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Breastfeeding can hurt. We all know this or have heard this. It’s the one thing that can really scare mamas away or make them think they just can’t do it.
*Please note that this post is an extension of my longer post on Breastfeeding that you can read right here. I just wanted to write this short post to reiterate that you can breastfeed with minimal pain.
But it’s not so bad. In fact, the pain ends pretty quickly, only after those first few weeks.
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But there is a really simple way to avoid the pain altogether that EVERY breastfeeding mama should be aware of.
The way to avoid all that pain is { Drum Roll Please } Nipple Shields! These are really great and so are these.
Nipple shields will save you from a world of pain but only use them when you need them and in the first few weeks when the baby is trying to get that perfect latch.
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You will thank me for this later. Good Luck Mama!
Want more information on breastfeeding? As I mentioned above, I wrote a post just the other day on how to breastfeed like a pro right from the beginning. You can read it here.
This post was short and sweet and right to the point.
If you know a mama who is about to breastfeed or you think your friends would benefit from this information please share it with them. You can share it with the Pinterest Image below or with the buttons to the left of the page. Thanks so much, you’re awesome!
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Breastfeeding is so rewarding and the bond that is created between mother and infant is indescribable.
But there’s no doubt that breastfeeding isn’t easy in the beginning. It’s painful to start and if your hospital doesn’t have a good lactation expert you may be totally lost on what to do.
Most imagine that you just stick the baby on the boob and that’s all that it takes but it’s wayyy more difficult than that.
I should know, I’ve breastfed three babies, each time past two years old and I’ve experienced it all. I have loved every second of it though and I love helping other new moms learn how to do it.
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So I know a thing or two about the subject. Let’s talk about how to transition into nursing with ease.
In the beginning
When your baby is born it’s good to attempt breastfeeding right away. The baby may not know how to instinctually latch on { Contrary to popular belief } and you’ll likely have to guide her.
It’s a good idea that you research exactly how to do this so you’re confident in what you’re doing. If you don’t know and you keep trying, you’ll cause yourself a whole lot of pain and the baby will certainly sense your frustration. That will complicate the process and you want to make breastfeeding as easy and pleasurable as possible for you both.
Here’s a diagram that will give you a visual image of how to latch your baby as efficiently as possible.
Have Patience
Even if you are properly educated on how to help your sweet baby latch, she may struggle at first. Your goal should be helping her get as much of your nipple in her mouth as possible from the bottom jaw up because mama, If she just grabs at the nipple with her mouth and only manages to get a bit in, it’s gonna hurt and the soreness that comes is unreal.
Once you get a good latch going everything else will start to fall into place so this is your very first goal.
I’m not going to sugar coat it, Even with a good latch you are going to get really sore and you may even bleed. But it’s not as bad as some might have you believe.
For the first few weeks when the baby latches on it will burn pretty intensely, but the good news is that it fades after about 20 seconds and you won’t feel that pain again until the next feeding.
After a few weeks, the pain will fade completely. It’s well worth it despite the burn you feel and most mamas endure it well.
Breast shells and nipple shields will also minimize the pain you feel great so you’ll be able to concentrate on helping your babe more.
But there’s so Much More toknow…
So we’ve talked about latching and you understand the importance of this process and we’ve discussed the pain you’ll experience and how to minimize that.
Now that we’ve talked about the basics that will get you started let’s go over a few more tips.
See Nursing in action
If you can, before you have your babe watch a friend or someone else you know and ask them to demonstrate. Hopefully, they won’t be too shy to show you how.
Skin To Skin Is Always Best
Having your baby right on your skin without clothing between you two not only feels really sweet, but it helps you produce more milk and it helps the baby bond and breastfeeds better.
Avoid Pacifiers At First
Babies suck on Pacifiers in a different way then the breast. This can and will cause Nipple confusion and they’ll have trouble establishing a good latch.
Have Good Support For yourself and Your Baby
Having a good way to prop yourself up will make you much more comfortable and your back will hurt less { because holding a baby and nursing does cause your back to hurt without a good pillow! } The pillow down below is what I use and it’s amazing!
Also, a really good breastfeeding pillow like the Boppy is a great option. You can get a free nursing PIllow here with the coupon code Thislittlenest22 as I stated above but their pillows are smallish. If you’re willing to spend a little, Boppy’s are the best!
Avoid Formula At First
If you offer Formula right away it will definitely affect your milk supply. Just don’t do it. Continue to try breastfeeding even if it gets really frustrating. You’ll get it, just be patient.
Don’t Give up!
Yes, it hurts and it can be frustrating if it doesn’t seem to come naturally to you both, but it’s so very worth it. Plus the convenience of not having to fix bottles all night is awesome. You’ll be glad you were persistent!
In fact, breastfeeding makes those first few months that much easier and that’s a really good thing.
Pumping When You Get Home
Using a breast pump like this one right here will help keep your milk supply up really well. It will also relieve engorgement when your breasts get flooded with milk. Be sure to get an electric one because the manual ones are pretty tedious and you’ll be sitting around all day trying to pump. Let’s face it, You haven’ got time for that!
You can freeze your breast milk with these breastmilk freezer bags and use it later when you do introduce the bottle to your baby. Then maybe dad can have a go at holding the baby and feeding her.
So this is pretty much all the things you need to think about when Breastfeeding. I hope it helps, and feel free to contact me or leave a comment below if you have any questions!
I would love it if you would share this post with your friends to help spread breastfeeding awareness and maybe help a new mama out. You can share with the buttons to the left or the Pinterest image below the video. Thanks so much!
I also wanted to add this video from The Yellow Nursery. It is an older Youtube video but I think it’s really helpful. Watching the process can be really helpful.
Hey, I’m Toni and I’m the mama of 3 Little Birds. I love Writing about all Things Mama. Learn more about me here. Grab a Tea or Coffee and come see what you find.
