I recently left my baby with someone other than her father for the first time to attend my sister's wedding. It was one of the hardest things I have done as a parent to date. She was with my husband's parents so she was in good hands, but I thought about her all afternoon and evening and checked in more times than was necessary to see how she was doing. After all, it was the first time that she was being given a bottle by someone other than my husband, that she was being put to sleep by someone other than us, that she was being driven around by someone else and that she was apart from us! That is a lot of 'firsts' for one afternoon/evening.
I am sure it will come as no surprise that she was just fine. Her nap schedule was a little screwed up and she went to bed later than usual, but that is just par for the course. She was happy and that is all that really matters. Luckily, she was just around the corner and I was able to slip away from the wedding between dinner and the first dance to nurse her. The last time I had nursed her was in the early afternoon so I was starting to feel a little 'full'. I didn't have a chance to pump at all while I was away from her so I was worried about being engorged, leaking, and screwing up my milk supply (I know, I do seem to worry a lot). In the end, there were no adverse affects on my milk supply nor did I leak, but my breasts were full (although not painfully or uncomfortable so).
We picked her up at about midnight and transported her back to my parent's house. She must have been wondering what the heck was going on; it is not everyday we rouse her from a deep sleep and pack her up in her car seat. When we arrived home, I nursed her and she went right back to sleep. Everything seemed to be back to normal the next day and the anxiety I had been experiencing about leaving her had disappeared. Mind you, I am no hurry to leave her again and don't plan on doing so unless it is absolutely necessary (at least until she is a little older).
Showing posts with label engorgement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label engorgement. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
When the milk comes in...
In my last post on breastfeeding I talked about the early days of breastfeeding. I left off on the topic of ENGORGEMENT; the wonderfully painful experience you will have when your milk comes in!
As I mentioned in my last post, your milk will come in 2-4 days postpartum. This can be a very painful 24-48 hours, but push through because, just like labor, the pain of engorgement won't last and the reward is huge!
Engorgement is best described as a period of time in which your breasts feel very full and tender and your nipples are very sensitive. If fact, when you baby latches on, it will literally make your toes curl and you will want to scream. Don't worry, this sensation does go away after a few minutes of nursing! The absolute best treatment for engorgement is to nurse. Letting your nipples air dry and applying a nipple cream after nursing will also help. There are many old wives tales regarding things you can do to relieve engorgement, but nursing every 2-3 hours is the best and recommended solution. (It is actually the case that hot packs, warm showers and many other suggested treatments actually make engorgement worse rather than better.) I can't stress enough how important it is to make sure you are feeding baby frequently during this time. Milk production works by supply and demand and if you are not feeding baby (or pumping) every 2-3 hours during this time, your body will not produce enough milk.
During this time, your areola may be hard which makes it difficult for baby to latch on properly. If baby does not latch on properly, you will end up with traumatized nipples. If you need to express a little milk to soften the areola before feeding to make latching on easier for baby, do so! If you are experiencing pain in your nipples after the first few minutes of nursing and/or are experiencing any kind of pain in your breasts make sure you consult your doctor because there are a number of things that could be wrong (plugged milk ducts, breast infection).
Make sure you buy some breast pads before you deliver. Chances are pretty good that you are going to need them although some lucky women never d0. I used them day and night for the first few months. I was eventually able to stop using them because I no longer leaked during the day. I still occasionally leak at night, but not often enough to wear breast pads to bed. There have been nights when I have woken up and had to change my shirt, but that usually corresponded with times when my daughter went longer than normal between feedings.
I would love to be able to tell you that you are in the clear after the engorgement period is over, but that most likely will not be the case. Breastfeeding is hard work and it requires dedication on your part. I had been breastfeeding for 4 months or so before my body and daughter finally "figured it out". Mind you, I have never experienced anything like the pain of engorgement and things have definitely gotten MUCH easier, but there have still been a few bumps in the road which I will talk about in my next post.
As I mentioned in my last post, your milk will come in 2-4 days postpartum. This can be a very painful 24-48 hours, but push through because, just like labor, the pain of engorgement won't last and the reward is huge!
Engorgement is best described as a period of time in which your breasts feel very full and tender and your nipples are very sensitive. If fact, when you baby latches on, it will literally make your toes curl and you will want to scream. Don't worry, this sensation does go away after a few minutes of nursing! The absolute best treatment for engorgement is to nurse. Letting your nipples air dry and applying a nipple cream after nursing will also help. There are many old wives tales regarding things you can do to relieve engorgement, but nursing every 2-3 hours is the best and recommended solution. (It is actually the case that hot packs, warm showers and many other suggested treatments actually make engorgement worse rather than better.) I can't stress enough how important it is to make sure you are feeding baby frequently during this time. Milk production works by supply and demand and if you are not feeding baby (or pumping) every 2-3 hours during this time, your body will not produce enough milk.
During this time, your areola may be hard which makes it difficult for baby to latch on properly. If baby does not latch on properly, you will end up with traumatized nipples. If you need to express a little milk to soften the areola before feeding to make latching on easier for baby, do so! If you are experiencing pain in your nipples after the first few minutes of nursing and/or are experiencing any kind of pain in your breasts make sure you consult your doctor because there are a number of things that could be wrong (plugged milk ducts, breast infection).
Make sure you buy some breast pads before you deliver. Chances are pretty good that you are going to need them although some lucky women never d0. I used them day and night for the first few months. I was eventually able to stop using them because I no longer leaked during the day. I still occasionally leak at night, but not often enough to wear breast pads to bed. There have been nights when I have woken up and had to change my shirt, but that usually corresponded with times when my daughter went longer than normal between feedings.
I would love to be able to tell you that you are in the clear after the engorgement period is over, but that most likely will not be the case. Breastfeeding is hard work and it requires dedication on your part. I had been breastfeeding for 4 months or so before my body and daughter finally "figured it out". Mind you, I have never experienced anything like the pain of engorgement and things have definitely gotten MUCH easier, but there have still been a few bumps in the road which I will talk about in my next post.
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