Breastfeeding can be a challenge to some while others gracefully succeed through the entire journey. I myself was one of the ones to struggle with breastfeeding with my first son. Having to learn a lot through the entire thing was such an accomplishment now that I look back at my own journey. Here I will share some useful information that I wished I knew while breastfeeding my kids. Look at this as your personal breastfeeding 101 guide answering all your breastfeeding related questions.
So where do you begin?
Once you have given birth and you and the baby have been cleaned and completed all necessary procedures that are needed after labor and delivery now would be the perfect time to start practicing your latching with the baby. An interesting fact; when it comes to newborns is that they are ready to start their suckling reflexes within the first two hours of being born.
This is the time that you should start trying get your baby to latch on. Within your first couple of hours after labor I am pretty sure a lactation specialist should visit you and the baby to check in and try to assist with your first round of breastfeeding. She will show you the proper way to hold the baby while breastfeeding and how to get them to properly latch on to your nipple.
If you have any questions or concerns when it comes to breastfeeding that is the time to speak up, she will get you all the necessary information to be successful in your journey. Also remember that you can always pin this post to come back and read it again so that you always have access your personal breastfeeding 101 guide.
What you need when starting?
For starters I would only suggest just a few items when you decide that breastfeeding is your way to go.
- Breast pump
A breast pump for when you are either not with your baby and need to release your milk or when your baby is not ready to nurse and you need to pump.
- Nursing pillow
A nursing pillow allows you to lay your baby on while nursing. I think that it is more comfortable to have a nursing pillow rather than using a regular pillow or rolled up blankets.
- Milk storage bags
Milk storage bags are another item that would be a must to store your pumped milk and freeze the bags for future use. I will go more in depth about storing your milk in another post.
- Breast Therapy Packs
Now when it comes to your nipples you may want to purchase these handy breast cooling/warm packs to sooth your sore and/or engorged breast.
- Nipple Cream
Nipple cream will help with your sore and cracked nipples. This tends to happen when the baby is latching incorrectly.
Getting a breast pump through your insurance
Did you know that if you have insurance that you can request/order a breast pump through your insurance? You read that correctly. You can choose from a variety of breast pumps and have it delivered straight to your door. This is great news especially for those who want to try it out but not sure if they will stick to it and don’t want to pay out of pocket. I mean you are already paying for insurance you minus well use the benefits. Right?!
According to the government health care site https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/breast-feeding-benefits/ every health insurance company must cover the cost of a breast pump. The only exceptions that you may run into is if they only cover manual or electric pumps. All you have to do is call your insurance company and ask if they can give you the list of companies that will process and deliver your breast pump request.
Latching
Latching can be a hurdle for many but it doesn’t have to be. You may have even heard someone that you know actually gave up on breastfeeding because it was either too painful or the baby didn’t want to latch on correctly and sent the wrong message to the mom who figured the baby just didn’t like breastfeeding. I will not tell you that it will be all perfect because it won’t be. Not at least for first time moms.
If you have ever heard of practice makes perfect it was for good reasoning. Latching takes practice and you and the baby have to work together to get the right form. My first lactation specialist advised that you want to rub your nipple across your baby’s mouth to get them to open their mouth wide enough to properly latch onto the nipple. When I first tried it and my baby mouth was barely open all that got sucked in so to speak was my nipple which in return led to a painful cracked bleeding nipple. This was because I would tend to forget to make sure that the baby mouth was wide open before letting them nurse.
Once you have gotten your baby to open wide enough for the full nipple you want to push your breast quickly into the mouth. You don’t want the baby to latch down too quick and you didn’t get it all in for feeding. You don’t want the painful nipples.
Look out for part 2 of your personal breastfeeding 101 guide
I hope I answered lots of the questions you may have had before reading this. Be on the look out for part 2 of your personal breastfeeding 101 guide answering all breastfeeding related questions. If you would like for me to answer a question you may have related to breastfeeding comment below and I will be sure to answer it in the next part along with my other topics.