Breastfeeding: This obviously cannot be a complete treatise on. Breastfeeding. There are many books written on the subject. The Lactation Consultants obviously know more that I do. Breast milk is obviously the best for your baby, but it is not for everyone. There are many factors in breast milk that a beneficial for the baby. From the type of proteins, the fats, the antibodies, white blood cells; that help fight and prevent infection. It help the baby built up its natural bacteria in its gut. (Look up the microbiome) I will not talk about the actual technique other that to say that it is important for the baby to take the whole nipple into its mouth so that it stimulates deeper areas that stimulate milk let-down and production. One should nurse on demand which will average about every 2-3 hours. The more you nurse or pump the more milk you will make. It is important to take your prenatal vitamins, eat a good well balance diet and drink plenty of fluids. If you do not eat well your body will steal from you to still make good milk, but your body will not let you get dehydrated, so keep up the fluids especially water. If you are peeing a lot, you can be reassured that you are getting enough fluids ..... You can eat anything you want in moderation, if you want some chocolate have some chocolate, if you want spicy food have spicy food, even a glass of wine is okay. BUT if you notice something bothers the baby, then avoid it for a while. For example if you eat some chocolate, then breast feed the baby and then the baby is a beast; I would avoid chocolate for awhile ... Most babies have their days and nights mixed up, it take a while to turn it around. If the baby wants to sleep all day, wake them up after 4 hours. If s/he sleeps 6 hours during the day, s/he will be up all night feeding. Do what you need to, undress them, a quick bath, flick their feet. The La Leche League book recommends (or did) this thing called jack-knifing, but it seems too aggressive. On the other hand at the end of the day, your tiredness will decrease your milk supply, so that the baby will will want to nurse more frequently, like every hour. It can be exhausting and cause soreness. Try to hold them off for a couple of hours if you can .... If you can breast feed your baby that would be great. It is the best thing for your baby. I am all for breastfeeding. BUT I will say this, it is not for everyone. My wife successfully breastfed both of our daughters. Then my son came along and he was the worst nurser. At 3 weeks he was still jaundiced and had not reached his birth weight. She had to stop and bottle feed. It was not her fault, she had nursed two babies already successfully, it was all him. I am convinced that when a baby does not nurse well it is the babies fault. So if it does not work out, throw away the guilt, write the word GUILT on a piece of paper and symbolically throw it away. Guilt does not do anyone any good at all.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 03:39:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015