PSA planning on breastfeeding?

theres been some mamas asking about relactation and it made me think theres a need for a BG public service announcement on breastfeeding education.

for those of you pregnant or TTC and plan on breastfeeding, i really recommend you start educating yourself NOW. i know bf'ing is natural, but it's no longer instinctive in our culture and you'd be surprised at how much work it can be. being armed beforehand with the knowledge/resources needed will make a big difference in how difficult/easy your bf career will be. (note: yes there are women out there who just put their LO to the breast and never have any problems bf'ing, but the majority of us arent that lucky.)

my LC (lactation consultant) says that 50% of new mamas quit bf'ing in the first 2 weeks PP. if you can make it through those first 2 difficult weeks, i promise it gets easier. knowing what to expect will help.

there are tons of resources out there. start with your hospital and see if they offer a breastfeeding class or clinic. even if you have older LO's that you bf'd, take a refresher class. you might remember nursing a 3 month old, but do you remember what it took to nurse a 3 day old? the class i took covered topics like:
-latching positions & achieving the proper latch on
-breast care (engorgement, mastitis, sore nipples)
-nutrition
-infant nutrition (do you know that its normal for an infant to lose up to 10% of its weight in the hospital? or that their stomach is only the size of a marble when born?)
-milk supply
-nursing supplies (pumps, gowns, pillows etc)
-suggested nursing schedule (check out a post on my blog that explains the aggressive nursing regimen my LC recommended for me.)

ETA: a great benefit in taking a class for me was that i had now had a person to contact for help. the same LC that taught the class gave out her business card to everyone which had her home phone # and email on it. she's been a lifesaver for me.

if you have time to read, i suggest checking out the following books (for starters):
breastfeeding made simple
the nursing mothers companion
the milk memos (great for going back to work moms)

theres great magazines out there too. one of my favorites is mothering. they had a great article on breastfeeding in mongolia in their last issue. and a previous issue had an article explaining why breast is best. pm me and i'll email you the article if you like.

websites:
the holy mecca of all that is breastfeeding: kellymom.com
for those planning to return to work: workandpump.com
here on BG we have a breastfeeding chat and Q&A thread that you're always welcome to jump in on for advice/support (dont be afraid of the amount of pages!)
and there are a lot of helpful blogs out there, just google to find them.

yes breastfeeding can be hard. but they say the harder the journey, the better the reward. if you want to breastfeed (and are medically able to), you can.

if you have any questions, pm me or jump in our bf'ing thread and say hi  

ETA: if you're undecided if bf'ing is for you, heres 101 reasons to breastfeed (thank you misty for the link)

I just wanted to say that the first 2 weeks are hardest, then after 6 weeks is when it gets easy.
So if you want to bf, try for at least 6 weeks with NO supplemental formula. If you can do that, you will succeed.  

Great thread...Great idea!!!! 

Quoting Punk Rock Princess {EBFB}:“ I just wanted to say that the first 2 weeks are hardest, then after 6 weeks is when it gets easy. So ... [snip!] ... easy. So if you want to bf, try for at least 6 weeks with NO supplemental formula. If you can do that, you will succeed.  ”

agreed.
supposedly the "reward period" is after 2 months.
the first week for me was exhausting.

I agree, knowledge is power!!!

Best advice was "Dont doubt your body" I had to remind myself that almost everyday!

Quoting BoogsMommyEBFB:“ Great thread...Great idea!!!! ”

thanks  

I think this is great! There are so many women (and DOCTORS!) who aren't educated and breastfeeding. Its important to be prepared before you start. If I hadn't made up my mind when I got pregnant and been commited to breastfeeding before I had my baby, I would have never made it past the first week!

Good thread momma!!
I quit with my son at 1 month because I lost everything and I had no idea what I was doing.

With my daughter (3 months) the first couple weeks sucked, but we are going strong!!! I made sure I was well educated this time!  

Quoting Ashlee [EBFB]:“ I agree, knowledge is power!!! Best advice was "Dont doubt your body" I had to remind myself that almost everyday!”

boo lost weight in the hospital and the pedi kept asking if my milk had come in. i was starting to freak out that it never would.
luckily, my LC was there to help.

i always tell women on here to educate themselves...Read every book they can on bfing.....Knowledge is EVERYTHING!..There is alot of ignorance out there and unsupportive people!

Quoting BoogsMommyEBFB:“ i always tell women on here to educate themselves...Read every book they can on bfing.....Knowledge is EVERYTHING!..There is alot of ignorance out there and unsupportive people!”

I agree!!

Thank you for this thread. It will come in handy whenmy daughter is born!

Quoting ||christine|| {EBFB}:“ theres been some mamas asking about relactation and it made me think theres a need for a BG public service ... [snip!] ... breastfeed (and are medically able to), you can. if you have any questions, pm me or jump in our bf'ing thread and say hi  ”

i couldn't agree with you more.

it does take a lot of work i the beginning but gets way easier as time goes on... i also think the biggest misconception of bfing as soon as baby is born is that baby needs more milk bc they are not full ....babies tummies are the size of a nickel when born and do NOT need the extra milk, your colostrum is more than enough to fill them.

if you go into bfing with the mindset that there is no way you are giving up, then it is most likely you will succeed at it.

Quoting ||christine|| {EBFB}:“ boo lost weight in the hospital and the pedi kept asking if my milk had come in. i was starting to freak out that it never would. luckily, my LC was there to help.”

My daughter was on of the few who gained weight when she left the hospital.  

Quoting * Sara *:“ Thank you for this thread. It will come in handy whenmy daughter is born!”

feel free to drop in the bf thread now to say hi and ask any questions on your mind.
congratulations on your pregnancy