Breastfeeding

Baby and breast are the perfect feeding team!

For the best nutrition, breastmilk is the best food to feed a baby. It is made specifically to meet the nutritional needs of babies. Human breastmilk changes as the baby grows to offer the best nutrients for the baby. It has over 1000 components - many of these have not been duplicated in infant formula.

Over the past 25 years, research has continued to show that breastmilk is better than infant formula. In fact, more studies are released each year showing that there are health risks to the baby and the mother when they do not breastfeed.

Infant formula should be seen as a `safety net` for babies who cannot breastfeed and not as an equal replacement.

Many common illnesses, such as colds, flu, skin infections or diarrhea, cannot be passed through breast milk. In fact, if a mother has an illness, her breast milk will contain antibodies to it that will help protect her baby from those same illnesses.

Baby and Breast- A Perfect Feeding Team

Knowing what to expect and how to deal with setbacks in breastfeeding can help ease the adjustment that you and your newborn will go through as you take on breastfeeding. Nursing comes naturally but it does take a while for the mom and baby to get in sync with one another.

How to breastfeed:

Get into a comfortable position. Whatever position is comfortable for you and for the baby is a good position to use.

Position your baby facing your nipple.

Support your breast with your free hand. Keep your fingers off your areola, which the baby needs to grasp.

Gently tickle the baby's lips with your nipple until the mouth is opened wide. Then, move your breast closer.

Don't stuff the nipple into an unwilling mouth. Let the baby take the initiative.

Make sure the baby latches on to the nipple and areola. Sucking on just the nipple will not compress the milk glands. It will also cause soreness and cracking.

If your breast is blocking your baby's nose, lightly depress the breast with your finger. Be careful not to loosen your baby's grasp of the areola.

If the baby has a strong steady rhythmic motion that is visible in the cheek, then most likely the baby is attached and sucking well.

When finished or repositioning the breast, don't yank your breast out of the baby's mouth. This will cause injury to the nipple.

Don't be tempted to skip or skimp on feedings because of pain. The less the baby eats, the worse the pain will be.

Brochure downloads:

Ten Steps to Support Parents` Choice to Breastfeed Their Baby (pdf)
101 reasons to Breastfeed Your Child (pdf)

Breastfeeding Basics

* Start as soon as possible after birth
* Be patient and calm
* Don't try to feed a screaming baby
* Ask for help when you need it

Breastfeeding is a learned skill that becomes easier over time. You are more likely to succeed with long-term breastfeeding by having a plan, becoming familiar with basic techniques, learning how to handle minor physical problems and getting help quickly when you need it.

How the Baby is Preparing for Breastfeeding

Before they are born, babies begin learning important skills that will help them breastfeed. Teaching mothers about these skills can increase their confidence in the baby`s ability to nurse at birth.

By the time a mother is 11 weeks (almost 3 months) pregnant, her baby has learned to swallow. Babies swallow amniotic fluid in the uterus.
By the time a mother is 24 weeks (6 months) pregnant, her baby has learned to suck. Babies spend a lot of time with their hands close to their mouth before birth. Babies are often seen sucking on their thumb, fingers or hands during an ultrasound exam.
By the time a mother is 32 weeks (8 months) pregnant, her baby has learned to root for the breast. The baby will turn its head if touched on the cheek and open its mouth if the bottom lip is tickled. By this time the baby can also suck and swallow in a coordinated way.
By the time a mother is 37 weeks (9 months) pregnant, her baby has learned to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing so it can do all three when breastfeeding after birth. Babies practice shallow breathing before birth using amniotic fluid.

Breastfeeding Tips

Breastfeed your baby on demand rather than setting a strict schedule, especially in the first few months.
Taking care of yourself will also help you to establish your milk supply. Eat right and get rest when you are able.
Avoid bottle-feeding your baby breast milk until breastfeeding and milk supply are well-established, which is usually about 4 to 6 weeks. This helps build your milk supply. Not using bottles also helps prevent your baby from developing nipple confusion, which is a preference for an artificial nipple over the breast.
Look for signs that your baby is getting enough milk, such as eagerness to eat and feeding sessions that last at least 15 to 25 minutes. By 6 days of age, your baby should need about 6 to 8 diaper changes, settle well after feeding and usually awaken on his or her own to feed every 1 to 3 hours. Talk to your doctor if you have any concerns.
Help clear blocked milk ducts by using warm compresses and massaging your breasts before and during feedings. Also, breastfeed more frequently and in different positions. Offer your baby the affected breast first at each feeding.
You can help relieve the pain from sore or cracked nipples with drops of expressed breast milk or lanolin creams.

The color of your breastmilk

The first milk is called `colostrum.' Colostrum is a clear, yellowish fluid. It is rich in protein, nutrients and antibodies, which protect the baby from infection. By starting to nurse the baby right after birth, the baby will benefit from the colostrum and the `mature milk` will come in sooner. Colostrum changes to `mature milk` sometime in the first 1 to 7 days.

`Mature` breastmilk may look blue in color. The milk that comes out first during a feeding (foremilk) is thinner and watery. The milk toward the end of a feeding (hindmilk) looks thicker. It is richer and higher in fat. If a woman pumps her milk, the fat (or `cream`) will separate easily and rise to the top.

Comments: Breastfeeding

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lilli1317 - 31 days ago.
Oy speaking of being sick and breastfeeding... When my son was 2 months old my husband and I BOTH got a virus of some sort. The works, throwing up, headaches. Sure he could just sleep it off but of course the baby had to eat! The problem was, nursing made me completely nauseus especially in the middle of the night. I swear it was like a mantra to myself. I had to keep telling myself over and over again if I didnt nurse I would have to pump and somehow that would have been worse. Thank God he didnt catch it! Oh and this was Thanksgiving weekend last year when my inlaws didnt tell us EVERYONE had a virus because they thought we wouldnt bring our infant son down there to visit for 3 days... nice right?

angelag3girls - 31 days ago.
felicia some of the cracking could be the weather changing so keep it up on the lanolin. With the clogged duct just nurse nurse nurse. They say to aim baby's chin toward the clog if you can. Also keep doing the heat. When I had mine I would use a heat pad about 15 min before I nursed. I also did this method when i had mestitus so if you think its headed that way it should work too. If you have a pump then once a day maybe after your LO has gone to bed use a heat pad and then see what a power pump does. Maybe it will finish unclogging that duct. Motrin helps with the pain too. If you don't think its resolving in a few more days I would go get it checked out.

felicia marie - 32 days ago.
Hi Ladies - So i've been EBF for 11 months now. Now all of a sudden I've gotten clogged ducts, sore nipples, and bleeding nipples! This feels like when I first started BFing. I've had the clogged duct for a few days now and it won't go away. There are no lumps that I can feel, but I do massage with a hot towel. I got my bleeding cracked nipples yesterday so I started with the Lanolin cream again. Why is this happening? I'm in so much pain when I BF.. Even when I'm not BF my left boob hurts.

phatbaby57 - 32 days ago.
I cover over my shoulder while I'm setting up (ie removing the nursing pad undoing my bra, getting him latched) and then I pull the cover down around my waist so he can look up and see me and I can see him. Typically I pull my shirt up to feed him so once he is latched and I have the blanket down I pull my shirt down in a way that most people wouldn't even notice what I'm doing. If I have on a shirt that exposes side boob I'll sort of wrap the blanket around in a way that will cover that area. Mostly though I meant I don't go hide in a corner somewhere or place my back to everyone. I just find a convinient, hopefully comfortable spot to feed and do it.

rose1003 - 32 days ago.
I am using the MiPump by the First Years. I love it and it works wonderful. Its the pump that came with The First Years Breastflow bottles. Those are a lifesaver as well. My baby wont use any other bottle and I wont let him use any other bottle. These ones dont leak. The pump was only like $80 too so it was very affordable. I love it!!!

gladek - 32 days ago.
I never use a cover up, and I doubt most people realize what I am doing. I've never given my son a bottle, he has had to have to many of those as it is from daddy while I worked (he drinks from a regular cup now when not nursing). And I just can't see giving him bm from a bottle if I am there :-) IF you are nervous, you can dress so you can easily bf without showing anything, such as wearing a nursing tank under your regular shirt, pull the edge of the shirt up and the nursing tank will cover your stomach. Now that he is older, we don't bf in public as often simply because he doesn't nurse that often anymore, but I've been know to nurse him anywhere.

PGFirstTimer - 32 days ago.
phat - do you mean not hiding as in not using a blanket to cover up? I agree, it's easier to be discrete when you don't have a blanket, but I'm not able to do it. Wish I could, but I can't. I hate the idea of anybody catching a glimpse of my BBs or stretch marks... I don't want to see somebody else's, I'm sure they don't want to see mine! :)

phatbaby57 - 32 days ago.
bri-i like confidence over defensive. I think if you just sit right down and do it as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do you get less comments. it seems when i try to hide it like i'm doing something wrong i get the most stares. so far no comments though so that's good. oh and the sick comment i think is just a lack of info. i got a cold recently and a coworker said i should go ahead and pump a couple of extra bottles b/c i might not feel like feeding baby. she was genuinely concerned for me. after i explained i'd have to either nurse or pump anyways she understood better.

megang22 - 32 days ago.
Hi ladies - I have EvenFlo pumps and up until recently they've been great. I never had to use the highest settings and was still able to pump a good amount of milk. Now, unless I use the highest setting I only pump about 1 oz. I wouldn't mind using the high settings except that it's killing my nipples. It looks like I have a hickey on each of my nipples - purplish with spots of blood under the skin. Should I get different pumps? Or what should I do?

1Byfaith - 32 days ago.
I have not received any bad comments yet. I bf around my parents and my side of the family all the time. We don't see my in laws too often so I have not had the opportunity to bf around them yet. We are going to visit them on Sunday so we will see how it goes. I have on bf'd at church. They have a 'cry room' where you can take your lo and still see and hear the service and I bf'd in there. I have seen other moms do it too. If we go to an appt or anything like that I take a bottle of bm. But I have bf'd in our truck tons of times. I can't believe that Brandon is 3 months old today. He weights 14lbs and 1oz and is 23 1/4 inches long. I am so blessed to be able to bf him. I did not even think that we could make it this far EBF. I am planning on going for a year and I am sure the comments will come. I am excited because my sil is pregnant and she is due in Dec. She is planning to bf for the first time and she has been asking a ton of questions. I am glad that I can help her and the knowledge that I have mostly comes from this forum.

Bri - 32 days ago.
Both sets of parents are so supportive of me breastfeeding. My MIL fed my husband until he was 3yrs old. My own mother fed me until was two. I didn't even have solids until I was 1. My FIL is very supportive but gets a little nervous if I feed in front of him. HAHA! I figure, my house I can feed when ever and where ever I want. At their house I do tend to head into the living room or up stairs. At my moms I feed where ever too. I have two sisters and both of them breastfed as well so their husbands are used to one of us with boobs out all the time. Between the three of us there are six kids all under the age of six, this one that's coming in a couple months makes number seven. HAHA! It's strangers that get me. Who do they think they are? People don't tend to mess with me though. I'm a little defensive and I guess put off that air. HAHA!

mskitty - 32 days ago.
I feel very lucky my family and inlaws have been very supportive. I can't beleive what people have had said to them because of BF'ing. It's natural and better for baby and mom. Geez peple sometimes!! Hardly anyone in my family BF'd and I get so happy to meet or talk to someone that's going to BF'd.

PGFirstTimer - 32 days ago.
lilli - that's definitely one of the perks - getting to take your baby out of a room where there's too much stimulation (too many people holding him/her, too much noise, whatever). Sometimes it's hard to remove my DD from a situation, but I'm really learning that the sooner I feed her, the faster my happy baby is back!

lilli1317 - 32 days ago.
OMG my inlaws were the worst!!! I refused to breastfeed in front of them so I always used feeding times as a time to just escape to another room for privacy (and a breather). Every single time I disappeared they would tell my husband that obviously I was using the breastfeeding as an excuse to keep them away from their grandchild! Ha! And while I admit it was an ultra-convenient way to getaway for a bit, it kills me that they can even turn me feeding my child to be all about them.

mskitty - 32 days ago.
I never had negative comments about BF, but I only did it in public a couple times. I'm 17wks pregnant now and I don't plan to hide out with this one. I will get a cover just to make me feel more comfortable. But I don't care where I am. I didn't let my daughter starve, I just scheduled things around her feeding times. SUch a pain!!!!!

PGFirstTimer - 32 days ago.
I told DH just last night that I need him to be more supportive of EBF in front of his family. Not that he's not supportive, but I need him to be more vocal about it. They act like BF is something weird and inconvenient, and I just know that the older she gets the tougher it's going to be. I'm sure the comments will really pick up around Christmas (still breastfeeding? she's almost 7 months now, where's the bottle?), bleh. I don't know what I'd do if a complete stranger commented!

Bri - 32 days ago.
EllasMommy23 - I'm sorry you had to go through that. You can find many reasons for why formula is not as good anywhere on the Internet. I would have told her that I wouldn't put those chemicals inside my own body let alone my childs. HAHA! I would have also told her that my child would be healthier if I DID get sick since I pass those immunties on. Plus the intelligence levels of those breastfed are much higher and you'll be sure to let your child know what his or her employee's mom said about that. HAHA! I get so sick of those who have to tell us how we feed our children. How many times do you see a mom get critized for giving a bottle...never!

lilli1317 - 32 days ago.
Thats so crazy. I know a lot of people who talk about comments they receive while breastfeeding, from complete strangers!! Luckily for me I only had to deal with the 'you're STILL breastfeeding?' from my own family. Went a year though in spite of it. It was hard not to get defensive though. I just like to tell them that my son is in daycare and to this day has never had an ear infection or anything worse than the common cold!

EllasMommy23 - 32 days ago.
I hate people who just HAVE to share their opinions on raising your kids. My baby is two months old and this lady was practically yelling at me for not introducing formula. 'Well you better hope you don't get sick!' Which was stupid of her to say because if i get sick i pass immunities on to her. I don't know, she just really annoyed me. I am going to EBF until about a year (that's the plan, anyway), and i think people should just be more accepting! Sorry to rant, but she really annoyed me.

esyogurl - 33 days ago.
I get muscle spasms in my stomach alot! I know pregnancy is not an option because my hubby is fixed. Does anyone know any OTC medications I can take for a cold? Im 65 miles away from anyplace for Sudafed....

nikkiandfred - 33 days ago.
thanks guys. you are probably right. :)

SydneeMay2009 - 33 days ago.
Nikki and fred-I had those sensations/feelings too after having my daughter, I think gladek is probably right it is gas or something, but your head kind of tells you otherwise. I heard someone call it phantom babies and that is exactly it! You are just used to be pregnant and feeling movement.

lilli1317 - 33 days ago.
I used the pump-in-style and worked it to death! Needed replacement tubing a couple of times but customer service sent it to me for free. I always used the medela bottles my son liked them the best and they were the easiest since you pumped right into them. I used the entire Medela line the whole time I was breastfeeding and loved it (freezing bags, nursing pads, etc...). BabiesRUs also runs discounts on Medela products and the line is also available at Target.

phatbaby57 - 33 days ago.
I use the Medela Instyle as well. I like it well enough. I'm just not a fan of pumping, but I have to b/c I work. I use the Medela bottles too b/c it's just easiest to pump directly into the bottle., and they're BPA free.

Suzm - 33 days ago.
I work full-time and have the Pump in Style as well. I love it. It has worked really well for me - and if you have a Burlington near you - a few times through the year they have 25% off Medela products, so I was able to get mine for a good price.