After Landon was born, while in the hospital, I felt even more helpless. Each nurse would come into our room telling me to hold baby this way (or that way) and to do this or do that to adjust his latch. Although they were only trying to help, it only left me feeling more confused. This whole breastfeeding thing wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. I felt all of the pressure with finding the right angle, the proper tilt of their head, while making sure that the baby felt comfortable and secure in my hold. The days before hospital discharge were spent absorbing tons of information from the nurses and lactation specialists- with one common goal in mind, to get “the perfect latch”. (Wait, does that even exist?)

I hope that I can make this process simplifed for you by going over “the basics” that I found during my research. Just remember, like everything, helping your baby take the breast will take patience and practice. Do not feel it is something that you need to get right away and be an expert at. We all went through it- practice makes perfect, right?

1. Get comfortable

Try to relax yourself as much as possible. Dim the lights, turn down the music and get yourself relaxed. Find a place were you feel is right for breastfeeding, whether that be in the corner of your cozy nursery sitting in your new rocking chair, set up on the couch or in your bed, wherever you feel peaceful and safe. Some moms find pillows to be a great support to them, so I encourage you to use one if this is you. There are so many breastfeeding pillows out there and a lot of moms find them to be very helpful. From my experience it is nice to be able to prop something beneath baby’s head, to give your arms a rest for the moment.

2. Holding baby

Now let’s talk about positioning. There is no ‘proper’ way to hold your baby, it really is whatever works best for you and your baby. I will be perfectly honest with you here, this took us a good three weeks to conquer. On the nights when I felt like we had a good session, I would actually take a picture from the angle, which I fed him, so that I could remember to replicate this position the next time. After a period of time we found what worked for us both.

Below are some of the common/popular positions to hold your baby in when feeding.

Side-lying: Some women prefer laying down when feeding their baby. This may help take the weight off of your body and provide some extra comfort. Use pillows to help support your own head. Lay on your side and face baby toward your breast, help to support baby’s back with your free hand. Use your free hand to help aid baby to your breast.

Football: (great option after a C-section) Hold baby to your side, with your elbow bent. With your open hand, support baby’s head and face baby towards your breast. Baby’s feet face toward your back and his/her back will rest on your forearm.

Cross-cradle: Bring baby across the front of your body – tummy to tummy. Support baby’s head with your free hand. Cradle your baby with the arm opposite the breast you’re feeding from.

Cradle: Similar to the cross-cradle, but you will support the baby with the arm on the same side of the breast you are nursing on. I like to think of this position as ‘wearing baby like a seatbelt.’ There is a diagonal line that forms when baby is feeding and laying against your belly. This is the position that works best for us.

3. Prepare for a good latch

Once you and your baby are comfortable, it is time to latch on.

• Make sure to line up baby’s nose to your nipple.
• Tilt baby’s head slightly backward.
• Make sure that baby’s mouth is wide open.
• Try cupping your breast in a U shape while you aid baby to your nipple. The key here is to keep baby’s lower jaw as far away from the nipple as possible.
• Support baby firmly behind the shoulders and back, pull his/her hips against you.

I hope that these tips will help you feel more comfortable when it comes to getting the (not so) perfect latch. Remember: just as you are learning, so is your baby. This may take some time get used to and feel natural, do not worry if you both aren’t experts right away. It will come. Do not give up. You got this!

Be sure to join us in our social media accounts and be up to date with the progress of our project!

And… Don’t forget to share your brelfies using our hashtag

#BreastfeedingWorld

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Jessica Speer

I am a first time momma to Landon and I am loving every sweet moment that passes by with him. I work full-time as a Registered Nurse, so I know how important and beneficial breastfeeding is for your baby. On my free time, I am a writer, avid photo taker and cook. As a contributor for Breastfeeding World, my goal is to encourage and inspire other new moms as they start on their own personal journeys through motherhood and breastfeeding. We are all in this together!

www.asthespeeritmovesyou.com

The post Is there such a thing as the “perfect latch?” appeared first on Breastfeeding World.

Latch On Participant

Are you a Breastfeeding or Pumping Parent with a nursling? Let us know to expect you, get a free raffle ticket and swag bag by Pre-Registering Here! Then all you have to do is join us the day of and check in!

Sponsor

Would you like to support our local Breastfeeding community while marketing your brand to our participants? Email me at ssykula@breastfeedingworld.org for more details, and Register Here

Volunteer

Everyone at Breastfeeding World volunteers our time and love because of our passion for the breastfeeding community. Are you interested in helping to make this event possible? Please email Samantha Sykula at ssykula@breastfeedingworld.org

Samantha Sykula

Born and raised in NY, I studied speech and language pathology at NYU. I am a stay at home mom to two beautiful children, Richard and Charlotte and wife to my wonderful husband, Rich. I have always had a deep love for learning, which has grown further since becoming a mother, I am always looking for new ways to enrich our lives. Becoming a mother changed my life, I learned compassion, caring and most importantly, true love. I hope to share the experiences of my breastfeeding, cloth diapering, babywearing, crocheting, full of love, life.

The post Join The Third Annual Times Square, NYC Big Latch On! appeared first on Breastfeeding World.

We produce “liquid gold”, a perfect food for our babies. But to many women, breastfeeding doesn’t just happen. In fact, it can be difficult and frustrating. From an improper latch to sore, painful nipples, there are many challenges women can face while establishing a breastfeeding relationship with her newborn. Despite how badly I wanted to breastfeed there were many days I could have just thrown in the towel and given up.

I was lucky to have a strong support system. I had an amazing lactation specialist, a husband who understood my breastfeeding goals, and mommy friends who had experience. But sometimes I think friends, family and spouses assume there’s nothing they can do to help a new mom when breastfeeding isn’t going well. They might feel helpless when a new mama is crying because her baby won’t latch, or breastfeeding is painful. But actually, friends and family play a pivotal role in a mother’s life! Their support can actually affect how long a mother decides to breastfeed. Here are a few ways others can help a struggling mom:

1. Help her find resources for help.

A mother with a newborn is exhausted and weary. She may have forgotten tips and tricks she learned from friends and her breastfeeding class. Help her schedule an appointment with a lactation specialist, and offer to watch her other children while she goes to her appointment. Find her local La Leche League on Facebook so she can attend meet ups or talk with other breastfeeding mamas from the comfort of her own home. Facebook is especially useful for those late nights when she is the only one awake in the house, but wants to reach out to other moms that understand. Encourage her to seek help from trained professionals and other experienced women.

2. Be her cheerleader.

Remind her of what a great job she’s doing. Tell her what a wonderful mommy she is. Breastfeeding is a very personal experience, and women can feel less-than-adequate when they have difficulty. We are told what a “natural” process it is, so when it doesn’t come “naturally” it can feel like a failure! The first few weeks are hard and can feel very lonely. Offer words of encouragement so she feels loved and supported during this difficult time.

3. Bring her snacks and water.

It’s easy to forget to keep yourself fed and hydrated when you are caring for a newborn around the clock. It’s even harder when you have additional children to care for. Simple, easy-to-make snacks are essential to mothers with newborns. Nursing moms need water to produce milk, and they need to increase their calories consumed to compensate for those burned while breastfeeding!

4. Offer to do other chores around the house.

Breastfeeding is a full-time job in itself, so other household chores feel like huge obstacles to a new mom. Fold the laundry that has been in the dryer for two days, walk the dog and clean the litter box, run the dishwasher, pick up other children’s toys. Anything to make her life easier. Breastfed newborns feed every 2-3 hours, so mama should be able to rest while baby is napping.

5. Listen.

Sometimes a mom doesn’t want advice, she just wants someone to listen. Let her cry, yell and vent when she is frustrated. Hug her and let her know you are there for her.

What are some things that you found helpful as a breastfeeding mom? What kind of help do you wish you received?

Be sure to join us in our social media accounts to be up to date with the progress of our project!

And… Don’t forget to share your brelfies using our HT #BreastfeedingWorld 

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Gloria Brooks

I was born and raised in New Jersey, but now live in Tampa,FL with my husband David and 2 babies, Noah (2) and Cecelia (3 months). I went to the University of Florida to study special education and I’m currently an Autism teacher in Tampa. I’m currently extending my maternity leave to be home with my babies, and will return to teaching in January. Being a full time mommy right now is the most wonderful (and exhausting!) job in the world.

The post 5 Ways to Help a Breastfeeding Mom appeared first on Breastfeeding World.

But, let’s be real…many breastfeeding journeys do not start out even close to any of those things.

The first three months of my troubled breastfeeding journey were extremely hard. From a bad latch and jaundice to a full body allergic reaction, to thrush and mastitis, to sore, cracked nipples and posterior tongue tie! We saw it all.

And we made it.

Is your wife, friend, daughter/daughter-in-law, sister, etc., struggling with breastfeeding? She will definitely need your support – but here are 10 things NOT to say to her.

1. “Breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt.”

Dealing with the pain of breastfeeding is both emotionally and physically difficult. We know that it should not hurt. We sometimes feel like our bodies are letting us down or that we are letting our babies down. We understand when it hurts, something is not right. We do not need to be reminded constantly that our bodies are wrong, because they are not. Breastfeeding CAN hurt. It hurts many women for many different reasons. So, what you can say instead of “breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt” is, “I am sorry you are having such pain breastfeeding – there has got to be a reason, let’s contact a lactation consultant and get to the bottom of this so you can start feeling better!”

2. “I think maybe your nipples are too big.”

Or too small. Just stay away from commenting on mom’s nipple size, please. We are already emotionally a wreck as we are trying to perfect this special bond and we do not need to feel as if our bodies are physically wrong. No nipple of any size will stop a baby from breastfeeding! If the mother thinks her nipples are the wrong size, she can check with her pediatrician or OB about this being the problem. We are not as comfortable as we look with being constantly topless around our daily visitors in the beginning, so don’t make this any worse than it is for us! If you see a troubled mom and think the nipple is the problem what you can say instead of commenting on the size or shape of mom’s nipple is, “I believe they sell something called a nipple shield that helps the baby latch well – would you like me to run out and get you one?”

3. “What have you eaten lately? Maybe the baby doesn’t like the taste?”

Most of us breastfeeding moms are educated and informed on what to eat and not to eat while breastfeeding. Telling us our babies may not like the taste of the milk we have produced is asinine! If you are worried we are eating improperly, buy us a book on healthy eating while nursing, but please do not shame the taste of our milk. That is most likely NOT the problem baby is having and our bodies have worked very hard to produce this milk! So instead, as said, buy us a nice healthy eating or recipe book for nursing moms, or better yet – cook us a healthy meal, quietly!

4. “I think your babies mouth is too small.”

Ugh, again with the size and shapes but this time of our babies! No, just do not! Do not tell us that our perfect little angel may have the wrong size mouth to breastfeed. If you are not educated on this matter – refrain from commenting on this altogether, but what you could say instead is, “Some babies have tongue tie or posterior tongue tie, which doesn’t allow their tongue to move as freely as it should while feeding. Have you asked your pediatrician to check for this or contacted a lactation consultant?”

5. “If you think it hurts now, wait ’til they get some teeth!”

NEVER! We as troubled nursers are already terrified that it will never get better, like they all say it does. Most of us may even be crying everyday and constantly on the verge of giving up. So please, do not discourage us further. If you have breastfed before and you know it gets better (because it really does!) you can tell us that for encouragement.

6. “Maybe you are not producing enough milk..”

Again, most of us are educated and informed on milk production. Our pediatricians, OB’s and lactation consultants can discuss this with us. This was one problem that I, fortunately, never had, but I did meet many moms while attending support groups who dealt with this. It is another issue that makes us feel our bodies are failing our babies, that we do not need you commenting on. If you are educated enough on the topic, what you can say is, “There are many recipes that are supposed to boost milk supply, let me bake you some lactation cookies and we will see if this helps! In the meantime, let’s call a lactation consultant and get some more ideas!”

7. “Your nipples just need to toughen up.”

This is just wrong. This suggests the mom should just wait it out and also sounds like we are going to have super hard and rough nipples which is not enthusing to us! There is most likely a problem that needs solving if there is nipple pain, and needing to “toughen up” is not it.

8. “Let me cover you up.”

Everything about nursing is uncomfortable right now. We need to watch our baby eat to try to find and fix the issue. We need to be comfortable especially in our own home and bond with our babies as much as we can while biting our tongue through the discomfort. If we are in our home, and you are a visitor, instead of saying this, you could say, “I will let you two be while you nurse…I will be in the other room, doing the dishes or folding your laundry, just holler if you want a blanket or a glass of water!”

9. “Why don’t you just pump instead?”

Genius! Because we NEVER would have thought of that! Of course we pump and for many reasons… build supply, more comfortable on nipples, baby needs milk NOW and isn’t latching… and many more. For me, it was a LIFESAVER. However, we still need to breastfeed in order for our babies (and ourselves) to properly learn. Also, our babies are way more effective in retrieving milk from our nipples then our pumps are. Oh and not to mention, if baby feeds every two hours, as most babies do in the beginning, you will have zero time to relax. I had to exclusively pump for days, sometimes a week in order to heal my nipples. My timeline went like this: Pump milk for a half hour (at least), transfer to bottle & feed baby (another half hour), burp baby and get baby to lay down, wash all pump parts and setup for next time to pump – Oh wait, it is time to pump again, already! Pumping, feeding, washing…it becomes a vicious cycle! So, instead of telling us to “just pump” you can kindly say, “I will wash and sanitize your breast pump parts in case you want a break later, they will be ready for you to use!” (Many new moms don’t know this, but, there are ways to rinse your pump parts and refrigerate them after use to save time)

10. Lastly, never, ever ask us, “Why don’t you just give your baby formula?”

Trust me, as someone who was on the verge of giving up on breastfeeding everyday for two and a half months, this is something we do not want to hear. We know that formula is out there and that it exists. We know many babies are formula fed and are just fine. We know many mothers who formula feed and we do not judge. But we want to breastfeed. We are determined and we are trying to stay encouraged. Personally, I had a free sample box of formula just 10 feet away in my cupboards the whole time, but never got to the point of using it. If and when we decide that we cannot handle the pain or troubles of breastfeeding any longer, we know where to find formula. Most of us who are in a constant battle of wondering how much longer we can go are already weighing the options of trying it. We know it is an option, we just are not ready to give up on our bodies. So, please do not even entertain the thought of formula to us, as we will make that choice on our own terms.

Did you have a rough start to breastfeeding? What were some of the things people said to you that got under your skin? Let us know!

If you are a beginner breastfeeding momma and battling with infections, bad latches, sore and cracked nipples, PPD, or anything bothering you, please reach out. Lactation consultants are amazing people, and a local breastfeeding support group will really open your eyes to how many women are dealing with the exact same issues as you.

And I promise, although I know it is very hard for you to believe at this time, it DOES get better.

Be sure to join us in our social media accounts to be up to date with the progress of our project!

And… Don’t forget to share your brelfies using our HT #BreastfeedingWorld

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Teresa Finocchio

I am a 27 year old first time mom who lives in New Jersey. I had an all natural planned homebirth with the help of water and the self-hypnosis hypnobabies method. I am currently a stay at home breastfeeding mother to my beautiful baby girl and I’ll be sharing with you all some personal experiences and covering some other interesting topics, stay tuned.

The post 10 things to NEVER say to a troubled breastfeeding momma! appeared first on Breastfeeding World.