It’s natural to feel overwhelmed or that you may make your baby sick too.

And you know what Mama it’s ok to have a good cry about it. Grab those tissues and let it all out.

When you’re feeling run down your head is all over the place and breastfeeding your baby on top is a lot to cope with.

Can a Sick Mom Breastfeed her baby?

The great news is that in most cases breastfeeding will be beneficial for both you and your baby when you’re sick.

Your body will actively make antibodies to protect your baby. These will pass through your breastmilk like Mother Nature’s very own little vaccine with every feed.

The next step is for you to consider what changes you can make to your lifestyle to continue breastfeeding until you recover.

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10 Tips for Breastfeeding When Mom is Sick

1. Keep Breastfeeding

Unless you’ve been advised to stop breastfeeding due to medication or treatment, or your baby is vulnerable – Keep on breastfeeding.

The truth is that your baby has most likely been exposed to anything contagious for 1-2 days before you started to show symptoms.

When you’re sick you’ll worry about your milk supply going down.

Regular feeding is the best way to prevent this. That’s why it’s so important to continue feeding as much as you can.

2. Avoid Breast Weaning

Weaning from the breast when you’re sick is not the best choice to make.

You’re probably thinking it will be easier to use formula so you don’t have to deal with feeding your baby as you recover.

Unfortunately, sudden breast weaning comes with a whole lotta issues such as:

• Fullness discomfort
• Mastitis
• Unhappy Baby

Those two complications of breast weening will make you feel so much worse without feeling sick already.

Mastitis is a pretty serious condition and can lead to hospital admissions for fluids and iv antibiotics. That could mean a lot of money spent on hospital bills and possible separation from your baby.

The third issue was your baby will likely become much more restless if you suddenly begin to wean from the breast.

Some babies do not adjust well to using bottle teats if all they are used to is your breast.

Even if your baby does take to formula consider that you might have to get up and out of bed to make up bottles or heat them up safely.

I know you’d rather be staying in bed with your breastmilk ready to go and at the right temperature.

3. Keep Baby Close

When you’re sick the best way to recover is to rest and relax with your baby.

That means gathering up all the supplies you need and stay in bed or a little nook in the house.

Focus on lots of skin to skin, cuddles and responsive feeding.

Do this will help you to release lots of oxytocin hormone which will supercharge your milk supply.

Plus studies have shown that oxytocin helps to strengthen your immune system as it blocks the stress of illness. It can also help you to get a better sleep if you’re feeling exhausted.

You’ll get to spend lots of uninterrupted time with your baby and find that they’ll be a lot calmer and easier to care for than separating yourself and mostly letting others care for them.

4. Maintain good hygiene

When you’re sick it’s always recommended you follow good hygiene to stop anything contagious passing on to others.

If you are coughing or sneezing need baby use disposable tissues and discard uses tissues into a wastebasket each time.

Try to not cough or sneeze on or near your baby, particularly their face.

Always try to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing with warm soapy water.

You can use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, however, limit this to 5 uses and then you wash your hands.

You may want to use a face mask to prevent the spread of germs, however, this isn’t necessary for most mild cold or flu-like illness.

Instead, try avoiding holding your baby close to your face or touching their nose or mouth with your hands.

5. Keep baby’s nose clear

Your baby may start to get a little snuffly if you’re ill. Their little immune system will be working overtime with your antibodies to make sure they don’t get ill.

It’s important to make sure that your baby doesn’t get totally blocked up as they need a clear nose to breastfeed.

You see, your baby breathes through their nose when they feed as their mouth should be full of boob.

As a mom, you’ll never go wrong with a nasal aspirator close to hand (this one is by far the best) for when your baby is sick.

If the thought of sucking up your babies snots grosses you out, then a good saline spray or a room humidifier (like this one) may help to ease congestion for your baby.

6. Use a silicone pump

Have you heard of a Haakaa pump?

These simple silicone pumps are amazing for quickly building a breastmilk stash with no effort.

Don’t let the word pump pout you off, they simply ‘catch’ the milk from your free breast. You literally have to suction it on and do nothing whilst you feed your baby on the other side.

Having that stash of breastmilk can come in handy for letting your partner feed your baby and give you a few hours extra rest.

7. Drink extra fluids

Whenever you’re feeling run down always go back to basics.

That means getting as much rest as possible and drinking water.

Keeping yourself hydrated when you’re ill and breastfeeding will massively help your milk supply remain high.

Dehydration will make you feel worse and will most likely lead to constipation too.

The symptoms of either of those conditions will make you feel awful.

So keep it simple and keep drinking.

8. Be medication aware

You’re probably worried about taking medication when your breastfeeding right?

Is it safe? Will It pass through your milk to your baby?

Simple pain relief such as Tylenol and ibuprofen are safe for you to take (as instructed on the pack) when you’re breastfeeding.

Also, most antibiotics are safe to take.

If your doctor prescribes any other medication remember to inform them you are breastfeeding.

There are some relief medicines you should not take (or at least discuss with your doctor) when your breastfeeding.

This includes:

• Codeine
• Decongestants
• Aspirin

The Prescriber’s Digital Reference is a great resource. You can look up the safety of any prescribed or over the counter drugs and how safe they are for breastfeeding.

9. Take your vitamins

Your appetite is one of the first things to go when you feel sick.

The thought of eating something probably turns your stomach or makes your vomit as soon as it hits your lips.

When your diet isn’t at its best taking a multivitamin is a great way to get some nutrients into your body without much passing your lips.

Your body is amazing and will provide everything it needs for your baby from your milk. However, that means it takes from your supplies to give to your baby.

I highly recommend these multivitamins as they are easy on your stomach when you’re feeling unwell.

10. Gather Your Support

One of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby is to take it easy.

That means lots of rest.

If the thought of leaving the household for a few days gives you the fear then it’s time to gather your support.

That means asking your partner to do jobs that you usually would. Or even asking friends to bring around a cooked dish one night.

Your friends and family will be happy to help do an odd job here or there to help out.

If you’re unsure of where to start, check out my guide to 15 places you can get breastfeeding support.

Final thoughts

Breastfeeding when you’re sick can be hard.

I hope these tips will help make it a little easier for you and your baby.

If you found this article helpful and think it would help other breastfeeding moms, please share.

You got this Mama.

The post 10 Tips for Breastfeeding When Mom is Sick appeared first on Stork Mama.

Just like breasts, our nipples come in all shapes and sizes.

Your nipples are designed to stick outward when touched, stimulated by your hormones, or cold. This shape makes it easy for baby to latch onto your breast and start sucking.

Around 10% of women have a nipple shape which benefits from a few tricks to aid breastfeeding.

This guide is to help inform you about tips and techniques to breastfeeding with flat or inverted nipples. Knowing this advice in pregnancy can prepare you to avoid breastfeeding attachment problems.

Your confidence will skyrocket when you realize that it is possible to breastfeed with flat or inverted nipples.

There is a lot to take in, so I recommend you pin this guide to have it close by. That way you can quickly reference it when you need to.

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Flat and Inverted Nipple Breastfeeding Guide

Nipple Assessment

You can assess your nipples to discover what type of nipples you have. You may already know you have flat or inverted nipples. However, this may change during pregnancy or after birth.

I recommend first doing this in pregnancy. If you find any issues, you can prepare for breastfeeding with correction techniques.

Once your baby is born, reassess your nipples. I recommend doing this again as hormonal changes may cause your nipples to naturally protrude once your baby arrives.

The best way to assess your nipples is the pinch test.

Nipple Pinch Test

The pinch test will give you an idea of how your nipple will respond when your baby sucks during a feed.

• Expose your breast, and place your thumb and forefinger around one inch back from your nipple.
• Make sure one finger is above, and one directly below and gently press together.
• Remember to do this test on both breasts as you may get different results for each one.

When you press down, you should see one of three nipple type:  Everted, flat or inverted.

Nipple Types

Everted (Normal) Nipples

An everted nipple will look ‘normal’ and sticks out when you do the pinch test. Your nipples are the ideal shape for breastfeeding. When your nipple sticks out it is long and firm enough to reach the roof of your baby’s mouth and stimulate sucking.

You don’t need any nipple treatment to help you breastfeed. I recommend learning the importance of a good breastfeeding latch to prevent pain.

Flat Nipples

A flat nipple will stay completely flat, even when you do the pinch test. You probably find your nipples never stick out even when they are stimulated, or you are cold.

Flat nipples can be temporary especially soon after birth. The most common reasons for this include:

• Engorgement – When your breast is so full of milk the nipple can’t protrude. Hand expressing off a few drops should soften the breast enough to help baby latch on.
• Swelling – This is common post-delivery especially if you received IV fluids. Gentle breast massage can help encourage the fluid to move from the breasts.
• Short Nipples – Some women simply don’t have long nipples.

You will benefit from techniques in this guide to help draw your nipple outward to breastfeed.

Inverted Nipples

An inverted nipple will pull inwards when you do the pinch test. Rather than sticking out it will look like a dimple in the middle of your areola. There are three grades of an inverted nipple:

• Grade 1 – Mild inversion. Usually won’t cause issues with breastfeeding.
• Grade 2 – Moderate inversion. Manageable with a healthy term baby, may cause issues with preemies or if your baby has a poor suck.
• Grade 3 – Severe inversion. Will require lots of help an input with breastfeeding. Your doctor may suggest surgery to reverse the inversion.

It’s thought inverted nipples can be caused by variations in the breast anatomy including:

• Internal adhesions on the breast tissue
• Short lactiferous sinuses
• Thinner connective tissue

All of these cause the breast to pull inwards, or lack support to push it outwards.

It may be you whole nipple or only part that is inverted. Any type of nipple inversion will benefit from the techniques in this guide to assist breastfeeding.

Flat and Inverted Nipple Treatment

There are lots of different techniques you can use to try and draw to nipple outwards before a feed. These tricks haven’t been studied for how truly effective they are. However, women have been using them for years with success.  You may find one that works well for you or a combination of techniques.

Hoffman Technique

This technique was invented in the 1950s to help draw out the nipple.

1. Place a thumb on each side of your nipple. Start at the base of the nipple not the edge of the areola.
2. Firmly your thumbs firmly into the areola.
3. While pressing down, pull your thumbs in opposite direction from each other.
4. Repeat for 5 pulls
5. Move your thumbs into a different position on the nipple and repeat. Think of your breast as a clock and try to pull in as many different directions as possible.

In pregnancy, you should aim to do this technique around 5 times a day. I only recommend starting after 37 weeks, as nipple stimulation can cause contractions.

Once your baby is born its best to do it just before each feed to help evert the nipple.

Breast Shells

A breast shell is a clear plastic case which sits in your bra. One side has a circular hole which fits over your nipple. The other side is curved away from the ‘nipple’ side.

The idea of using a breast shell for inverted or flat nipples is to apply constant gentle pressure to the nipple. This stretches the nipple and helps it to pull outwards.

Another benefit of using breast shells is they can prevent engorgement which causes flat nipples.

In pregnancy, you can use breast shell in the last few weeks to help draw out your nipples.

Once your baby is born, you can use breast shells for around 30 minutes before a feed. Any longer than this can be uncomfortable.

The Medela Soft Shells are ideal, but you can check out our reviews of the best breast shells here.

Breast Pump

If you have a breast pump, it can be used to resolve your flat or inverted nipples. The strong and rhythmic suction of the pump can help to draw the nipple out.

Make sure you have a strong vacuum between the flange and the breast. You can do this by making your breast slightly moist with water or cream before you pump.

A breast pump can soften your breasts and make it easier for baby to attach well to the breast.

If you have no intention to express milk for your baby, you can pick up a manual breast pump for fairly cheap.

Nipple Everter

You can buy a small device called a nipple everter to pull your nipple out. It works by cupping a small tube shape over your nipple and squeezing a soft bulb. The Lansinoh Latch assist is cheap and easy to use.

You can also make your own everter device with a disposable syringe. A 10ml syringe is suitable for most moms. However, a 20ml can be used if you have large nipples.

This is how it’s done

• Completely remove the plunger from the syringe
• Carefully cut off the nozzle end of the syringe, so you are left with a long hollow tube
• Insert the plunger into to newly cut end

Push the piston in fully and place the smooth open end over your nipple. Gently and slowly pull the pull the piston back over 30-60 seconds. The pressure should pull your nipple outward with the piston.

Pregnancy Preparation for Inverted and Flat Nipples

The most important thing to remember is that flat or inverted nipples are not a problem for breastfeeding. They are simply a variation which you can work around, and still a great breastfeeding relationship.  This advice will help you to prep for breastfeeding before baby is born.

Learn to Latch

One thing breastfeeding supporters will agree on is that your baby breastfeeds and doesn’t nipple feed. This is important because your breast tissue is a big part of attaching your baby to your breast. If this is done properly most flat or inverted nipples will be drawn out by your baby as they suck.

So the best piece of advice I can give you is to learn how to properly latch baby on. You can read our guide how to get the best latch here.

Once your baby is here, have a professional assess your baby’s attachment as soon as possible. This will prevent any problems that develop quickly from the poor attachment.

Gather Support

Breastfeeding is a huge learning process for you and your baby. You may think you know what to do, then add a squirmy crying baby into the mix and it all goes out the window.

The best way around this is by surrounding yourself with breastfeeding support. Ideally, I would recommend a professional lactation specialist. However, if you have a family member or friend who is experienced with breastfeeding problems they can also be helpful.  Ensure they are helpful, supportive and encourage you to persevere when you feel like giving up.

Learn Positions

Different breastfeeding positions can make it easier to latch baby on. Football hold, cross cradle hold are usually favorites as you have a lot of control to help your baby. Some moms find that laid-back breastfeeding helps the nipple evert better as gravity reverses the pull of the breast tissue.

Hand expression

If you suspect you may have issues latching baby on, it’s important to know how to hand express. This is because breastfeeding can become frustrating for your baby if they can’t feed. This causes your baby to cry which stresses you both out.

If you can hand express a few drops of colostrum or milk into baby’s mouth at the start of a feed, it will help to calm them. It’s also useful if your breasts are engorged causing your nipple to flatten.

Learn Feeding Cues

Once your baby is born, they will want to feed a lot. A newborn will feed between 8-12 times a day or more. That’s every 2-3 hours on average.

The reason your baby does this is to help establish your milk supply.

Feeding this often means your breast can get ‘engorged.’ This means they become so full of milk they are hard and swollen.

Your baby will give you cues that they are hungry and want to feed. Learning these feeding cues early will keep your baby satisfied and prevent engorgement.

Your milk supply will regulate itself quickly, and you’ll prevent sore breasts. It’s a win-win for everyone.

6 Flat or Inverted Nipple Breastfeeding Tips

These tips will help you to breastfeed with your flat or inverted nipples. You can use these suggestions individually or a combination of a few to assist your baby’s attachment to your breast.

1. Use a suction device

Just before a feed use a suction device to draw the nipple out. This can be any of the techniques discussed above including

• A breast pump
• Nipple everter
• DIY syringe everter
• Hoffman technique

Any of these can help to manually pull the nipple outwards. The effects are only temporary so try baby at the breast straight away.

2. Stimulate the Nipple

If your nipples are short or only slightly inverted stimulate them before a feed. Touching or rolling them between your fingers can make them protrude.

Making your nipples cold can also make them stand out. You can use a cold face cloth or an ice compress. Using ice should be used with caution as it can slow your let-down reflex.

3. Breast Shells

Around half an hour before a feed, use a breast shell over your nipple. This should be long enough to put the nipple outwards. Once it’s removed put baby to the breast to get the most benefit from use.

4. Hand Express

Before you attach your baby to the breast try dropping a few drops of milk into their mouth. This stimulates the suck reflex and can help baby to attach better. It usually has a calming effect on your baby so they are more patience as you help them to latch on.

5. Breastfeeding hold

Using a breastfeeding hold when feeding can help your nipple evert better. The ‘nipple sandwich’ is a great way to hold the nipple to get baby to attach properly. You can read more about this technique in our guide to the perfect latch.

6. Nipple shields

As a short-term measure you may consider using a nipple shield. It’s a thin plastic device which fits over your nipple. As baby sucks, it is pulled against the plastic and positioned the nipple perfectly in your baby’s mouth. Nipple shields can cause other issues, so I suggest getting professional lactation support for further advice. You can the guide to using nipple shields here.

Common Issues with Flat or Inverted Nipples

Sore Nipples

It is common for a flat or inverted nipple to hurt more when breastfeeding. You may notice this more if you have only one flat/inverted nipple and the other is everted. The most common reason is the pulling of internal adhesions as baby sucks. The good news is that this often eases over time. As baby feeds more these adhesions often stretch out and improve the inversion.

If the pain does not lessen over time, you should contact a professional to assess your baby’s attachment.

Breast Preference

You may notice that your baby prefers to feed on one side over the other. This is really common with newborns. Your baby will always take the easiest way to get milk. If it’s a little trickier for them to latch on you affected nipple they will usually prefer the everted nipple.

Make sure you try all the techniques above before attaching your baby to the rejected breast. It’s entirely ok to feed on one breast. To prevent engorgement or mastitis, you will need to express from the other side.

Get professional help as soon as possible to help you get baby to attach to both breasts.

Slow weight gain

If your baby is losing weight or slowly gaining, it’s important to get a professional check your attachment. Poor weight gain means your baby is not getting enough milk during a feed.

If you have a good milk supply the most likely cause is the poor attachment. A good lactation expert will be able to help you with this. They may suggest using supplementation, so be prepared to express milk or using formula top ups.

If you are using nipple shields, you should stop. The lack of sucking directly on the nipple is known to cause low milk supply.

The post Flat Or Inverted Nipple Breastfeeding Guide appeared first on Stork Mama.

A cesarean delivery will not stop you from breastfeeding your baby. However, your post-surgery recovery can make things a little more challenging. We’ve written this guide for you to discover what you need to know about getting breastfeeding off to a great start after your cesarean.

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Guide to Breastfeeding after A C-Section

The Unplanned C-Section

Around 30% of babies in the USA are born by emergency c-section. A traumatic delivery can result in mixed feelings surrounding the birth of your baby. It’s not uncommon to feel disappointed, guilty, angry or upset following an unplanned c-section. You may need to come to terms with the feeling you’ve failed or been cheated out of a ‘normal’ birth.  The surgery can also trigger body issues such as feeling disfigured or unattractive due to your scar.

These negative emotions can harm breastfeeding by affecting your let down reflex. These feeling may be fleeting or have long-term effects on your mental health. It’s important to have as much skin to skin with your baby when possible. This releases the hormone oxytocin to promote bonding with baby.

You may also benefit from having a debrief of the delivery, from your doctor, whilst you are in the hospital. The ICAN is a non-profit organization which can provide you with ongoing support after your c-section.

The Planned C-Section

Knowing you are having a cesarean gives you more time to plan for the delivery and postpartum. This gives you time to gather resources and ask your care providers about their policies during your hospital stay.

Your hospital policies can have a huge impact on your breastfeeding success. Ask your care provider what their breastfeeding policies are. The gold standard is a hospital which has been accredited by the Baby Friendly Initiative. Important areas to ask about are:

• Do they use a nursery or rooming in?
• Can someone stay over to help you with the baby?
• Can the staff support you with breastfeeding?

You can make extra arrangements to support your needs. This may include paying for a private room or hiring extra carers such as a private duty nurse or a lactation consultant.

Milk Supply

Regular breastfeeding is the best way to establish your milk supply. After a cesarean, there are a few important factors to ensure a good milk supply for baby.

Delayed Mature Milk

It’s important to know that it can take longer for your milk to change from colostrum to mature milk. It usually takes around 2-3 days, however, may not happen until day 4-5 after a cesarean. This is because your body has the task of healing from surgery and making milk at the same time. It doesn’t mean you have a low milk supply. Unless there are other reasons, you do not need to supplement baby with formula milk if they are feeding regularly and passing plenty of wet and dirty diapers.

Skin to Skin

The best way to get your feeding off to a good start is by feeding baby within an hour after delivery. This usually means feeding in the recovery room. If you or baby is unwell this can be delayed. You should start feeding as soon as possible. This will signal to your body you need to make more milk. If your baby is in a neonatal unit, you should start hand expressing as soon as you can.

Nurse often

Your baby should feed around 8-12 times per day. Your breasts work as a supply and demand system. The more baby feeds, the more milk you’ll make. Feeding often sets you up for a great milk supply when your mature milk ‘comes in’.

Access to Baby

Having your baby with you at all times (rooming in) is best for you and baby. You will be able to recognize baby’s hunger cues and become more responsive to their needs. It also means you can have plenty of uninterrupted skin to skin.  Rooming in means your baby won’t receive any teats or formula supplements without you knowing.

Nursing Positions

Finding a comfortable nursing position after delivery can be difficult. Immobility, scar pain and IV drips can all cause problems. The best positions for c-sections moms are:

Lying Down – Either side lying or laid-back feeding are ideal for the first feed when you can’t move much. They are also great if you have a co-sleeper at home, as you won’t need to bend over your wound.

Football Hold – Is perfect for keeping the weight of baby off your scar. It’s also ideal for avoiding IV drips as you can use a pillow to support baby rather than your arm.

Cradle hold with Nursing Pillow – This is the perfect solution if you find it uncomfortable to feed lying down. Sitting upright on a chair may be more comfortable. The nursing pillow takes the weight of baby off your scar.

You may want to bring extra pillows or blankets to the hospital to help position you better. Don’t be afraid to ask staff for help if you are struggling. Until you are mobilizing you’ll need help lifting baby or changing their diaper. If your IV is causing problems, ask the staff if it can be removed, or re-sited to make feeding easier.

Baby

There are a few things you need to consider about your baby’s condition after a C-section.

Sleepy Baby

It’s very common for a baby to become sleepy after a C-section. They are just as exhausted as you from the birth. We highly recommend learning how to hand express your colostrum. That way if your baby is too sleepy to feed you can give them colostrum by spoon. It’s crammed full of calories to give you baby energy to wake and feed. Always put baby to the breast before you express, as they are much for efficient at emptying your breast.

Supplements

Unless there is a medical reason, your baby does not need to be given formula supplements. If they do need to be supplementing it may be possible to offer expressed milk rather than formula. Giving formula can hurt your milk supply as your breasts think you don’t need as much for your baby. Remember the more milk you remove from the breast (nursing or expressing) the more you make.

Baby in Special Care

If your baby is in NICU they usually have an open-door policy to promote breastfeeding. You’ll need to consider expressing your milk to feed baby. In the early days, you can do this by hand expressing. Once you get bigger volumes you can start to use a breast pump. Ask your hospital if they are able to provide a hospital grade pump for you to use during your stay.

Weight Loss

During your cesarean, you will receive lots of IV fluids. You should know that there is a link between fluids in labor and increased weight loss in babies. This is simply because your baby weighs heavier at delivery due to those fluids, giving an artificial birth weight. Your baby will pee and poo all this excess out over the first few days, leading to a larger than average weight loss. If feeding is going well, and your baby appears healthy and there are no signs of dehydration your doctor may be happy forgo supplements. If you do need to supplement baby with expressed milk or formula, we suggest cup feeding to prevent problems with teat confusion.

Medications

You’ll need to take a few medications for your C-section, after all, you are having major surgery. It’s important to know how these drugs may affect your breastfeeding.

Anesthetic

The type of anesthetic you receive during the caesareans may vary depending on whether it’s planned or unplanned.

Regional anesthetic – An epidural or spinal will cause a block to the lower region of your body. It wears off after a few hours. These can make baby very sleepy and may affect your let down reflex.

General Anesthetic – This will make you completely unconscious during your delivery. You will need time to recover and become conscious. Usually, breastfeeding is delayed; however, you can begin as soon as you feel ready.

Pain Relief

You will be offered pain medications after delivery. The medication you are offered will be compatible with breastfeeding. Doctors need to ensure they are safe for breastfeeding before prescribing them.  Very small volumes will be passed on to your baby during feeding; however, it is unlikely to affect them. If you are unsure of a medication, you can ask your doctor to substitute it for one you feel more comfortable with.

It’s important you take your pain relief, post-delivery. Remember you’ve had major abdominal surgery and will feel sore. Missing meds can lead to excessive pain and result in skipping feeds or poor milk supply.

Antibiotics

Having a C-section can put you at greater risk of infection after delivery. The most common causes are wound infections or a UTI from catheters.  If you need antibiotics, there is no need to separate you from your baby.  If your baby needs antibiotics, we recommend using a mitten to cover their cannula, which can get in the way during a feed. Remember that any antibiotic use can cause breast thrush, which both you and baby will need to be treated for.

Support

Gathering your support is essential when you have a cesarean, you’ll need it more than you would after a vaginal delivery.

For First Feed

You will be completely immobile from the waist down for the first few hours. Ideally, you should feed in the recovery room. This means you’ll need a lot of help from your birth partner and staff to position you and baby. Extra pillows are highly recommended at this point to provide your body with support. If your baby is in NICU you should receive assistance from staff to hand express your colostrum at the earliest opportunity.

In Hospital

The support you receive with feeding in the hospital will vary depending on where you give birth. Staff should support you; however, they will be unable to stay with you 24hrs a day. You will benefit from having your partner or helper stay with you. This may mean you have to pay extra for a private room for them to stay overnight.

At Home

We highly recommend using a co-sleeping crib when you have a C-section. They provide you with easy access to baby without having to bend over and pick your baby up. Don’t try to be superwoman, accept help from family and friends when they offer. You should also consider hiring a postpartum helper that can help out with cleaning and cooking in the first few weeks.

Self-Care

Rest

Once you are home, you’ll need plenty of rest. It’s important to rest to help you recover and for your milk supply. Set up a feeding station next to your bed. That way, you can have everything you need for feeding and diaper changes close to hand. This makes night feeds so much easier and gives you peace and privacy to feed during the daytime.

Eat Well

Eating a diet full of vitamins and nutrients will help your recovery. It will also provide baby with high-quality breast milk. If your diet is lacking, you may want to try boosting your intake with a multivitamin. Plenty of fluids will help hydrate your tissues and aid healing, whilst improving your milk supply.

The post Breastfeeding after A C-Section – New Moms Guide appeared first on Stork Mama.

• What is breastfeeding engorgement?
• What causes engorgement?
• How to prevent engorgement
• How to relieve your engorged breasts

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What is Breast Engorgement?

Engorgement is a normal part of breastfeeding which occur when your breasts are overfilled with breast milk. Think of is as natures ‘warning system’ that baby either needs to feed now or is not feeding well enough to empty your breast.

All women should experience engorgement around 3-6 days after baby is born. The changes from colostrum to mature milk causes an increase in fluids and blood supply to the breasts. This  happens whether you breast or formula feed and is usually known as your milk ‘coming in’.

After your milk comes in you may still experience engorgement in any of these situations:

• Before milk supply establishes (any time within the first 6 weeks)
• Baby isn’t feeding well (poor positioning or attachment)
• You have sore nipples
• Going too long between feeds or expressing
• Weaning from breast milk

If treated engorgement usually lasts around 12-48 hours, without treatment the feeling will subside within 7-10 days. When engorgement is resolved your breast will feel soft to touch even when full.

Breast Engorgement Symptoms

As the milk overfills in your breast with nowhere to go you will start to experience the symptoms of engorgement. It’s possible for engorgement to happen in one or both breasts. Engorgement can also occur in only the nipple or only the breast, but more commonly in both.

You’ll start to notice:

Breasts: become hard, swollen, hot, taut, shiny, redness, throbbing, painful and possibly ‘lumpy’ to the touch. If this happen in one area of the breast it’s more likely to be a blocked duct.

Nipples: appear flattened and hard to the touch, also begin to leak.

Baby: has trouble attaching as the nipple is flat.

Fever: you may have a raised temperature around 100.4°F (38°C) – not to be confused for postpartum infection.

Swollen Armpits: Lymph nodes under your arms may being to swell and tender to the touch.

What Causes Breastfeeding Engorgement?

Engorgement varies between women, and even between each child. There are four distinct pattern which you can experience engorgement.

1. Engorgement only when milk comes in a few days after birth
2. Minimal engorgement – happens rarely and is resolved within a few hours to a day
3. Peaks of engorgement – occurs regularly and can take up to a week to resolve
4. Prolonged intense engorgement – Continuous and does not resolve, can lead to more severe problems – consult with your doctor if this occurs to rule out other causes.

How often you experience engorgement will depend on a few factors:

Baby’s age: Engorgement is normal and expected around 3-6 days old as milk ‘come in’. If baby is older than this engorgement may be caused by delayed or missed feeds.

Length and frequency of feeds: Within the first 6 weeks after birth your baby should be feeding at least 8-12 times per day for around 10-30 min per feed. If baby feeds less than this the risk of engorgement increases.

Breast emptying: If you baby is not feeding effectively, they will not empty your breast during a feed. Your breasts should feel soft and empty after a feed. If they feel hard and full it’s likely you will experience engorgement by the next feed.

Compilations of Engorgement

It’s best to prevent or treat breastfeeding engorgement as quickly as possible. Complications which can occur from untreated engorgement include:

• Feeding problems or slow weight gain for baby if they are unable to attach and feed well
• Sore nipples cause by poor attachment to a flat nipple
• Mastitis (breast infection) caused by poor milk flow and pressure in the breast
• Damage to breast tissue caused by intense prolonged pressure can affect your milk supply.

How to Prevent Engorgement

Regular Feeds

It’s recommended baby is allowed to feed on demand, i.e. when they want to. This helps to establish your supply quicker. Ensure your baby is feeding at least 8 times in 24 hours and try not to go more than 2-3 hours between feeds. If baby is sleepy then wake them for a feed. Allow baby one longer stretch of 4-5 hours during the night.

No Time Limits

Its important to let you baby feed as often and as long as they want on each breast. Ensure the breast feels soft after baby has been on, before offering the other breast. Research has shown that engorgement is more common in mothers who limit baby feeding or switch breasts early during a feed.

Learn to Express

If you anticipate problems with feeding (you or baby) or any separations you should learn how to express your breast milk. There are three options: hand, manual pump or electric breast pump. It’s important to your baby’s feeding pattern as over expressing can lead to engorgement by increasing your milk supply.

Alternate Breasts

It’s important to alternate breasts with each feed or one breast will become engorged. This usually happen if you have sore nipples. If it’s too painful to feed from the sore breast, express from that side and treat the cause or the sore nipple.

Positioning and Attachment

Having a breastfeeding specialist assess your positioning and attachment during a feed can stop a lot of problem in its tracks. A baby who is attached properly should be able to empty your breast at each feed. Expressing a little milk with engorged breasts can help prude a flattened nipple and make attachment easier for baby.

Fluid Intake

It’s recommended you drink to thirst, restricting your fluid intake will not prevent engorgement occurring.

Weaning Schedule

If you are planning to wean baby from the breast its best to start slowly and reduce drops over a period of time. This will help your milk supply adjust to producing lower volumes of milk and decreasing the engorgement severity (if any) when you stop feeding. Sudden weaning can result in painful engorgement, however is unavoidable is some situations (illness or loss). We recommend using a breast pump to mimic baby’s feeding pattern. Slowly reduce the number of pumping sessions each day like a natural weaning pattern.

10 Top Tips for Breast Engorgement Relief

1. Heat Relief

To relax and stimulate your milk flow before feeding apply a warm damp face cloth over your breasts. You may also find a warm shower or immersing your breast in a bowl of tepid water can provide relief. The heat will increase your blood flow which can increase the pain so it’s best to only do this for 5-10 minutes before a feed or pump session.

2. Gentle Massage

If your breasts are not too painful to touch try massaging in gentle circular motions around the breast before feeding. The best technique is to start at the top of the breast and work your way down to the nipple, pushing the breast tissue into the chest wall. This stimulates your let down reflex and is best combined with using heat, as suggested above.

3. Empty Breasts

If baby has fed until they are full and you still feel your breasts are not soft you should need to manually remove the milk. Use a breast pump or learn to hand express, removing only enough milk to soften the breast and no more.

4. Cold Therapy

For painful and swollen breasts using a cold compress can help provide relief. Place the compress on for around 10-30 minutes in-between feeds. Its best to use heat just before a feed as the cold can inhibit your let down.

5. Supportive Bra

If you wear a bra it’s important to make sure it’s well fitting and not tight or pinching. An ill-fitting bra can lead to mastitis or blocked ducts. We recommend using a specialist breastfeeding bra which can accommodate to engorgement. A soft sleep bra without seam or clasps is recommended at night when engorgement occur more often due to longer periods between feeds.

6. Pain Relief

If the pain in frequent and you are unable to cope, speak to your doctor about prescribing some mild pain relief. Certain types of pain relief may reduce the swelling, it’s important to ensure any medication your take is compatible with breastfeeding and any other medication you are taking.

7. Cabbage Leaves

Using cabbage leaves in your bra is an old home remedy which can provide you with some when engorged. Take a large, clean cabbage leaf, remove the large vein, cut a hole in the middle for your nipple and place around your engorged breast. The leaf will wilt within 2-4 hour and should be replaced with a fresh leaf. If it works for you it should provide relief within 8 hours of first applying. Some moms recommend cooling the cabbage in the fridge first, so it provides cold relief at the same time.

8. Breast Shells

If engorgement is causing your nipples to become hard and flat, we recommend using breast shells for around 30 minutes before a feed. Breast shells can help to protrude and soften the nipple for baby to attach easier. Check out our article on the best breast shells.

9. Nipple Shields

If hand expression and breast shells have failed at protruding your nipple before a feed then you may want to try a nipple shield. This is a thin piece of plastic which cover the nipple, shaping the nipple as baby suckles. Prolonged use of breast shield can cause problems by lowering your mil supply so it’s best to keep use to a minimum and use the techniques suggested to prevent engorgement occurring.

You can read our full guide to using nipple shields here.

10. Lymphatic Drainage Therapy

Massage therapists are specially trained in this technique, which increases the lymph flow near your breasts. This technique often works very well for moms with prolonged or recurrent engorgement with no other obvious causes.

The post Breastfeeding Engorgement – How to Relieve Engorged Breasts appeared first on Stork Mama.

Even if you have sensitive breasts, using a breast pump should never hurt. If using your breast pump is causing you pain you must stop immediately.

Pain or discomfort when pumping can inhibit your let-down reflex and lead to little or no milk being expressed. It’s easy to damage the tissue around your breast or nipples and cause long-lasting damage.

We’ve uncovered the most common reason for breast pumping pain and how you can resolve it.

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Avoid Breast Pumping Pain

1. Poor Suction

Check your pump brand and model and find out the suction rate. If you can’t find this information in the manual or online, there is a way to find it out. Simply count how many times your pump sucks and releases (one cycle) in one minute.

A breast pump with a suction rate of under 30 cycles per minute can often cause sore nipples. At this rate, the pump holds the nipple in the breast shield for too long and starts to cause damage.

Read your instruction manual carefully to ensure you are using your breast pump correctly, particularly if it’s a manual pump.

2. Suction Too High

A well performing, effective breast pump will often have customized suction controls to adapt to your comfort levels. It’s easy to fall into the ‘no pain, no gain’ mindset when pumping but this is a myth.

The highest suction speed at which you feel most comfortable is the one which will yield the most milk. Start by pumping at the lowest suction level and increase until it becomes uncomfortable, then dial it back one setting. Some pumps have two control settings.

Suction Strength: This is used to describe the vacuum created by the pump and often measured in mmHg. This is the first control dial you should lower if your pump hurts.

Suction Speed: This is the number of cycles the pump does in a minute. If your pump hurts, you may want to increase this dial, as slower cycles can cause more pain. A breastfeeding baby completes around 60 cycles per minute, so it’s best to mimic this rate as closely as possible with the pump.

3. Breast Shield Fit and Size

Ensure your nipple is in the center of the breast shield tunnel and not rubbing against the side when the pump is on. The friction can cause pain and irritation in the nipple, which you will feel almost immediately.

A poor vacuum with the shield can cause rubbing of the breast or nipple. Before you begin to pump moisten the side of the breast shield with breast milk or a nipple cream to create a tight vacuum.

If you see your nipple blanching (turning white) or continues to rub against the sides while using the pump you need a larger shield size. Most breast pump brands come with a standard 24mm tunnel diameter.

However, you will find modern brands will offer different shield sizes including various larger sizes, or inserts to make the shield smaller.

Breast pump brands which have breast shield size ranges include:

• Medela (24mm, 27mm, 30mm and 36 mm)
• Ameda (21mm, 25mm, 28.5 mm, 30.5 mm, 32.5 mm, 36 mm)
• Spectra (24mm, 28mm, 32mm)

4. Assess Your Nipples

If you’ve ruled out the above recommendation or nipple pain persists, the problem may be a health issue with your breasts. Common nipple problems you should consider are:

Thrush

Nipple pain is often a symptom of thrush, a yeast infection common when breastfeeding. Other common symptoms include an itching or burning sensation in the nipple.

If you think you have thrush you and baby will need to both be treated with anti-fungal medication from your doctor.

Engorgement

If your breasts are too full before you begin to express they may start to become painful. This pain can be relieved by gently massaging your breasts and hand expressing off some milk before you begin to pump.

Mastitis

If your breast is continuously engorged, you can easily develop a breast infection known as mastitis. Common symptoms include red, painful nipples and a flu-like feeling.

If you suspect this is a problem, contact your doctor as you will need antibiotics to clear up the infection before it causes you to become septic or develop a breast abscess.

Previous Trauma

If you have had previous breast trauma in the past, this may have caused long-term effects on your nipples.

This is common mainly if you’ve been in an accident, breast surgery or a nipple piercing. You may want to discuss any of these issues with your doctor breast specialist who can advise you further.

Eczema or chapped nipples

If your nipples are already sore before using the breast pump you need to allow these time to heal. A good nipple cream can allow time for nipples to heal and soften the area before expressing.

When breastfeeding is causing you chapped nipples, you need to get a lactation specialist to check your baby’s positioning and attachment to prevent further problems.

Reynaud’s Phenomenon

If you notice your nipple turn blue or white after feeding your baby, this may be a sign of Reynaud’s.  It’s common to experience breast pain after pumping, caused by reduced blood flow to the breasts.

Basic breastfeeding aftercare is to keep your breasts as warm as possible to prevent your blood vessels from contracting.

Try not to air dry if your nipples are sore as this will cause them to become cold and increase the pain.

Try using a nipple cream which allows moist wound healing or breast shells.

Mild analgesia such as paracetamol is safe to take when breastfeeding however you may require medication for vasospasm prescribed by your doctor.

The post Avoid Breast Pumping Pain When Expressing appeared first on Stork Mama.

The right method for feeding a newborn expressed milk should be:

• Safe and suitable for baby
• Easy to use
• Affordable
• Help baby continue or learn to breastfeed

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4 Alternative Methods for Feeding a Newborn

1. Cup Feeding (or Bowl Feeding)

A small (shot sized) cup or bowl is used to introduce the breast milk to baby’s mouth. There is technique involved with this method, and you should never pour the milk into baby’s mouth like an adult drinking from a cup. The milk is tilted to the edge of the cup, and your baby will sip or lap the milk, similar to a cat drinking milk. It is important you are supervised by a professional while cup feeding until you feel confident enough, to minimize the risk of baby choking.

This a very popular method with new-born and premature babies and is well known to help continue breastfeeding. You can use cup feeding with larger volumes of milk so can be used long term.

Depending on how long you will be cup feeding a baby will decide how much you should invest in cup feeding equipment.

Medicine Cups

Small disposable medicine cups are perfect for cup feeding babies for a short time. This is what hospitals will use, as they have small measurements markings on the side to make it easier to see how much baby has taken. The cups offer enough flexibility without being soft and collapsing while your baby is drinking. These cups will need to be sterilized after each use, and although they can be washed and reused, they are cheap enough to dispose of after each feed.

Flexi Cut Cup

These cups are perfect for cup feeding babies in the long term. If you are cup feeding, you new-born due to prematurity or difficulties with sucking (cleft palate, motor disorders) check these out. They come in three sizes which will grow with your baby. The cut out allows your baby to drink upright with room for nose and cheeks, and lets you see how much is left in the cup.

2. Spoon Feeding

Using a clean, sterile spoon this method is similar to cup feeding but with smaller volumes. This method is often used when moms are not confident cup feeding baby directly from the cup. Simply pick up a small amount of milk on the tip of the spoon and slowly drop into baby’s mouth.

Spoon feeding encourages babies to stick the tongue forward like they do when breastfeeding. As the motion is similar, it helps to encourage baby to go to the breast easier than bottle feeding.

Disposable Spoons

You don’t need to purchase special spoons to spoon feed a baby. We do recommend using the disposable plastic type are flexible and can be sterilized to re-use. We recommend using a small plastic spoon which comes with baby medicine.

Medela Soft Feeder

If you want to spoon feed over a longer period check out the Medela Soft feeder. It can hold up to 80ml liquid so is suitable for long term use. The spoon-shaped tip sits at you baby’s lip for more control over the milk and fewer milk spills. It also has measurements up the side so you can see how much milk baby has had during the feed.

3. Syringe Feeding (or Dropper Feeding)

This method is intended for small volumes of milk for short-term use (3-4 days). Used in a similar style to the previous two methods, milk is introduced into baby’s mouth one drop at a time. This method can be very time consuming for parents and recommended to use short term.

Droppers use the same method but require gentle pressure from your baby’s mouth to release the milk. These methods are highly recommended for babies who have a weak suck including preemies, babies with oral or facial problems.

Oral Medical Syringe

Simple medical syringes are great for this method, make sure you use the oral type which has a slight tip of the end. These syringes can easily suck up colostrum and mature milk and give you great control over the rate. Again with measurements on the side, you can see how much baby has consumed during a feed.

Medela Haberman Feeder

These have been designed by Medela specifically for babies with special feeding needs, such as cleft palate or oral motor issues. Although it can be used by any baby, who refuses a bottle, to help them build up facial muscles to feed at the breast. You can rotate the nipple in baby’s mouth which gives you three different flow rates, depending on your baby’s needs. The plastic is nice and soft to drip feed easily.

4. Finger Feeding (Supplemental Nursing System)

This method is not recommended for casual use or as a short-term method; we recommend you explore the other feeding options first. Usually, SNS is used when your baby is premature or has great difficulty feeding.

The system itself is usually a bottle or bag with two long thin tubes. One tube is used to control airflow in the system by creating or release the vacuum. The other tube is attached to mom’s index finger and milk is released as baby sucks. You can also tape the tube to attach to the breast so that your baby is attached to the nipple, but milk is released from the SNS. This way baby mimics breastfeeding, so you nipple adjust to suckling which in turn stimulates moms milk supply.

There is a concern that using an SNS is similar to bottle feeding as your baby can become too attached to the constant steady flow of milk. It’s also the most expensive method and requires more equipment to maintain.

Medela Supplemental Nursing System

This is one of the most cost-effective SNS on the market. Its simple design will help you give baby breast milk, at the breast, while continuing to encourage baby to latch and suck. It also comes available in a cheaper ‘starter’ set which is a combination of syringe and SNS feeding. The sides are marked with volume measures to keep track of what baby is taking in. It also has a convenient lanyard to attach to your top or bra when feeding, making the system hands free for you.

Demonstration of Alternative Methods

It is advised that you regularly consult with a professional lactation adviser to ensure correct technique and progress is made with your baby. If your baby’s feeding technique is not improving over time consult with baby’s pediatrician for further advice on how to proceed.

The post Feeding a Newborn Breast Milk Without a Bottle appeared first on Stork Mama.

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Moms who express at work:

• Can continue breastfeeding for longer
• Ensure you baby still get the best nutrition
• Save money
• Take less time off with sick babies

Continuing to breastfeed and work is in the best interest of baby, mom and workplace. Check out our strategies to make pumping at work easier for you.

1. Practice makes perfect

Don’t wait until the day you return to work before running through your pump schedule for the first time. A practice run a few weeks before you start will help you iron out any problems you come across. This is particularly important if you’ve never pumped before, as it often takes a few tries to get sufficient volumes from a pump. Your first day will be stressful enough without having to worry that you aren’t getting any milk from your pump.

Tips for your practice runs:

• Swap one nursing session with an expressing session
• Let someone else feed baby from a bottle
• Get to know your breast pumps features and settings

The more you practice the easier expressing will be and the sooner baby will adapt, when it comes to your return day.

2. Request a short week

At your return to work meeting you may want to request working a half week on your return. If you work regular 9-5 a return on a Wednesday or Thursday is more manageable than a full week. If you work shifts it may be easier to start you first week with split shifts. The first few days can be overwhelming and a few days break in between can help you to adjust.

3. Choose a quality breast pump

The type of pump you buy will depend on how often you are working and therefore frequency of expressing.

Once a day approx twice a week then hand expressing or a manual pump may suffice.

Twice a day or more than 3-4 times a week you should consider an electric grade pump. A single pump will work well but a double will speed up your pumping sessions.

Working full time – you will need a double electric pump to stop your milk supply falling whilst you are away from baby. You should invest in a good quality, reliable breast pump. You can purchase or rent a hospital grade breast pumps. They are expensive but they will save your sanity of you need to pump often.

4. Remember accessories

Your test runs should highlight to you which accessories you will need for your breast pump. The most common things suggest by other moms who pump:

• Breast Pump bag – to transport discreetly
• Extra bottles – keep a stash a work in case you forget to pack
• Hands free pump bra – continue pump whilst working or even commuting.
• Shawl – to provide extra privacy an ensure your co-workers don’t accidentally see anything

It’s best to have all these organized before you return to work and not when you are at work.

5. Create a schedule

Before your maternity leave you probably had a set work routine, a usual time to wake, eat breakfast, leave etc. Now baby is hear that may need to change to accommodate other factors such as child care drop off, a nursing session before work. You will now need to factor in expressing session into your work day. If your baby usually feeds 3 times in the time you are at work, then you need to pump 3 times at work. It is part of Federal law that female employees are allowed “reasonable break time” to pump milk at work, up until your child is one year old.

A session may take around 20- 30 minutes to empty both breasts. The more practice you have with the pump and the more comfortable you become with expressing a pump session will be much quicker. You don’t need to stick rigidly to your schedule and it will change over time, but at first it give a good structure to fit everything in to your day

6. Organize a pump area

It is your employer’s responsibility to find you a suitable space to express that is not the bathroom. Although it’s not a requirement this area should be comfortable and private to ensure optimal milk flow. If you use an electric pump it should include a mains outlet as well as a chair and table. If you don’t have your own office areas some ideal areas include

• A disused office
• Conference room
• Storage areas
• Cubicle area curtained off
• Disused shower rooms
• First aid rooms

To save any awkward moments between you and colleagues remember to put a ‘please knock’ sign up if there is the possibly someone may walk in.

7. Stimulate your let down

Your let down is an involuntary reflex which is stopped by feeling stressed or uncomfortable. The stress of starting work, being away from baby and anxiety of feeling exposed when expressing can make it very difficult to relax whilst you pump at work. It’s important for you to relax whilst you pump. Some suggestions include listening to music, closing your eyes or reading a magazine. You may find that items which remind you of baby will help boost your milk output. Try a photo, small item of clothing which smells like baby, or a video clip on your phone.

8. Safe storage

If you don’t have access to a food safe refrigerator you will need to consider how you will store your expressed milk. A quick guide to storage times:

Room temperature (19-26°C, 66-78°F) for 4-6 hours (3-4hrs if the room is hot)

Cool box (15°C, 59°F) for 24 hours

Refrigerator (0-4°C, 32-39°F) for 3-8 days (ideally within 72hours)

The best solution is to store your milk in a cooler bag with an ice pack. The milk can then be placed into the fridge or freezer when you return home. Remember to label your milk with the date expressed, it can then be rotated and oldest milk used first.

9. Pump hygiene

Depending on what facilities you have at work, it may be easier to clean as you go. This will prevent you having to carry around dirty equipment and then having to do it all after a long day at work. Most works have a microwave available in a staff room. This is ideal for a quick wash of parts and using popping in steam sterilizer bags for a few minutes. This will save you so much time – and probably your sanity!

If you don’t have facilities to clean your pump at work then stock up on large zip lock bags. These will help store and separate dirty pump parts from your clean equipment as you pump through the day.

10. Hydration and nutrition

You probably already know from breastfeeding that you get extremely thirsty during a session. This applies to expressing too, so make sure you always have a bottle of water at hand when you pump. Your body is working hard to make your milk and you need to replace those calories with regular meals. If that’s not possible try healthy snacks little and often. Nibbling on fruit, cheese, nuts and wholegrain crackers whilst expressing will help give you the energy to work and express without flagging.

The post 10 Tips to Prepare for Pumping at Work appeared first on Stork Mama.

Now that you’re breastfeeding and using bottles to feed your baby, things can get tricky.

You’re now worried about this whole ‘nipple confusion’ causing problems for your breastfed baby.

I’ve created this guide to help you prevent nipple confusion. And I’ll teach you how to deal with it if it does happen.

Let’s go.

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What is Nipple Confusion?

Did you know that your baby feeds different with a breast and a bottle?

Your baby has a different suck pattern. And when you change between the two, it can confuse your baby.

If you give your baby a bottle and then they struggle to attach to the breast, this is known as ‘nipple confusion’

Another way of describing this issue is ‘bottle preference’.

What Causes Nipple Confusion

When breastfeeding your baby will press their tongue to the roof of the mouth. They pretty much use their tongue to ‘roll’ the milk out of the breast.

Now your baby can’t do much for themselves, but one thing they do know is how to suck. It’s natural to them.

It takes a lot of effort for your baby to get milk out of the breast. Your baby will use up to 40 facial muscles when breastfeeding –  that makes me tired just reading that!

However, bottles are a different ball game.

Feeding on a bottle teat takes a lot less effort for your baby.  The milk pretty much pours into their mouth, without even needing to suck.

You’re baby doesn’t have much control over the milk flow and will often overfeed.

It’s not difficult why your baby would start to prefer bottles. It’s simple. They don’t need to work so hard.

This is much more likely to happen if your baby struggles to breastfeed.

Reduce Nipple Confusion

Avoid nipples for Newborns

The best way to prevent nipple confusion is to avoid introducing a bottle or pacifier early. That means no teats for your baby before they reach 1 month old.

After a month yOur baby will have a better breastfeeding technique and your milk supply will be established.

If you do need to use a bottle, make sure you use a paced feeding technique, to mimic the rhythm of breastfeeding.

Although I’d recommend using one of the following techniques to avoid a bottle before one month.

Alternative Feeding Methods

You may be unexpectedly separated from your newborn baby, especially in the first month.

If your baby needs some sort of supplementation (expressed milk or formula), I’d recommend cup feeding rather than a bottle.

Cup feeding is easier when your baby is younger as they still take small amounts with each feed.

Check out my advice of alternative ways to feed to baby expressed breast milk.

Choosing a Teat

Having the right feeding teat can make a difference to whether your baby gets nipple confused.

You can now buy feeding teats designed to mimic the breastfeeding suction. IF anything they make your baby work to get the milk out of the bottle.

These teats give your baby more control over the milk flow. Plus they prevent your baby preferring the bottle over your breast.

Teats to AVOID

These are features you want to avoid when looking for a teat for your breastfed baby:

• Rigid
• Very wide or very narrow base
• Leak easily
• Fast flow

Read: Best Bottles For Breastfed Babies

How to Prevent Nipple Confusion

Lots of Skin to Skin

Let’s get right back to basics.  SKin to skin is amazing for breastfeeding. It will be like starting all over again. Like when your baby was a newborn.

Lots of skin to skin will help your baby smell your milk and have easy access to feed. A great way to do this is using a soft baby carrier. That way you can keep baby close and get things done.

You’ll also start to notice signs your baby wants to feed.

Learn Feeding Cues

DO you know what your baby does to show you they are hungry?

Crying is actually a late feeding cue for your baby. they’ll give you lots of clues before then that they’re hungry. Check out my advice on feeding cue here, it includes a handy diagram to refer to.

The reason pacifiers aren’t recommended is because they mask your baby’s feeding cues.

Remeber lots of skin to skin is a greats way to recognize your baby’s feeding cues.

Start your let down

When you start feeding it can take a few minutes for your milk to start flowing. That means your baby has to suck for a while without getting any milk.

Now you see why they get easily frustrated. A bottle wouldn’t do that to them!

A good way around this is to stimulate your milk flow before you put baby onto your breast. Try a little breast massage or hand expressing a few drops.

then when you put your baby tot he breast, the milk ready and waiting.

How to Deal with Nipple Confusion

If your baby is reluctant to feed for a few days, speak to a lactation expert. I’d recommend you use expressed milk to feed your baby until the issue is solved.

A breastfeeding expert will be able to inform you if the problem is in fact nipple confusion. Other breastfeeding issues such as incorrect positioning and attachment, tongue tie or engorgement may also cause your baby to reject the breast. Here are some tips to help you deal with the problem in the short term.

Fix That Latch

Make sure your baby has a good latch onto your breast. Check out my guide on a great breastfeeding latch, if you don’t know how.

My guide will show you how to do the nipple sandwich. This helps your baby get a better grip of your breast and positions the nipple in the right place.

Hand Express

If your baby is getting frustrated by not getting instant milk, hand express a few drops into their mouth. This should stimulate their suckling reflex and get the breastfeed stared.

Make sure your baby has a nice, wide mouth before they latch to your nipple.

Nipple Shield

If you are really struggling to get baby back onto the breast, you can try a nipple shield as a last resort. I don’t recommend them for long-term use as they can reduce your milk supply. However, they may be enough to coax your baby back onto the breast in the short term.

The post How to Prevent Nipple Confusion When Breastfeeding appeared first on Stork Mama.

It’s common to worry that your baby isn’t getting enough breast milk. This is especially true if you had set ideas of how long and often your baby would feed.

Your baby’s feeding pattern will be just as individual as their personality.

What’s normal for one baby is not for another.

Your milk supply is only considered to be low when you’re not producing enough breast milk to meet baby’s nutritional needs. There are general rules you should follow to ensure your baby feeding well. Use these to compare with your situation to judge whether you should seek advice about low milk supply.

If you find yourself with any concerns about the signs of low milk supply then please contact your health care provider or lactation advisor. They will be able to give you face to face assessment based on your individual situation.

Let’s discuss the 4 signs your need to watch for.

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Do You Have a Low Milk Supply?

1. How often does baby feed?

Breast milk production relies on how often and how well your breasts are being emptied. Your body produces a ‘milk stimulating’ hormone known as prolactin. When your baby suckles and empties your breast frequently, the prolactin is stimulated and makes more milk.

You’ll notice that when baby needs more milk, such as during a growth spurt, they will feed more often. It’s a simple case of supply and demand, the more baby feeds the more milk you make.

• It’s normal for a newborn to feed 8-12 times in 24 hours
• This helps your body adjust and produce enough to meet baby’s needs
• Frequent feeding in the early weeks vital to building a good milk supply

It is common for newborns to be sleepy and uninterested in feeding, particularly after a long, medicated birth. Be aware of signs of dehydration in a baby so you can alert a health care professional if you are concerned:

• Listlessness
• Lethargy
• Skin losing its resiliency (when pinched, it stays pinched looking)
• Dry mouth, dry eyes
• Weak cry
• Minimal urine output
• Fever

2. How often is baby peeing?

One of the best ways for you to quash any concerns of a low milk supply is to monitor how often your baby diapers. Keeping a diary of how often you feed and how many wet or dirty diapers you change in 24 hrs gives a good impression of how much baby is taking in.

These are the volumes you should expect to see in a 24 hour period. If your  baby does more this is good as it’s a sign they are well hydrated. If your using cloth diapers you should look for 6-8 wet diapers by day 4.

The number may differ slightly if your milk takes longer to ‘come in’. As a rule of thumb if you’re still producing colostrum 1-2 wet nappies is ok. When your milk changes to mature milk you should see at least 5-6 wet diapers per day.

At any age any baby urine should be pale or colourless and mild smelling. Contact your health care provider if your baby’s pee is consistently dark or smells offensive.

It’s not unusual for baby girls to have a small amount of blood in their diaper after birth. This is simply a pseudo menstruation and caused by moms hormones in baby’s system.

You may also notice an orange discharge, particularity in boys’ diapers. These are known as urate crystals and should clear with increased feeds. If the urates persist it may be a sign baby is not receiving enough milk to flush them out.

If you’re unsure of how ‘wet’ a diaper should be, pour 2oz (30-60ml) in a dry diaper and feel how heavy and full it is.

At around 6 weeks old the number of wet diapers should decrease again to around 4-5 wet diapers per day (5-6 is using cloth diapers). However, the diapers will feel around 2-4 times heavier as urine output increases to 4oz or more (116ml +).

3. Is the poo changing?

Meconium is the name given to the first poo your baby will do. This one may be a shock to you as it’s sticky, black and tar like.

At around 3 days old your baby’s nappy will change from black to brown/green colour. Then around day 4-5 it will change to a yellow colour, loose and almost ‘seedy’ in consistency.

The change of stool color is normal and is a good sign baby is getting enough milk. As your breast milk is a natural laxative it will help to kick start baby’s digestive system.

This diagram shows volumes you should see in a 24 hour period. All stools should be at least the size of a US Quarter (UK 10p) and should be mild smelling (not offensive).

The occasional green or tan coloured stool is normal and is mostly likely the result of your diet. This pattern will normally continue for as long as your baby is breastfeeding.

If your baby is under 6 weeks and is doing less than 3 stools per day it’s important to ensure they are still gaining weight. Reduced stools may be a sign your baby is not feeding for long enough to get the fat, calorie rich milk (hind milk).

Check with your paediatrician to ensure weight gain is within normal range for your baby.

Related: Best Lactation Tea to Supercharge Your Milk Supply

4. Is baby gaining weight?

It’s normal for all babies, whether breast or formula feed, to lose up to 10% of their birth weight within the first 5 days.

Although within the normal range it is best to monitor the milk intake breastfed baby who has lost more than 8% of their birth weight. Your baby should regain their birth weight by 10-14 days old. From this age your baby should begin to gain weight at around 5-6oz (140-170g) per week.

Check out our article for more information on weight gain for breastfed babies.

You should have regular appointments with your baby doctor to keep track of baby’s weight and ensure they are on the correct growth centile.

If you prefer to track baby’s weight at home, you can purchase some electronic baby scales. It’s recommended you use these minimally, preferably no more than fortnightly, to prevent unnecessary worry.

You can read my reviews of the best home baby scales here.

8 Common Concerns About Low Milk Supply

Low milk supply is one of the biggest misconceptions by new mothers. In fact it’s often cited as the reason mothers give up breastfeeding.

By familiarizing yourself with normal behaviour and patterns of your breastfed baby, you’ll reduce your worry.

If your baby is feeding regularly, draining the breast well, peeing, pooping and gaining weight then it is unlikely you have any issue with low milk supply.

Here are some situations you may be concerned about and why you don’t need to worry.

1. Your Baby feeds a lot

It’s normal for your breastfed baby to feed 2-3 hourly. Breast milk digests a lot quickly than formula so your baby needs to feed more often.

This is normal as it helps to maintain your milk supply, and doesn’t mean your baby is still hungry. If your baby is still unsettled between feeds or showing signs of dehydration contact a lactation advisor. They can watch you feed to ensure correct positioning and attachment.

2. Your Baby suddenly wants to feed ‘all the time’

It’s normal for your baby to have occasional growth spurts. These usually occur around 2 weeks and 6 weeks old.

During this time you will feel like you have spent your whole day with your baby attached to you. This is normal and ensures your breast increase your milk supply to met baby’s growing needs.

Growth spurt usually happen for around 3 days and then your baby will settle back into a normal routine.

3. Your Baby doesn’t feed for long

Breastfeeding is a learning curve for you and your baby.

A feed can last from 5-40 minutes. Think of it like your own eating habits. You don’t always eat a full meal whn your hungry. Or sometimes you may be thirsty.

A short feed is like a snack or qunchincing your babys thirst. A longer feed get them the calorie rich fatty milk thats mroe like a full meal. YOur baby should feed for a variety of lengths through the day.

As they get older they simply get more efficient at feeding. A decrease in feeding length is usually a sign baby is getting better at extracting the breast milk.

4. Your Baby is fussy at the breast

Up until the age of 12 weeks your breastfed baby will have at least one fussy period during the day. This is often the same time each day and quite common in the evenings.

No one really knows what causes this but it is thought to be an evolutionary trait to ensure mom tends to baby.

It’s common to be concerned that this fussiness is due to lack of milk. However placid babies are much more likely to take in less milk and lose weight.

5. Your breasts leak little (or not at all)

The amount your breasts leak is not related to how much milk you produce. Leaking is much more common in the first few weeks as your milk is over-abundant and not yet regulated to your babies needs.

Once your breast milk supply is established and regulated to your babies needs, it’s normal for leaking to slow down or cease.

6. Your breasts are always soft

The feeling of heaviness and fullness you experience in the first few weeks will go away once your milk supply establishes.

Your breast will produce just enough for baby are normally remain soft between feeds unless there has been a long period.

In fact at this stage if your breasts become full or hard it’s a sign you need to feed baby or express your milk.

7. You don’t feel a ‘let down’

It’s normal for some moms to never experience a ‘let down’. This is the tingling sensation of your milk being released from your breast tissue.

It’s also normal for the sensation to decrease over time if you have previously experienced it. A way for you to recognise when it happens is to watch your baby feed.

You will first notice they start with short fast sucks and then change to long slow sucks. The point at which they change the pattern is when your ‘let down’ occurs.

Check out my 7 tips for helping your let down reflex.

8. You don’t get much when you pump

The amount of milk you express is not a reflection of how good your supply is.

Expressing milk is a skill which improves with practice. It’s common to express very little or no milk the first few times you try.

Although modern pumps are getting more advanced as extracting breast milk, a baby will always be much more efficient.

Some moms produce very little purely on the fact they are not comfortable with a machine at their breast. Expressed volumes may also depend on the type of expression used or how effective the pump is.

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