9 Excellent Tips for Breastfeeding Your Baby

We saw this on a facebook group recently and thought it was really honest and solid advice for a first time mum so asked the poster could I share it - she was delighted to share her story and tips with you too:

'Just wanted to start this post off with saying that I formula fed my first and breast fed my second for 16 months....I'm not on either side of the fence and rightly so because we're all doing our best as we see fit as new mothers!

The following however are a few things to bare in mind if you're interested in breast feeding or are in the early days where you might be finding things tough......

1. Relax - our bodies are made to feed our babies so trust yourself, your baby and your body.

2. Prepare - arm yourself with all the information you can find on breast feeding....there are some wonderful books  to help you along such as 'The Womanly Art of breastfeeding', breast feeding classes and meetings in your area. Also have a number for a lactation consultant handy along with other supportive people at hand so you've got back up.
Also there will be people who think they are being helpful that will suggest formula for every problem you face....this advice does come from a good place but prepare yourself to stand up for your choice as this will be tough.

3. Support - you will need a lot of support in those first few days and weeks....have family and friends prepared for this and if they can offer anything like helping to clean etc then take it. Tell your partner baby will need you for those first few weeks and their co operation would be welcoming.

4. Don't compare - breast feeding is completely different to bottle feeding. From the latch, to flow, to timing feeds, to the amount of time a baby will spend feeding there is no comparison...again trust our body.

5. It shouldn't hurt - apart from a little discomfort in those early days upon latch it shouldn't cause serious pain. If you find the pain unbeareable then have your latch checked, tongue tie ruled out etc. Again trust your instinct.

6. Supply and demand - in those early days and weeks your baby works super hard to build your milk supply so it will feel like they are feeding constantly but as said in no. 1 our bodies and babies work together to achieve this - it's nature. If you supplement with formula then you are limiting your supply so be aware of this....their little tummies are also tiny in those first couple of weeks so your colostrum is just perfect for them. Hang in there, those cluster feeds will pass.

7. How do I know if my baby is really getting enough? - As long as your baby is having lots of wet and dirty nappies and gaining weight then you are doing amazingly - if not again have latch etc checked.

8. Breast feeding is hard - yes it is but this is down to the way we live our lives and expectations put on mothers. The pressure on mothers to have their baby sleep through the night, get back to their pre-pregnancy figure, to prove they are superwoman by having the housework etc completed, to pretending  everything is going oh so smoothly is beyond crazy! So if you are hell bent on breast feeding screw all of the above and spend all of the time that you can skin to skin with your new little nursling....the time goes so quickly!

9. Try - even if you manage a day, a week, a month or a year every breast feed counts so give it a go you might surprise yourself!

I hope this helps one struggling mother and if there are any others with advice or encouragement to add then please share.....x'

With thanks to Rosalyn for contributing the article.