How Is Breastfeeding Going For You?

• Get nipple balm asap - don't wait until you're in pain. It was my first rush order baby supply when I got home with my first! • Work on getting a *good* latch for your own good. You want that wide deep latch. Baby will eat more efficiently/faster and it will save your nipples a lot of pain and discomfort. • Don't panic when your milk comes in - you will probably be super engorged and it may even be painful, but should only last a few days. Warm showers/compresses and gentle hand expression can help alleviate the pressure. If baby is having trouble latching, try expressing some milk first, either by hand or pump. • If you have a strong letdown (either felt or baby is getting choked up), try laid-back breastfeeding. Basically just a very reclined position. • Don't invest a ton in one type of bottle until you figure out what they like. Teaching them to transition back and forth from breast to bottle is its own whole thing.

Cannot stress the last one enough.

I'm a "just enougher" so I've been struggling to keep up with baby girls cluster feeding & big appetite. My left produces drastically less than my right & so I feel my right is being over worked & I'm starting to feel it. I pump & nurse. My let down on my right side is painful, has anyone experienced this? It's not nipple pain, it's legit in my breast that hurts & sometimes the pain comes after the feeding is done. (I met with LC last week so I know our latch is good)

I'm on day 10 postpartum and still not producing enough for what baby girl wants. I've been mostly pumping and bottle feeding while I wait for my production to increase. She gets super fussy on the boob since shela hungry and it's not coming out very fast. Latch has been a work in progress. Sometimes the latch is great, other times not so much. I'm working with an LC. So grateful for her support and expertise

@Michelle Oh yeah, I definitely had one side that outperformed the other lol It's pretty normal. I had a strong letdown with my first that hurt some, I know what you mean, but it happening after feeding is a little odd. Have you tried pumping some on that side when it happens? Does it feel engorged by the next feeding?

@Janine The LC helped me a lot with latching with my first. She showed me how to use a finger to adjust her lips to like splay out a little more for a wider latch without causing her to unlatch completely. I have to do the nose/upper lip move for this guy sometimes so he'll open his mouth more or he'll just grab a shallow painful latch. It's definitely a learning curve!

My experience has been really good so far. My baby doesn’t struggle with latching and is a good eater. However we have been dealing with bad acid reflux for weeks. Was told to pace feed him so I unlatch at 10 mins but the spit up has been so difficult. We have an app today but appreciate any advice

Trying to pump and EBF caused me too much anxiety and honestly more harm than good because I’d pump after a feed but because he’s cluster feeding I wouldn’t have time to fill back up before he ate again and so it’d force even more cluster feeding. Anyway I gave up pumping unless I’m still really full after a full feed and it’s been really great since. Also babies are weird and their eating patterns and habits are weird this young, I try not to be overly concerned about his fussiness or cluster times etc as long as there’s enough output in the day he’s fine and getting plenty.

@Lyrica I had to go dairy free for my first two. My first seemed sensitive to soy too. We didn't have a lot of spit up though, it was more gas and stomach pain and weird poop and diaper rashes. I'd see if there's anything you can do as far as your diet that might affect it though. Even if you switch to formula,.I know it can be hard to find just the right one or a lot of people end up having to use a specific expensive one. And then there's the formula shortages that have happened recently that would make me anxious.

@KayLee I can't remember when I started pumping before. With my first I think I started pretty early? But I had an oversupply and was donating to family that had used a surrogate and had twins, so it was fine. With my second I didn't pump nearly as much and really hated pumping that time for some reason. This time I'm home until I decide to start looking for a new job, so I'm less concerned about it. I just wish my husband could do some night feedings to give me a break. But I worry about pumping and then he wants to cluster feed, but he could just have the pumped milk I guess. I also want to have at least a small stash for the future when we'd like to go out, or if something were to happen medically. My mom had to stop breastfeeding early because she got kidney stones and had to be hospitalized, so that's always in the back of my mind.

We are having problem latching… and need to visit LC to work on that.. meanwhile feeding baby by mostly pumping as she gets fussy when I try to breast feed her.. also she only likes my left breast and doesn’t even try on the right which make my right one tight and painful.. does anyone else have this problem? And any advice will be helpful with getting the baby to use my right breast..

@Snehal Can you pump just enough on the right to alleviate the pressure and tightness before trying to feed her on that side? I've been having that problem today (bad overnight sleep followed by an extra long sleep threw everything off) and don't have my pump set up yet so in a lot of pain at the moment. Kept nursing him on the engorged side to get it down but he kept unlatching and not feeding well, meanwhile now the other side has gotten really full too 😭 Can't find my Hakaa anywhere. So currently waiting for the pump to charge and parts to dry so I can get some relief.

@Snehal Here's some good detailed information from La Leche on positioning and getting a good latch. I used the football hold with my first and had to do laid-back nursing due to strong letdown and oversupply. The LC showed me how to adjust her lips after she was latched to get it a little deeper. Used my thumb to gently pull down on her chin to open up the bottom lip. Gently used a finger to sort of slide her top lip more into that splayed open position. https://llli.org/breastfeeding-info/positioning/