Breastfeeding isn’t as easy as: have baby, lift him/her to breast, feed. New moms and dads are often surprised by the roadblocks and challenges they encounter when learning to breastfeed. If you are researching breastfeeding or facing some difficulties now as you breastfeed, here are some tips.
Most moms try the laid-back breastfeeding position first, and this one is excellent for skin-to-skin contact. But it’s not the only way. If you’ve had a C-section or your baby isn’t latching, it’s OK to try different feeding positions. One favorite is the football or rugby hold, in which your baby is tucked underneath your armpit. Check out this post for more explanations and photos.
Some babies have no problems latching; others need quite a bit of help. If your baby falls into that latter category, do not worry! Latching is a frequent question handled by our lactation consultants. Without a proper latch, breastfeeding may be painful. Tips for latching:
Many women feel like they finally have breastfeeding figured out — and then it’s time to go back to work. Pumping feels challenging anyway and doing so in an odd space (like an office closet) won’t make it easier. If you’re going to pump at work, try it out several times at home first, so you have things figured out in a comfortable setting. A few other tips:
While breastfeeding is fantastic if you can do it for at least six months, you might also need some formula. And that’s OK. Maybe you’re back at work and just can’t pump, or maybe you’re not producing enough milk. The amount and schedule of formula feedings will differ from a breastfed baby. There are different types of formula out there, and if your baby spits up a lot, you might consider changing his/her formula type.
Don’t prepare formula in advance; it can only be kept at room temperature for an hour. If you warm the bottle, do not rewarm it. Once the baby feeds from it, discard any leftovers to prevent bacteria growth. Also note that you should avoid giving your child cow’s milk before age one, even if you are using a cow’s milk-based formula.
Women can stimulate milk production even if they have never been pregnant or had a baby. If you are adopting and want to consider breastfeeding, you can start by using a breast pump every two or three hours. It may take a few days or even weeks to produce milk, but many women find they can eventually produce enough to feed an adopted baby. There are also milk-sharing programs available, and you can learn more about both these approaches as well as others from La Leche League.
There are whole books on the subject of breastfeeding, so this is just an overview. If you need more help, please reach out to our team of lactation consultants and doctors.
