What is the ONE bit of breastfeeding advice anyone gave you that REALLY helped

Advice isn’t always wanted or asked for but sometimes a little helpful gem comes through. These are the best bits of breastfeeding advice that readers of the  Lactivist Facebook page have had. If you can add any please leave a comment below the post.

• ‎”It’s normal.”
• How small baby’s tummies are
• If feel like you have failed then try try again ! Don’t give up it really does get easier .
• Plenty of cream on your nipples !
• To take it a day at a time… worked for me for 21 months
• Lots and lots of nursing, especially in the early days, is completely normal.
• Trust in your body to nourish your baby. YOU CAN DO IT!
• you don’t need to pay attention to advice you haven’t asked for.
• When expressing, if you have a lot of milk, express for 10 minutes each side or only as much as the baby will take to avoid sending your body the message you need to increase the supply.
• Keep your fluids up, drink plenty of water. If you become dehydrated your milk supply could go down.
• That it does get easier and there will be a time when baby isn’t permanently attached to your breast
• ‎’Well done you’re doing an amazing job!’ not advice but kept me going through mastitis then thrush thank god for breast feeding councillors and support groups!

• To take every day as it comes by setting small achievable goals. Rather that stating you’ll feed for two years…which, at difficult times can seem a lifetime away…. I found saying to myself. “One more day” or “till Friday and if I’m still stuggling I’ll rethink” but each time I got to the next day or that “friday” I will have sorted my issue and be enjoying breastfeeding again. Rather than think “i can’t go on like this till she’s two, so I may as well stop now”. I did feed her till just over two, and now I’m 13 weeks into feeding new baby and we are doing fab, despite T needing to be tube fed for her first 5days in NICU x
• That its normal to have latching problems when your milk first comes in, as your breasts are engorged. And just to keep persevering as it doesn’t mean baby doesn’t “want” to latch
• you grew a whole baby, trust that you can nourish it too. and get all your stuff tv remote, phone, drink, snack, sign on the door that says naff off or walk straight in if I love you, your book, laptop, blanket and cushions sorted before you sit down for a big old feed and HAVE A WEE first too
• Get through the first 6 weeks and see how far you have come.
• keep a sense of humour! Also setting small and acheivable targets… “i’ll just get through this day then see how i feel”
• Get Support Before you have baby…

• Don’t look at the clock, who cares if it’s only half hr since last feed!
• if you’re having trouble, speak to a bfc before you do anything. she’s the expert and has probably had experience of it herself. Other health professionals are not always trained in proper bf techniques so they could be giving you bad advice.
• Relax and say no to visitors (some anyway, allow close family that will help and/or bring food!) Give you and baby time to concentrate on learning together.
• If a healthy baby is pink, peeing, pooping then getting them weighed regularly is not needed. Weighing too often can cause worry where none is needed.
• Best advice ever. If someone asks when is baby due a feed I always say “when she’s hungry”. I never know what time the last feed was! X
• ‎’A mother with a newborn baby should not be expected to do anything other than nursing, resting and eating for the first 6 weeks.’ This advice was given on a breastfeeding info evening for expecting mothers and fathers and my husband really took it to heart. With my first child it was very necessary, with my second it was much easier in spite of the toddler in the house.

• Enjoy the time you spend feeding your LO as it is so short lived in the grand scheme of life. Make nursing times time for you too…. (I’ve read countless books and even started studying whilst breastfeeding )
• It’s normal for them to feed alot! You do not make them wait 4 hours between feeds, if they are crying they are probably hungry even if they have fed an hour before!
• When your baby wakes up to feed in the night it’s just because she can’t wait till morning to let you know how much she loves you ♥
• La Leche League especially if you are having trouble and desperate.
• Don’t buy formula as a back up ! It’s too easy to grab in a flap !!
• In those first days when my first child was born I was worried that she wasn’t getting enough breastmilk a lovely bf counsellor told me although you can’t see how much breastmilk has gone in you can see how much wee and poop comes out!
• make sure if you have other little ones before you settle down to bf make sure they have a drink and or snack so then when your hands are full they don’t start complaining x Also keep at it. It is hard but you can do it!
• Tiny babies are not meant to sleep thru the night so don’t expect them to! oh and you don’t have loads of milk in the first few days of babies life (as it takes time to “come in”), don’t take lack of to mean can’t..
• Never give up on a bad day xx
• take it one day at a time

• Do the ‘hamburger’ … nipple to nose.
• Stop watching the clock while your breastfeeding!
• It won’t hurt forever, don’t give up at the first hurdle or slow weight gain doesn’t mean the baby isn’t getting enough as long as there’s plenty of wet an pooy nappies
• I went to a breastfeeding talk at the hospital before I had bub no.1. The lactation consultant said “if it hurts, the position is wrong.. It’s not supposed to hurt” so in the early days I kept adjusting till it was comfortable. It sounds daft now, but I know so many women who have put up with weeks of agony because they thought it was normal for it to hurt.
• Oh! And get yourself a drink and a magazine before you sit down!
• Even If the only thing you do for the first three months of your baby’s life is breastfeed them, no housework, no leaving the house no anything, then you’re still doing the best job as a mother.
• take the time breastfeeding your baby as a time out to your day, its mothers natures way of giving you a break and stopping you from getting so busy.

• tummy to mummy, nipple to nose, mouth open wide and on quickly you go!

• it gets better.
• Newborn babies can nurse for hours at a time – this doesn’t mean it’s ‘not working’ or they aren’t getting what they need, a midwife told me it’s babies way of “putting in their order” for milk so that your body produces the right amount for them. This kept me going in the days after giving birth as I hadn’t realised when people said new babies can feed all the time, they really meant ALL the time!
• Mine was to lie down to BF, especially during the night, it helped us sleep and get through the early weeks/months.x
• Being shown a simple tweak of nipple position improved latch etc no end! And that its unlikely to genuinely have “no milk”. That covered a lot of bases!
• Sit up straight and don’t constantly stare downf at your baby! Your neck and back will thank you.
• Immediate skin to skin and lots of it!
• To find the LLL while being pregnant and get all the info beforehand. Reading the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding BEFORE baby comes.

• Breasts are bad for business. Your body wont let you down (our species would be extinct if that were true) but society and it’s lack of support and ‘normalisation’ of feeding in public will. I think mine is be aware of the power and influence of formula companies… as few people invest in breastfeeding promotion as noone can benefit- except for the voiceless babies being denied their birthright…
• Let baby go on by herself, be patient and relax! Babies know how to breastfeed and will do it better if just held in a good position and left to it. And hide the clock, esp at night!
• Relax. Don’t obsess over the smallest things, don’t stare at the clock, trust your body will do it’s thing.
• If you have a sleepy baby (and this isn’t necessarily due to your birth choices) then keep persevering, and make sure people are helping you, as a sleepy baby may not want to nurse, but s/he does need to. And s/he WILL get it, and so will you. You can do this.
• Nose to nipple, baby to boob!
• Rub a bit of milk over your nipple after every feed and let them air dry. Learn to feed lying down.
• Not strictly for breastfeeding but the best advice I was ever given (regarding parenting was “If it’s not a problem for you, it’s not a problem.” I STILL follow that advice!
• You have to take it one feeding at a time.
• Feeding in different positions. Sounds daft but I don’t think it would have occurred to my sleep deprived mind to try feeding lying down in those early days if no-one had suggested it to me?!

• Don’t be afraid to keep asking for help as many times as you need to, and don’t use soap or shower gel on your boobies whilst they are sore, just shower with water.
• Cluster feeding is NORMAL (despite what everyone else might be telling you!). Grab a drink, snack, remote control and lots of cushions, relax and go with it. Also, have the confidence to trust your instincts, even if you’re a first time mum and everyone is offering you advice.
• From my gp ‘look after yourself, think of the cows, all they do is lay about and eat and they have loads of milk’; easier said than done but i still remind myself of it.
• My hero a slightly chavy young girl, i asked her just after having my first daughter how she felt about feeding in public: ‘if shes hungry shes hungry, if im walking round asda and she needs a feed i stick her on; f*** em!’ Xx
• a baby cant cry if its latched on!! if it makes a noise, feed it!!
• Don’t buy any formula. It’s too easy to give in in the middle of the night.
• just keep trying. it’s not easy, but after the first month or so, you become a pro and can do it while sweeping the floor! also – if you have trouble in the beginning, see a lactation consultant in the hospital within the first couple of days… the sooner the better. AND breast shields. they are life savers.
• Don’t quit on your worst day.

This post is part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt 2012.

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