The Early Days of Breastfeeding

There a several myths out there regarding things you can do to get your nipples ready for breastfeeding. Myths are exactly what they are. There is nothing you can or need to do to get your nipples ready for breastfeeding. The only recommended steps are:

1) Wear a supportive bra (nursing or otherwise) without underwire. Bras with underwire have been known to lead to plugged milk ducts and breast infections. I personally found any bra with underwire to be very uncomfortable in the last months of pregnancy anyway and could not imagine having worn one in the early weeks of breastfeeding. I found cotton nursing bras without any bells and whistles to be the most comfortable. As I mentioned in an earlier post, you may want to buy at least one nursing bra ahead of time. It is generally safe to buy one towards the end of your pregnancy because your breast size will not significantly change any more. You will eventually need more than one, but you can hold off buying more until you decided which ones you like.

2) Avoid washing your nipples with soap when you are in the shower as this can dry them out.

That's it! There isn't anything else you can/should do.

One of the most important things you can do to get ready for breastfeeding is educate yourself about what to expect and what is normal and abnormal. The more educated you are, the more enjoyable your breastfeeding experience will be. I highly recommend the book The Nursing Mother's Companion by Kathleen Huggins.

It is also a good idea to attend a prenatal breastfeeding class. I did a lot of reading beforehand so I didn't really learn anything new from the class, but they provide you will a ton of resources in your community that you can access of you have any questions or problems.

Breastfeeding can be one the most amazing experiences of your life. The bond that it creates between you and your baby is incredibly rewarding. I have had a wonderful experience and absolutely love it. That being said, breastfeeding is by no means easy and it requires a huge commitment on your part.

The first few days are particularly hard. Initially, just getting baby to latch on properly is a big challenge. Although babies are born with the rooting reflex, both you and your baby have to learn how to breastfeed. The nurses in the hospital should help you with this because it is really difficult to manage holding your newborn baby and getting him or her to latch on to your nipple all at the same time (I would recommend a Boppy pillow). Don't get frustrated because after only a few nursing, things start to get easier.

As a side note, make sure you let the nurses know that you want to breastfeed for the first time as soon as possible after giving birth. Infants are usually incredibly eager to suck within the first two hours after birth and this is a perfect time to get the learning ball rolling. Studies have shown that the longer you wait, the less successful breastfeeding will be. Also be sure to avoid giving your baby a pacifier in the early days of nursing. This can lead to all kinds of nursing problems such as latching problems and early weaning and ear infections down the road (more on pacifier use later).

Until your milk comes in (generally 3-4 days postpartum), your baby will be drinking colostrum. This is thick and yellow and it is the most important substance you will ever feed your baby. It provides your newborn with all kinds of antibodies, prevents bacteria from entering baby's intestines, stimulates baby's bowels and can reduce jaundice just to name a few of the benefits. It may not seem like your newborn is eating very much, but know that a newborn's stomach is very small and they are getting what they need.

Newborn babies need anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes to complete a feeding. There is a lot of misinformation out there about this topic. Do not restrict your nursing time. Many people believe this helps to reduce nipple soreness, but that is not the case. Sore nipples are caused by improper positioning. There is no truth to the myth that it takes the a certain amount of time for the breast to empty either. You should let your baby nurse for as long as he/she wants. Not doing so will frustrate your baby and can lead to more engorgement down the road. When your baby is finished, he or she will let you know by letting go of your nipple. This is the absolute best way to end a feeding. If you do need to break the suction for some reason, make sure you do it properly by sliding your baby finger into the corner of your baby's mouth until you hear the release. You will be amazed at how strong the latch can be and if you don't break suction properly it will hurt!

Until your milk comes, your newborn will be nursing very frequently. At a minimum you should make sure you are nursing at least 8 times in a 24 hour period. The general rule of thumb is don't let your baby go more than 3 hours between feedings during the day and more than 4 hours during the night. This means you may have to wake your baby if he or she is very sleepy which newborns tend to be in the early days. When your milk comes in it is very important to make sure you are nursing every couple of hours to ensure a good milk supply. When your milk comes in, be prepared. This can be an rough 24-48 hour period. More on that in my next post!

Getting Ready for Baby...The Little Things, Part 2

A note on diapers...In my last post, I talked a little bit about my experience with diapers. After posting, I was given some feedback from a few friends about their experiences. I had questioned whether Huggies diapers might be better for boys and in fact a friend of mine told me that she has found this to be the case. She passed along a cute little quote "Hug a boy, pamper a girl." Another mom noted that she has always used Huggies with her girls (3) and hasn't had any problems. I would definitely recommend when buying diapers for your new baby, to get a package of each until you decide which you prefer.

Now, on to more about getting ready for baby! Again, these are my personal preferences. There are so many options out there and you need to choose what is best for you and your baby! I am sure there are things that I am forgetting to mention so if you have questions about anything, feel free to comment!

Clothes

If you are going to buy clothes ahead of time, don't get a lot of newborn stuff. Babies grow incredibly fast! My daughter was 7.12 pounds when she was born and she had outgrown her newborn clothes within 3 weeks.

Don't spend a lot of money on "outfits" either. As you can imagine, it is a challenge dressing a tiny little baby and the less fuss you have to deal with, the better. Socks, shoes, booties, hats and bibs are cute, but not necessary. I have a million bibs and have not used a single one to this day. I will start using them when my daughter starts teething and eating, but up to now there really has been no need. She didn't start wearing socks or shoes until she started wearing pants around the 1 month mark. She did wear booties and a hat on a couple of occasions, but you really don't need more than one of each. When they are in sleepers, they don't need any of that extra stuff.

Sleepers are the way to go! My daughter lived exclusively in sleepers for the first month or so. Make sure you get sleepers with snaps (down both legs) rather than zippers. Zippers may seem like they would be easier, but they only unzip down one leg which can make getting the other leg out rather difficult. There is the risk of getting baby's delicate skin pinched in the zipper and you have to unzip the whole sleeper to change a diaper rather than just the snaps around the legs which means more cold air can get at baby.

I started dressing my daughter in pants and onsies when she got a little bigger and that is now our standard outfit for everyday. Cute outfits are nice for special occasions, but if you are going to be chumming around the house most of the time, you want baby to be comfortable.

If you have a girl, you might be tempted to buy some cute little dresses, but let me tell you, dresses are a pain in the ass! You have to constantly pull them down. We wear dresses on special occasions, but that is it! When she can walk, dresses will be much easier to manage!

You are also going to need clothing for outdoors. My daughter was born in the winter so we had to buy a one piece snowsuit for her to wear. A hat and mittens are also essential for winter babies! A few light sweaters or sweatshirts (with hoods) are all that you really need once the weather starts to warm up.

I would also highly recommend a few pairs of the little mittens that can be worn to prevent scratching. I recently read that these are no longer recommended because babies need to be able to 'feel' their world. These people have obviously forgotten how difficult it is to cut a newborn baby's fingernails! My daughter wore mittens every time she slept for the first few months until it became easier for me to cut her nails and she does not seem to have suffered any adverse consequences. Of course, it is important to take them off when baby is awake when baby will actually be 'feeling' their world, but putting them on for sleeping is essential unless you want a baby with a scratched up little face!

Bedding

Start with a crib mattress pad that has a plastic backing to protect your mattress and to provide a little more cushioning to the bed. You will need at least a couple of fitted cotton crib sheets so that you have one to swap out in case of spit-up or diaper leaks (you will also need these items for the bassinet). Be sure to get a few soft cotton blankets and at least one good sized cotton blanket that can be used for swaddling. We used a hand-knit blanket for swaddling for the first couple of months and then transitioned to a sleep-sac and soft blanket. A sleep-sac is great because you don't have to worry about baby getting cold if they happen to kick of their blanket. I didn't use receiving blankets at all for swaddling rather I used them for burp cloths, but regardless of what you use them for your should get half a dozen or so.

Getting the crib ready is really exciting (even though baby won't be using to for a few months if you are going the bassinet route). Everyone wants to get a cute crib set that includes a comforter, bed skirt, fitted sheet and bumper pads. The truth is that bumper pads are not recommended because they put baby at risk of suffocation and you won't use the comforter while baby is actually in the crib (it ends up being more for looks). The crib skirt and sheet, however, are nice to have. If you do buy a set (or someone buys it for you), you can use the comforter as a play blanket so that you get use out of it and there are alternative ways to make use of the bumper pads (I am in the process of trying to find a creative way to use the bumper pads that came with my daughter's crib bedding...there are several suggestions online, I will keep you posted on this.)

Toys

My daughter didn't really get into her toys until she was about 4 months of age and even then, there were only a few that she preferred to grab and hold on to. Soft toys that make noise and have color contrast are good for the early months. Chewable toys are good as they get a little older and want to put everything into their mouths. Board books and a few baby CDs are great to have as well!

We have a playmat that she has really enjoyed, but now that she is 5 months old, she has become less interested in it. She started using her activity jumper as soon as she was strong enough and could touch the ground in it and she loves it now! We don't have a Jolly Jumper, but I know a lot of people like them. We have a Bumbo chair, but my daughter is not a fan of sitting in it. It actually forces them to sit quite awkwardly and I recently heard mumblings about them not being good for their posture. We used a swing for the few few weeks, but then my daughter decided that she did not like the cradled position that it forced her to lie in. We also have a bouncy chair which is awesome to have so that you can take a shower once in awhile! A Boppy pillow is great for sitting baby in before he/she can sit up an his/her own (as well as for breastfeeding in the early days).

It is recommended regardless of what jumper/activity center you have, that babies are put in them for only short periods of time. The best way for a baby to develop is to just play on a regular blanket. Lots of tummy time is really important!

A few other things you might want to consider...

For the nursery...
*A diaper pail of some kind. We have a Diaper Genie II and it is great! I was originally just going to use a garbage can in the nursery, but I am super glad I went the diaper pail route. It keeps the odor contained and you can put a lot of diapers in it before it needs to be changed (many more than in a small garbage pail).
*Get some baby hangers for items that are better hung than folded.
*A rocking chair in the nursery is wonderful! It is great for rocking baby to sleep when they are really young and for story time as they get older.

For travel...
*Sun shields for your car windows are really great for keeping the sun out of baby's eyes when you are travelling.
*A mirror that can be mounted on the back seat so you can glance at baby while you are driving is also essential.
*A diaper bag for travelling is a no-brainer. My diaper bag goes with me wherever I go. It doubles as my purse now with a section devoted to my things.
*Little pads to cover the car seat straps are nice so that the straps are not against baby's delicate skin. I also use these on the straps in the stroller.
*We do not have a pack-and-play, but if you are going to be doing a lot of travelling with baby and baby is going to need a place to sleep, you might want to invest in one. They are very expensive so spend the cash only if you are going to get a lot of use out if it.
*A carrier is a great investment. You are not always going to want or be able to take a stroller wherever you go. It is also nice to just be able to take a walk with baby in the carrier rather than the stroller. I currently use a Fisher Price carrier that we were given, but if I was to invest in one, I would get the Baby Bjorn Sport carrier.

For everyday...
*You absolutely need some baby nail clippers. I had both the regular clippers that are similar to adult clippers and the ones with a larger handle. After using both, I have found the regular clippers to be much easier to use and handle.
*You will also need to have on hand a soft brush (and comb for longer hair), a digital thermometer (for the armpit is easiest), a nasal aspirator, baby oil (for cleaning little nooks and crannies and for cradle cap), infant Tylenol (for after those nasty immunizations), Vitamin D drops (babies should be given these every day while they are exclusively breastfed unless they are exposed to at least 5-10 minutes of sunshine everyday), and Gripe Water (to soothe a colicky baby or just to soothe cramps or hiccups).

In my next post, I am going to start talking about the topic that everyone has been waiting for...BREASTFEEDING! Stay tuned!