working full time and I will not have the time to express enough unfortunately. My hope is to continue to breastfeed during the evening and through the night but it all depends on my milk supply once I am no longer feeding baby during the day.