Hey there, my name is Kait and I am 23... my little one won't be here until April but bf'ing is already heavy on my mind. When my ds was born, he was in the nicu and I specifially told them NOT to feed him and they did anyways, and he would NOT take the breast after that. I am so adament (sp) that it works out this time but I would like some advice, I am also a bit larger chested (D normally) So any advice to start with would be great. Thanks so much

__________________

*Kait~23*Josh~21*Ryan~3*

Hi Kait! Just make sure that no matter what you are able to feed your baby when you want. Hopefully your baby won't have to be in the nicu..make sure you keep your baby in your room at all times. If someone gives you a hard time, talk to a lactation consultant and she will help you. Good for you for being adamant! (sp too..lol)

__________________

My kids weren't in the NICU but whenever the nurses came to take them for a bath or a hearing test or whatever, I always had dh go along. I was a little paranoid about ending up with the wrong kid, but if someone's there at least your baby won't be getting a bottle.

Good luck!

__________________

Is there any b/f support groups in your area? Or LLL? Sometimes it's helpful for a pg lady to see other mom actually b/f.......we have pg women drop in to our b/f support group all the time - there's lactation consultant's available to answer question and often times you can see a baby latch on correctly and a variety of positions that work well.

I know with larger breasts, sometimes the common cradle hold doesn't work as well (I'm a D when nursing....C when not) until the baby is bigger. I found using the cross-cradle hold (ie: the left hand supports the baby's head to the right breast, leaving the right hand free to manipulate the breast and vise versa) or the football holds worked well in the beginning. Do you have large nipples too? The more of the areola they can get into their mouths, the better they can draw the milk from the breast.....make sure the baby's mouth is wide open and they're sucking on a big mouthful of breast - not just the nipple with a "straw-like, pursed-lip" type suck......baby's lips should be fully flared out around the nipple.

Other than those tips, just be adament, keep your baby near you and seek out the advise of a LC in the hospital to get you on the right track.......

Good luck and don't give up....the first weeks are the hardest but it all gets easier as they go.......

__________________

kait, you have already taken a huge step in the right direction by seeking support. i found it was so helpful to talk to nursing mothers before my baby was born so i had an idea of what to expect. take it all with a grain of salt though as women often seem to find it fun to share horror stories. i found that getting started was easy for me, but i went thru cycles when it was much more difficult (like at 2 wks and 6 wks p.p.) i have no advice about being bigger chested. not a lot up top for me.

i am sorry you had that experience with your ds. that would have made me so angry. one of the girls on my "born in" board had a similar thing happen to her and then her sil in the same hospital. she just wrote a letter to the hosp. admin. and is hoping for an investigation into the whole matter.

good luck and i hope the rest of your pregnancy goes well. my ds was born in april... great time of year to be pg and to have a baby.

__________________

Thanks for your advice ladies, I figure if the baby won't latch I can always pump this time around, not ideal but close. I am sure I will be popping in as I get closer

__________________

*Kait~23*Josh~21*Ryan~3*

Kait--

I am a D usually, a DD now that I've had the baby and started BFing... in the beginning, when he wasn't a great latcher, I had to use a nipple shield (also b/c I had flat nipples and they basically wouldn't get hard... and it's the hard nipple touching the roof of their mouths that triggers the suck instinct), but we weaned from them when he was 3 wks old. 2wks and 6wks were hard b/c they were growth spurts and he'd want to nurse all the time... but just for a few days. Oh, and being as big as I am, the harder position was laying down to feed him... I had to prop a folded receiving blanket under my breast in order to manipulate my nipple into a pointing down direction, because it just wasn't at a good level for his mouth. But now that he can get ahold of it and keep it in, I don't have to do it anymore.

But anywho, well worth all the effort in the beginning!

__________________