When you are pregnant and when you are a brand new parent, you hear all sorts of breastfeeding myths and stories. I have heard everything from ‘people with small boobs can’t breastfeed’ (I can assure you that is NOT true) to ‘formula fed babies sleep better’ – again, rubbish. Babies sleep when they are tired and eat when they need to.
It’s easy for me to say, but please try not to listen to these *ahem* helpful tips. If you have a pair of boobs and a baby, you are all set to breastfeed. When my boys were born prematurely, a lot of people assumed I would not breastfeed, even though that had been my plan all along. They assumed that because they were small and weak and unable to suck, breastfeeding would go out the window. I still to this day do not understand the logic behind that. Yes they couldn’t suck – on a breast or a bottle teat. So to get their milk they would need to be tube fed. For me, the natural answer to this was to express (by hand in the first, colostrum filled day and later by pump), syringe this precious liquid down their tubes and into their tiny tummies and wait for them to grow. I was offered formula ‘top ups’ if I felt the expressing was too much or if I wanted a rest (what’s that about? – mums of full term babies don’t get offered a rest if they don’t ‘feel like’ feeding their babies?!) but for me it wasn’t an option – the boys had expressed breast milk via tubes, then via cups and finally direct from the boob.
Because I had expressed from the very start, every time they were due a feed, my supply grew in line with their needs. At every tube feed, I put them to the breast and they were provided with a dummy to suck – teaching them the relation between boobs, sucking and an empty tummy while strengthening that suck reflex. Within days, they latched and breastfeeding was never an issue.
You can feed a premature, weak or poorly baby. Babies are designed to breastfeed, and boobs are designed to provide milk. There is nothing more natural, and special care units are fantastic at supporting this with kangaroo care, tube feeds on the boob, and even teaching you to hand express those precious first drops of colostrum. Don’t give up. Your early baby needs your life giving milk – you can do it!
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that breastfed babies don’t get colic
That it would all just happen.
The first couple of goes at feeding were a bit disaterous – the nurse in recovery just plonked baby on boob and walked away. She told me there was only one position we could use as I still had an IV line in. That position didn’t work well for us!
that you lose loads of weight while brestfeeding
When my first was about 4 months old my sister in law made a big scene about how long breastfeeding takes and how if I quit I would have lots of free time……..I felt pushed to quit, the “free” time I suddenly acquired was spent sterilising bottles, making bottles and going out at stupid o’clock to buy formula!
I was told very falsely that you can’t get pregnant while breast feeding, well long story short our first son was 20 weeks old when I started expecting his brother… 😀 x
I had heard that you couldn’t easily get pregnant whilst breast feeding.. but, I did read lots of stories about people that had got pregnant so I didn’t believe it.. 🙂
I was told that breastfed babies didn’t sleep as well as formula fed babies. #1 slept through from 4 weeks, #2 from 10 weeks.
not yet, but won’t be trying it til later in the year 🙂 😉
Breastmilk is unlikely to be enough for big babies, they need formula top-ups
I heard I’d be able to rest when my baby rested – not bad with my first, but total baloney with my second!!
Noting that I can remember
Nothing that I can think of, though have heard a few things I’m a little sceptical about!
That pumping is a way to measure your supply. Not true at all!
no i havent heard anything thats false xx
That formula is sometimes necessary. If a baby cannot feed direct from the mother’s breast, they can have her expressed milk, be wet nursed by another woman, or drink donated expressed milk. Even in cases where babies have conditions such as primary lactose intolerance or phenylketonuria, breastmilk could be processed to be suitable for them (instead of using a special cow’s milk based formula in those cases). But that doesn’t make anyone money…
Nothing specific but I think in general that I was not aware of how difficult and painful it can be at first, but how worth persevering!
I was told lots of times (mainly by older relatives) that “you’ll want to stop breastfeeding once their teeth come in or you’ll get bitten” – false! I fed my daughter for over a year. She had LOTS of teeth when we stopped & I only got bitten once when she was teething.
nope nothing
I was told that I would get slimmer
No I haven’t