What I Wish I knew About Breastfeeding
I consider myself very blessed that I had a mom who valued breastfeeding. It was already the natural choice for me, and I had seen it modeled around me all my life. But when you are your child’s sole form of sustenance, no matter how well prepared you may have been, you still have some questions and wish you would have knowns. Below are a few ones that I asked along my breastfeeding journey. I hope they’re helpful as you start, continue, struggle, or prepare for your journey, or if you’re simply learning more to support someone else
Oral Ties
Oral ties are thin pieces of tissue that can be present from the lip to gums, tongue to palate or on the cheek. They restrict the free motion of the mouth, and depending on their severity, really restrict ability for a baby to latch while breastfeeding, or in effectively suckle. Ties can cause reflux and extra grassiness along with other symptoms as baby gulps in more air. It can cause failure to transfer enough milk or low supply if left unchecked. Tounge ties can be anterior (at the tip of the tounge) or posterior—by the back
Ties can often cause intense pain in the breastfeeding parent who may have bites, bleeding, bruising, or cracking from the latch itself being improper. Another common phenomenon is a blanched, white, or misshapen nipple after nursing.
Pediatricians and dentists are not always well versed in identifying or mitigating ties. It’s best to see an IBCLC or preferred pediatric dentist provider in your area to definitively diagnose or rule out ties. If a release surgery is needed, it should be accompanied by a multidisciplinary approach involving craniofascial work, oral motor skills (often provided by a slp), chiropractic work, and/or craniosacral therapy.
Not all ties can be or should be cut, however. In our case, we cannot get surgical clearance for my sons lip and posterior tongue tie. We worked on other methods like regularly seeing a chiropractor trained in craniosacral work and the Webster method/pediatrics. This allowed us to work on underlying issues and tension to encourage a better latch. We’ve been exclusively breastfeeding for 7 months and came completely off supplementary milk bottles by 4 weeks.
Low Supply
Once milk comes in, it is highly regulated by supply and demand. If you are missing a feed (baby is being fed frozen milk, donor milk, or formula) you must substitute a pumping session to maintain supply. Once baby starts sleeping natural longer stretches through the night (not the result of sleep training) you can skip middle of the night pumps, but shouldn’t go more than 6-8 hours to maintain your supply. However, with the advent of competitive posts of how much folks get from a single pumping session, there is a desire to “feed the freezer”. If you feel you have low supply, check with a lactation consultant first. What matters is if your baby is being adequately fed and hydrated and saying on their growth curve with the right amount of wet diapers per day. If you are exclusively breastfeeding, you don’t need to switch to pumping to see how much baby is getting. LCs have very accurate scales that allow you to do a “weighted feed”. You weigh baby before and after feeding to see how much baby can transfer. Sometimes you can even rent these scales for a period of time to better see how nursing is supporting your baby.
When Your Milk Comes In
Your milk comes in around day 3-5! But this is actually transitional milk. It’s between the initial colostrum and mature milk that comes in around 2 weeks. It’s slightly higher in calories and helps your baby get rid of any meconium quickly while also quickly nourishing those tiny tummies. Some women do take longer that five days. If this is you—call a LC. You can still build your supply to exclusively breastfeed.
Often, it is uncomfortable when milk comes in. Your breasts may be enlarged—or even engorged. It’s important not to start pumping to empty in addition to feeding your baby directly from the breast unless directed by your care team or a LC. This time is for your milk to regulate, and if you’re pumping and exclusively latching baby, your body may think you’re producing for two. Though an oversupply is a blessing in some ways, it does come with risks for mastitis, fore/hind milk imbalance, a strong overflow, and more. If you’re exclusively pumping, you should continue that consistent pumping schedule (every 2-3 hours, minimum of 8 pumps per day) that you started on after birth. However, I strongly encourage folks that even latching baby on a few times gives the benefits of your milk (and antibodies) being custom made for them.
Weight Loss
Both you and baby could experience rapid weight loss after birth. To some extent, this is normal, PARTICULARLY if you had IV fluids. Recent research has shown that routine IV fluids can increase a baby’s birthweight because of their own volume expansion and that they self correct within 24 hours (so not weight loss, but excess fluid loss). Two studies can be found here and here. Now that doesn’t mean that maternal IV fluids should never be used (example, as in my case, where I was chronically dehydrated at that point and needed the electrolyte replenishment to push), or that simply getting a saline or hep lock isn’t a possibility. But it should caution you from being deterred on your breastfeeding journey when your care team simply pushes formula without speaking to a LC or doing weighted feeds first.
At the end of the day, each journey between a mother and baby will be unique and depends on what’s best for you both. But doing proper research and preparation can help you in a successful journey to breastfeeding. If you have more questions, feel free to comment below or reach me on Instagram. You can also reach out to your local La Leche League group, or many insurance companies and hospitals keep a list of local lactation consultants and support groups.
