Breastfeeding preparation
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My first little also had trouble latching in the beginning. I had to use the Mandela nipple shields with every feeding for the first 3 weeks before he figured it out. But I was able to exclusively breastfeed him till 6 months after. Don’t give up mama!
Lactation consultants are helpful too, but if you don’t have access to one, YouTube might have some resources.
I always say having an IBCLC at hand is PARAMOUNT. You need them. Not just an LC, an IBCLC who is knowledgeable about oral ties. A whole lot of babies with latch issues have oral ties and they get under diagnosed / misdiagnosed. I was part of that community and if you hear stories from just about anyone who had babies with tongue, lip or cheek ties, their story is that they were told by multiple pediatricians and sometimes ENTs that their babies didn’t have it when they actually had severe ties. I highly recommend learning about it. If I hadn’t, my son would have been failed completely by every medical professional, my BFing would have completely failed and his was severe so he was starving. It causes reflux and all kinds of issues. So my rec is to join the tongue tie support group on FB for your state, get recommendations for IBCLCs who are trained and able to diagnose it, and set up an appt because trust me, whether your baby has it or not, just one session with a HUGE HELP!
You’ll automatically have low production when baby can’t latch properly, doesn’t mean you actually are a low producer. Whatever milk is removed is what will be produced. Make sure you get fitted for the right flange on a pump, and if you end up having any issues, you can use medela supplementary nursing system while figuring things out (and pumping right after they nurse). It’s normal for your nipples to hurt in the beginning but breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt. I also highly recommend silverette nipple covers/shields and earth mama nipple butter. SAVED me. You deserve to do it and just know there’s so many of us out there ready to support and help!
Thank you so much girls. can I start to pump on the first day of delivery ?
Being my baby barely latched and I wanted him to get my colostrum I did pump in the hospital. Which I truly think is what helped my production.
Hey! So my first didn’t latch good at all so I ended up having to pump for 14 months for him, and I found having the right flange size for your pumps is best for less irritation to your nipples, plus what really helped my milk production when I felt like it was lowering I would take the supplements Legendairy pump princess and cash cow. Also I recommend getting some nipples cream from the hospital when you deliver which they usually will give you for free, it’s called lanoclin but if anything it’s at target and Walmart. I hope you have the breastfeeding journey you want and deserve!! 🫶🏻