| your
baby close while breastfeeding stimulates your production
of hormones for making milk. A pump is a simple vacuum and
cannot empty the breast in the same way. Don’t use
the pump to ‘check how much milk I’m making’
– you will not receive an accurate measurement. Your
baby will remove the amount of milk he needs at each feed,
which differs according to his appetite. For those first
few weeks, rely on your baby’s ability to set the
amount of milk he needs. Breastmilk is produced in accordance
with the ‘supply and demand’ principle which
means that the amount of milk the baby removes will be replaced
in your breasts naturally for future feeds.
Pacifiers
The breast is soft and rounded and maintains the natural
rounded shape of an infant’s palate. Long term use
of pacifiers and bottle nipples, which are harder and shorter
in length than an extended breast nipple, can alter the
shape of the baby’s palate into an ‘arch’
shape. This arch shaped palate can cause misalignment of
teeth as they develop and grow. The natural rounded formation
of the palate also allows for a healthier airway. Babies
sleep better with this naturally formed palate and when
babies sleep well, they are healthier because good quality
sleep allows the body to fight off infection and sickness.
Anecdotally, many mothers complain that once they have started
offering the pacifier to their babies, it is often difficult
to get rid of them.
Pillows
Feel comfortable breastfeeding anywhere, anytime. Hauling
a commercial breastfeeding pillow around with you when visiting
family or friends can be an annoyance. When breastfeeding,
make yourself comfortable in a supportive chair and if you
feel that you need further support for your wrist or forearm,
use a pillow from your bed, a toss cushion from your chair,
or a rolled up baby blanket. This way, when not at home,
you aren’t relying on a certain piece of equipment
.Be creative! If you prefer to use a nursing pillow, make
sure it doesn’t cause you to alter the latch. It may
be too thick which will affect how you latch the baby effectively
or too thin which may cause you to bend over and produce
back ache.
Formula
If a baby is latching on well and removing milk efficiently,
there is no need to use formula. If you find that your baby
is still hungry after a feed and won’t settle, seek
some help. ‘Topping up’ with formula will further
decrease your milk supply.
Bottles
Sometimes, family members, in wanting to help, will offer
to bottle feed the baby to give you a break. Not having
the baby at the breast may affect your milk supply because
the nipple stimulation from a breastfeeding baby produces
hormones for making milk; pumping and bottle feeding don’t.
As mentioned before, the use of bottle nipples can alter
the shape of the baby’s palate. Family and friends
can help you by doing household chores, grocery shopping
etc. leaving you precious time to be with your baby. It
is best to avoid bottles all together for at least the first
six weeks of baby’s life or until breast feeding is
well established.
Nipple Creams and Lotions
Breastfeeding should not hurt. You may feel a slight discomfort
at the start of the feed for those first few nursing sessions
as this is a new experience for your body. In that case,
express a little breastmilk and apply to both nipples after
each feed. If you experience pain or soreness that continues
throughout every feed contact your lactation consultant,
public health nurse or health care provider.
Clocks and Timers
Your baby doesn’t know the time…He will wake
to let you know when he is hungry. It is important that
you recognize those early feeding cues such as smacking
of the lips, mouth open and rooting, hands to face and respond
to those cues. Crying is a late feeding cue. Put him straight
to the breast, you can change his diaper after the feed
( chances are he will fill his diaper during the feed anyway
and you can save yourself some money!) and watch for the
long pauses in the chin that indicate a mouthful of milk.
While at the breast you will notice a series of short sucking
movements of the chin ( non-nutritive sucking) and longer
pauses in the chin ( mouthfuls of milk). At the beginning
of the feed you will observe both, mostly drinking. Closer
to the end of the feed, you will see that there is an increase
in the amount of ‘sucking’ as opposed to drinking.
This is when you will use compressions to change the sucking
into drinks ( see notes on compressions in How to Breastfeed).
Once the compressions aren’t working and you aren’t
seeing many drinks, change sides and repeat. There is no
suggested time for this to take place but if you find that
the baby is falling asleep quickly and the feed is taking
over an hour, seek help from your lactation consultant.
[top]
|
