breastfeeding

i had my second baby just over a month ago and was too scared to bf my first as well, this time around thought i’d give it a try, just after she was born they put her on breast and checked everything over her latch and everything, the first week of bf not going to lie was HELL your nipples are still trying to get used to it and baby’s still trying to figure out how to latch properly it does hurt, silver nipple shields and cream will be your best friend, my girls now over a month old and EBF never had bottled breast milk( even tho i do pump to have a freezer supply incase of emergency) or formula and it’s 10000x easier now than that first week or so, i just feed her on demand which seems to be every 5 minutes🤣 but it’s so worth it getting them weighed and seeing how much they have put on purely from you feeding them alone, i’d definitely give it a try :)

My advice as a first time mom who was worried about breastfeeding is to give yourself grace. A fed baby is a happy baby so if in the beginning of your journey you need to supplement with formula until your milk comes in, that's ok! I struggled in the first 4 weeks, my son couldn't latch using the method the hospital showed us which also caused so much pain to my nipples, so I had to pump every 2-3 hours and breastfeed when I felt mentally able to try again. One night I was laying back and had my son on my breast and it was like magic! He latched and we've been breastfeeding exclusively, except for one or two bottles at night that my husband gives him so I can sleep. All this to say is, the journey isn't the same for all. Just go with the flow with your baby and know that you, your body and your baby will get a rhythm going. Trust your body. As well, pump in-between feeds. I found that helped me increase my supply faster and build a stash of needed.

I fed my daughter for 18 months and I'm a breastfeeding support worker 😊 Are you more concerned about practically how to do it or emotionally? Happy to have a zoom chat or something if you want (I'm a volunteer so this isn't touring for business or anything it's just sometimes easier to talk than type!) Personally I'd say the most important thing is to take your time and remember you and the baby are learning together. Best advice is not to express before 6 weeks as your supply is regulating and I'd avoid topping up in that time too to allow things to settle or there's risk of mastitis etc (one less thing to think about too!). Look at videos of how to get a deep latch because it shouldn't hurt to feed that would usually indicate a shallow latch. If you need face to face help you should have a la leche league nearby or ABM group. Many people offer prenatal classes on breastfeeding too 😊

thankyou all! :)

Seconding what @Bethan said. Latching shouldn't hurt, but you will probably feel some discomfort, especially when baby initially latches and first draws the nipple back and then again during a let down. For me let downs started as pins and needles and now I just get a very itchy underarm 🤣. I used the Thompson method videos on YouTube, those seemed to help a lot, as well as looking up different positions, at first the cradle hold wasn't possible for us cause of my babies size so we used the football which was much easier for us at first