Lactation consultants: Breast feeding a tiny shark
This post is going to have a lot of "nipples" and "breasts" in it. But not in like a sexy way...mostly in an "oh my god that sounds so painful" or an "oh, that's quite handy actually" way....
That's mum life. Boobs are great and we need to look after them. Give them the respect they deserve! So here we go.....
My breast feeding journey started out amazing. Laying on a plastic tarp and countless towels on my couch after just giving birth. My tiny pink wiggly baby made her way to my breast and with almost no guidance latched on and began to feed. So I thought, "wow, breast feeding is easy!"
It had been the one thing during my pregnancy that I had concerns about. I desperately wanted to breast feed, and the thought of not being able to filled me with dread.
So while my first experience gave me hope, we still had a long way to go. By the second evening I was beginning to struggle. When your baby latches onto your nipple, they don't always open their mouths wide enough and they simple 'nip' your nipple shut, which means they try to suck harder, damage your nipple and get upset trying to feed. Also, your poor nipples have never experienced this kind of abuse before and of course, react accordingly...in the form of quite a fair bit of pain. (This was my experience, lots of mums are much luckier!) The worst part for me was trying to shower and having to try and keep the water away from my chest! Ouch!
So a few weeks, failed nipple shields* and two very damaged, grazed and cracked nipples later I took my lovely friend up on an offer of letting me call her mum. Her mum is a lactation consultant. Let's call her 'P'... A lactation consultant is basically a fairy god mother for boobies. The very first thing she said to me was that I was doing so well and that, no, my house wasn't too messy. Exactly what a new mum wants to hear. It turned out that tiny little Olive was indeed not opening her mouth wide enough. P showed me some excellent techniques for helping Olive to latch and showed my how to hand express. BUT... a few short days later, at about 2am, I was attempting to feed Olive with a nipple shield and suddenly I felt a shooting pain...I removed her from my breast and to my horror her mouth was filled with blood, so was the shield and my nipple was torn open. (And as I mentioned in my first post, I had put my back out.) So fighting back tears I put her on the other breast, which was originally more damaged but now seemed like the better option. Thankfully dearest P came to my aid again and recommended that I rest both breasts and use a pump to express for a few days and bottle feed. Olive was happy and it gave me time to heal...but it also made me feel quite sad. I wanted to have that bond with her, be able to feed her strait from my body like she had when she was in the womb....thankfully the waiting paid off and we haven't looked back since. I was one of the lucky ones.
A lot of mothers don't have the opportunities I have and I am extremely grateful. While I whole heartedly believe a fed, happy baby is the best, no matter what. Formula, breast or expressed...I am glad I get to feed the way I had hoped. If there is any advice I can give a new mum it would be, see a lactation consultant if you have ANY concerns. And do it as soon as you can. Waiting isn't worth it, your boobies are way more fragile than you think! I could have been a much more chill mum if I had seen P sooner!
*a nipple shield is a shaped, stretchy bit of silicone that sticks over your nipple, usually with two or more holes, so your baby can feed. They are actually pretty tricky to use so always get advice from your GP or a lactation consultant before attempting to use one!
Something really cool, that I learned about recently, is that you can donate spare milk that you've pumped to babies in need. I should mention it is not endorsed by doctors because, like blood, breast milk is a body fluid and their is always a small chance of passing something on if you're not healthy. many women choose to take blood tests to prove to other mothers that their milk is safe.
I have read many stories about women helping other women by pumping extra milk or continuing to pump long after their own babies are weened. Often the babies who benefit from it most are premi babies, because milk doesn't always come in when you have an early birth, and babies with allergies. It's just a really wonderful example of women lifting other women up. If you're interested there is a facebook page called Human Milk 4 Human Babies. There seems to be one for every area of Australia! Well done ladies!
Lastly, a fun fact about breast milk. If your baby is particularly rashy, defrost some precious breast milk from your stash and mix it into their evening bath. The milk will help sooth their delicate skin and heal it quicker. It can also be applied topically! The same goes for horribly sore nipples. when you've finished breast feeding, apply a little of the last bit of thicker milk to the nipple with a clean finger or cotton bud and let it air dry. this works just as well as any nipple cream on the market!
Go boobies!!
That's mum life. Boobs are great and we need to look after them. Give them the respect they deserve! So here we go.....
My breast feeding journey started out amazing. Laying on a plastic tarp and countless towels on my couch after just giving birth. My tiny pink wiggly baby made her way to my breast and with almost no guidance latched on and began to feed. So I thought, "wow, breast feeding is easy!"
It had been the one thing during my pregnancy that I had concerns about. I desperately wanted to breast feed, and the thought of not being able to filled me with dread.
So while my first experience gave me hope, we still had a long way to go. By the second evening I was beginning to struggle. When your baby latches onto your nipple, they don't always open their mouths wide enough and they simple 'nip' your nipple shut, which means they try to suck harder, damage your nipple and get upset trying to feed. Also, your poor nipples have never experienced this kind of abuse before and of course, react accordingly...in the form of quite a fair bit of pain. (This was my experience, lots of mums are much luckier!) The worst part for me was trying to shower and having to try and keep the water away from my chest! Ouch!
So a few weeks, failed nipple shields* and two very damaged, grazed and cracked nipples later I took my lovely friend up on an offer of letting me call her mum. Her mum is a lactation consultant. Let's call her 'P'... A lactation consultant is basically a fairy god mother for boobies. The very first thing she said to me was that I was doing so well and that, no, my house wasn't too messy. Exactly what a new mum wants to hear. It turned out that tiny little Olive was indeed not opening her mouth wide enough. P showed me some excellent techniques for helping Olive to latch and showed my how to hand express. BUT... a few short days later, at about 2am, I was attempting to feed Olive with a nipple shield and suddenly I felt a shooting pain...I removed her from my breast and to my horror her mouth was filled with blood, so was the shield and my nipple was torn open. (And as I mentioned in my first post, I had put my back out.) So fighting back tears I put her on the other breast, which was originally more damaged but now seemed like the better option. Thankfully dearest P came to my aid again and recommended that I rest both breasts and use a pump to express for a few days and bottle feed. Olive was happy and it gave me time to heal...but it also made me feel quite sad. I wanted to have that bond with her, be able to feed her strait from my body like she had when she was in the womb....thankfully the waiting paid off and we haven't looked back since. I was one of the lucky ones.
A lot of mothers don't have the opportunities I have and I am extremely grateful. While I whole heartedly believe a fed, happy baby is the best, no matter what. Formula, breast or expressed...I am glad I get to feed the way I had hoped. If there is any advice I can give a new mum it would be, see a lactation consultant if you have ANY concerns. And do it as soon as you can. Waiting isn't worth it, your boobies are way more fragile than you think! I could have been a much more chill mum if I had seen P sooner!
Something really cool, that I learned about recently, is that you can donate spare milk that you've pumped to babies in need. I should mention it is not endorsed by doctors because, like blood, breast milk is a body fluid and their is always a small chance of passing something on if you're not healthy. many women choose to take blood tests to prove to other mothers that their milk is safe.
I have read many stories about women helping other women by pumping extra milk or continuing to pump long after their own babies are weened. Often the babies who benefit from it most are premi babies, because milk doesn't always come in when you have an early birth, and babies with allergies. It's just a really wonderful example of women lifting other women up. If you're interested there is a facebook page called Human Milk 4 Human Babies. There seems to be one for every area of Australia! Well done ladies!
Lastly, a fun fact about breast milk. If your baby is particularly rashy, defrost some precious breast milk from your stash and mix it into their evening bath. The milk will help sooth their delicate skin and heal it quicker. It can also be applied topically! The same goes for horribly sore nipples. when you've finished breast feeding, apply a little of the last bit of thicker milk to the nipple with a clean finger or cotton bud and let it air dry. this works just as well as any nipple cream on the market!
Go boobies!!
Comments
Post a Comment