Here Are Some Tips To Get Through Nursing When It Doesn’t Come ‘Natural’ Or ‘Easy’ To You
Anyone who says breastfeeding is “natural” is either a magical unicorn or has never actually tried it before. It’s natural in the sense that it comes out of a mother’s breast, unaltered, but beyond that, nursing can be anything but natural. The learning curve is awfully steep, particularly if you’ve never done it before. However, even an experienced nursing mom can have setbacks. For my own part, I pumped for my daughter for a few months because she wouldn’t latch and I nursed my son well past a year. Many of these setbacks happened to me, as they could to any mom.
Flat Nipples If your nipple doesn’t come out far enough, the baby might have trouble latching on and boy, is that a good time. A nipple shield can solve this issue. I had to use one for the first few weeks until my son…um…conditioned my nipples (Dad — stop reading, like, now.) After a while, they were coming out enough that I did not need it but holy wow, that thing was annoying when I had to fumble for it at 2 am feedings. I’m glad it exists because it easily solves the problem but it can be a pain to keep it clean and readily available!
Low/Over-Supply Low supply is a big one that obviously causes a lot of moms to stop nursing, and that’s totally understandable. Some women simply do not produce enough milk to sustain a growing baby. There are ways to increase milk supply, should you choose, but nothing is a guarantee. However, having too much milk can be an issue also leading to painful engorgement or a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. The baby receives the high-lactose, lower calorie foremilk first and gets full from it and misses out on the higher fat hindmilk that comes afterward. Usually, limiting baby to nursing on one side per feeding can fix this issue. It helps make sure that he gets the creamier, higher fat milk at the end of the feeding. If that doesn’t help, definitely work with a lactation consultant to see what else can be done. I had a friend who would pump for a bit to get rid of some foremilk before latching her baby but of course, that’s not always practical. Babies receiving too much foremilk are also getting a lot of lactose so they may be gassy and uncomfortable. In other words, it’s an issue that needs to be fixed for everyone’s happiness!
Tongue Tie I never experienced this with my son but I have friends that went through it. A tongue tie can cause a baby’s latch to be very painful to the mother. The tongue is not free enough because it is too connected to the frenulum and it makes proper latching very difficult, if not impossible. Having it snipped by a doctor under local anesthetic is the best way to fix the issue and most of the time, nursing is easier immediately after the procedure. If you think your baby has a tongue tie, definitely let the pediatrician know.
Milk Protein Sensitivity/Allergies This is something I dealt with the entire time I nursed my son. Some babies are born unable to process the proteins found in dairy products. It can result in bloody stool, gas, wheezing, eczema and a whole host of other symptoms. With my son, it was bloody stool and bad reflux that tipped us off. After figuring out the problem, I gave up dairy and also, soy. Apparently, they go hand-in-hand as far as this issue is concerned. Once the dairy had left my system, his symptoms disappeared and I was able to continue nursing him until we were ready to be done. Giving up all of those foods was no fun, though. I can’t say I would be eager to do it again.
Sore, Bleeding And Cracked Nipples Another one that I have no personal experience with but anyone who does, has all my sympathy. Garden-variety soreness is one thing and even that can be miserable. The bleeding and the cracks are a whole other story. Many women find relief by using a nipple shield and treating the nipple with ointment. If only one side is injured, you can hand-express milk and nurse the baby on the other side until it heals. If both sides are cracked, it can become a very painful experience. Kellymom has great advice but the main thing is to be sure the baby is latching properly (to avoid cracks in the first place) and to keep the nipple clean and dry as often as possible between feedings.
Mastitis Mastitis is misery. It can make a nursing mother literally ill with symptoms such as fever, chills, body aches and tender, inflamed breasts. It can happen when bacteria enters through the nipple. If you suspect you have it, see your doctor. They can get you on anti-biotics. To prevent it from happening, don’t skip feedings because engorgement can contribute to the problem.
Slow Letdown Baby can become frustrated if your milk takes a little time to get going. This happened to me at first with my son and I had to sprinkle a little water on my nipple to keep him interested until something came out. Eventually, my breasts chilled out a little and it didn’t take as long for the milk to come out. If you suspect you have this, try not to use bottles if you can until it evens out. If the baby gets used to the faster flow of the bottle, it can keep them from wanting to nurse once they figure out it comes faster the other way. There are many ways to fix this issue, too many to name here, but I found that time was the best tool for me. Once my breasts knew what to do, let-down occurred more quickly.
For more information on any of these issues, I highly recommend Kellymom.com and Le Leche League’s website.
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