Breastfeeding Tips For New Mothers


Whenever you see a photo of a breastfeeding mother, it is often a picture of tranquility and bliss. The mother would be looking down lovingly at baby, sometimes holding a tiny hand in hers. The baby would be looking right back up at mummy. The picture is one of pure love. It looks so natural and beautiful.

Well, it will be that way after a while but not at first. In order to make that blissful breastfeeding picture a reality for you MUST prepare yourself. Here are some breastfeeding survival tips for new mothers.

1. Get practical help - This is very, very important. I can't stress this enough. Support is essential! Arrange for another mother, a friend or relative with breastfeeding experience or a lactation consultant to be by your side immediately after the birth and delivery. You will need someone to show you how. Breastfeeding requires practice.
2. Arm yourself with knowledge - Unlike bottle or formula feeding, it is hard to figure out whether you are doing the right thing and whether your baby is getting enough milk at first. Find out how many stools a breastfed baby should be having a day. This is a good indicator. Find out the growth chart of breastfed babies. Do not compare it with the growth chart of a formula fed baby. They are different. These are just a few examples of the things you should know beforehand.
3. Don't Give Up! - You may face difficulties at first. Don't give up. Keep on trying. Keep practicing and you will eventually get it right. If you can get it right after a few hours or days, well, then lucky you. If not, persevere. Don't give up!
4. Be Clear Of What YOU Want - Do not be swayed by the opinion of others. There will be those who tell you that your milk is not enough and other negative things. Do not be influenced by what others say or stress yourself up over it. On the other hand, there will also be those who are strongly pro-breastfeeding, those who make you feel like a total failure if you don't try hard enough. They may push you very hard without realizing that your stress levels and circumstances are preventing you from enjoying your baby. Yes, you know that breast is best but be very clear about how long you want to breastfeed your baby. You may change your mind later about the length of time but that is okay too. For example, you may find that breastfeeding is so good for you and baby that you decided to extend your original intention to breastfeed for 6 months to 3 years. Don't let anyone tell you that it is wrong to breastfeed a toddler. It is YOUR decision. Be at peace with YOUR decision, whatever it may be. If stopping at 3 months is what you can manage because of your circumstances, then do not feel guilty about it or feel bad because you did not breastfeed for a certain recommended period of time.
5. Don't Be So Hard On Yourself - Not everyone will have it easy breastfeeding so don't be too hard on yourself if you are having a hard time. Try again the next day if you don't succeed today. 
6. Enjoy Your Baby - Don't forget to enjoy your baby. You may be getting very little sleep now and feeling some stress but don't forget to enjoy your baby and this precious time you have together.

I hope that all mothers who want to breastfeed will be able to succeed. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers old and new.

This article was written by Mimi Koay. Mimi is the author of "I Didn't Know It Was So Hard to Breastfeed", a booklet about her breastfeeding problems. She hopes that by sharing her story mothers will be able to learn from the mistakes she made. She also wrote "Mother, Wife, Myself" a collection of heart warming poems about finding yourself after becoming a mother and a wife.

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Breastfeeding Problems Latching

I am a mother to two breastfed kids. I breastfed my first for 1 1/2 years and the second for 3 years. However, breastfeeding was not smooth sailing for me, not at first. My main breastfeeding problem was latching my babies, both of them.

You would think that by the second time, with my experience of breastfeeding for 1 1/2 years, things would be easier and I would no longer have any baby latching problems while breastfeeding but that is not the case.

My second baby took 2 months before learning to latch on. I think breastfeeding moms lack support.

Plenty of support especially Practical Support is Essential during the early part of breastfeeding. I can't stress that enough.

Top 5 Breastfeeding Help Sites

These are the 5 sites that helped me the most during breastfeeding.

1. KellyMom
2. Dr. Jack Newman's Articles
3. Breastfeeding.com
4. La La Leche International
5. Breastfeeding Stories

I will tell you about each of them as you scroll down this page.

1. KellyMom - THE place to go for help

To me, KellyMom.com is THE place to go for breastfeeding help. It is very comprehensive and detailed and has help in almost all the areas or problems you may encounter during breastfeeding.

If you are planning to breastfeed, go to Kellymom and bookmark that page. You will be returning to it again and again to read about various issues you may face during breastfeeding.

If you can, read up as much as you can even BEFORE you start to breastfeed to prepare yourself for what is to come.'

2. Dr Jack Newman's Articles
Read Dr Jack Newman's Articles. They are available for download free on pdf.

I love this man even though I have not met him and never will. I love Dr Jack Newman's Breastfeeding Articles. They are so helpful and he makes them available for free.

During the time when I had so many problems latching baby and I felt like giving up everyday. Every day I struggled with my decision to carry on breastfeeding. It was this statement from Dr Jack Newman's Article that kept me going.

"The single most important factor influencing whether or not the baby latches on is the mother's developing a good milk supply. If the mother's supply is abundant, the baby will latch on by 4 to 8 weeks of life no matter what. "

This is the article with the statement above that helped me persevere when baby just won't latch on no matter what.

When The Baby Refuses To Latch On

3. Breastfeeding.com has a vast question and answer center

If you have any breastfeeding questions, then be sure to check out Breastfeeding.com. They have a huge resource of Breastfeeding Q & A, also called The Breastfeeding Answer Center to answer all the questions you may have on breastfeeding including your latching problems.

Commonly asked breastfeeding questions and naturally included plus you will find other not so common questions too like questions on illness or surgery and questions on fenugreek and other herbs etc.

4. Get Help and Tips from La La Leche International

La La Leche International is probably the most recognized and known breastfeeding help centre internationally. They have local chapters all over the world to support breastfeeding mothers.

What I like most on the La La Leche International website is the Breastfeeding Answers From La La Leche International page.

I also recommend this other breastfeeding resource page on their site. Go here to Download Past Issues of Breastfeeding Today Magazine. Breastfeeding Today is an international magazine with inspiring stories plus helpful information, news and reviews for expectant parents.

5. Breastfeeding Stories

I had a very difficult time breastfeeding, especially with latching baby. I found that reading success story from other breastfeeding mothers really helped me. Here is the page which I often visited to read the breastfeeding stories. It is not a very known page. In fact, it is rather old, with the last update made on 21 September 1999! However, I really hope that they keep the page and don't take it down because it has been really useful to me and I know it will be useful to other breastfeeding mothers who face difficulties in breastfeeding. Reading breastfeeding stories is a form of support.

I also wrote my own breastfeeding story in a booklet. It is called "I Didn't Know Breastfeeding Would Be So Hard." Hopefully, by sharing my story, I will be able to help and support other mothers who have latching problems.

If you have problems don't be afraid to ask for help!

If you have breastfeeding problems, ask for help! Reach out to your immediate support circle. If you don't have a support circle or the people around you are not supportive of your breastfeeding, ask for help online. Join a breastfeeding forum. You can also ask for help by submitting your questions to some of the breastfeeding sites like Breastfeeding.com and La La Leche International which have a form for you to fill up with your personal breastfeeding question if your question isn't already answered in their Breastfeeding Answer pages.

This is the site I used to ask for help when I desperately needed answers. It is called All Experts.com. Here is their breastfeeding help page. On it, you will see the breastfeeding experts with their biodata and the past answers from that expert. All you need to do is choose the expert you would like to Ask Your Breastfeeding Question, then post your breastfeeding question to the expert of your choice by filling up a form. You can also ask your question from different experts so that you can make better decisions with more answers.

That was what I did. I asked this question. Help! My Baby Is Still Not Latching On At Six Weeks!. I was so desperate, I asked this question to 6 different experts. I was very grateful for all their help. You can view my question and the helpful answers here.

Looking Good
It is important to take care of yourself, mentally, physically and make an effort with your appearance as usual. It will boost your morale when you are feeling down and having breastfeeding problems

Perhaps this is a little out of topic but I just want to remind all breastfeeding mothers especially those who have problems breastfeeding that you must continue to make the effort to look good and take care of yourself during this time.

This thought came to me when I saw this beautiful breastfeeding poncho that will keep you looking good while allowing you to breastfeed baby discreetly.

I'm afraid I didn't make the effort to look good. I practically lived in my pajamas. Not looking good contributed to my feeling unhappy about my initial failure in breastfeeding. Not looking good did not help make me feel better about having difficulty getting my baby to latch on. If I could do it over again, I would take better care of myself and make an effort not to look like something the cat dragged in or as if I had just woken up half the time!

Blog Posts

You can also visit my blog Mothering Times to read some breastfeeding blog posts of mine. I am not an expert, just a mother who had a lot of difficulty breastfeeding but I did face and wrote about some issues like cup feeding, mastitis, etc. Funnily, one of the most popular posts on my blog is My Period Returned Early Even Though I Breastfeed :). I wrote it in 2006 and I still get many visitors for that post till today.

If you would like to help support another breastfeeding mother, why not share your story too? I will help you to post your story online by publishing it on my "Breastfeeding Stories" category on my blog. Here are the breastfeeding stories submission rules.

One of the ways to support another mother during breastfeeding is by sharing your story. If you have had difficulty of problems breastfeeding you will naturally want to do that. It makes me happy to be able to share and help another new mom, even if I don't know her or may never ever meet her because I know that all breastfeeding mothers need support. Support is something that we can't get enough of but sadly is sometimes just not enough.

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Breastfeeding Story - How To Be Successful At Breastfeeding

Today's breastfeeding story is from Jenny, who blogs at I'm A Full-Time Mummy. If you are a breastfeeding mummy from Malaysia, you should check out Jenny's baby room review. She does a very good job at reviewing baby rooms in the Klang Valley. 

Breastfeeding Story - How I Made Breastfeeding Work For Me

By Jenny

#1 - Start with the thought of breastfeeding from Day 1 

It's the same as having your goals and ambitions. You dream and fix your aim towards it from Day 1. Then you only have 1 goal to achieve for and focus all your concentration to it. If you are yoyo-ing from bottle to breast to bottle to breast, then when the baby comes, you would be lost and people around you could easily influence your decision making.

#2 - Remember the 3 Rs!
This come out of the blue, but I decided to call it the 3 Rs!
The 3 Rs are: Research, Read up and Rehearse!

Research all you can find about breastfeeding (why do it, benefits of breastfeeding, common breastfeeding myths, techniques, how to avoid any problems, what to do if there's any problems etc)

Read up all you can, be it from books, hospital/clinic leaflets on breastfeeding etc. The reason why I don't lump this into Research is because you can research all you want but if you don't read it, then it is pointless. Thank God I love to read!!!

Rehearse - go for antenatal classes where they teach you how to breastfeed and the different methods to breastfeed. If you don't attend the classes (please please do!), then look it up in the Net, Youtube or anything that shows you pictures or videos on how to breastfeed correctly.

# 3 - Choose your birth hospital correctly!
Now, you may wonder what is the place I'm going to give birth at has anything to do with breastfeeding. Well, it has everything to do with breastfeeding! You can research, read, rehearse all you want but if you deliver at a place where they immediately introduce your baby to bottle-feeding then all your efforts would have gone to waste!

Choosing the right birth hospital helped in making my breastfeeding work out!

# 4 - Get encouragement and support from other people
OK, we don't have a confinement lady. We did our own DIY confinement. There may be things we did wrongly. What we did was asked around from other in-laws and friends who have kids to check whether we are doing the right thing and then we compared our methods to theirs.

Hubby and I also got the postnatal home visits service from the people who conducted the antenatal classes we attended 2 months before I delivered. They will come in 3 times (depends on your schedule and their availability) each visit lasting for 1 hour and they will check your baby and your progress and condition. They will also observe and advice on your baby care methods, breastfeeding, and everything you wanted to find out about on newborn care.

For us, we know we are doing the right thing, just that we need some other people to acknowledge and confirm our thoughts. When you hear from the mouth of experts like them telling you that you are doing a great job and your baby is progressing very well, that sure does a lot of help with your motivation level! :D

# 5 - Quitting my job
One of the reason I quit my job is so that I am able to continue breastfeeding my baby since I am not able to extend my maternity leave. On the 1 month I'm serving my notice (and paid off the other 2 months), I had to force myself to express my breastmilk at office every 3 hours - reason why I said force is because, if I didn't do that, I could be sitting at my cubicle and doing work non-stop, not even going to toilet (until lunch time). And there are times when I only remembered I had to go express when I felt my breasts swollen hard and painful.

On my last week at the office, my supply dwindled down to 2 oz per day... from the beginnng when I returned back to work and start expressing at office I could express about 12 oz per day... down to 2 oz per day... the pressure and workload took its toll on me of course (I could even remember one time I didn't express from 12pm-8pm... total 8 hours...the reason? I was stuck in meetings after meetings and after office hours ended at 6pm, I was again stuck in conference calls with vendors and bosses until 8pm) So the decision to quit my job really helps alot with making my breastfeeding work.

# 6 - Pray!
Pray for God's will on whatever you have put your mind to. If it is His will, He will settle the bill :) Meaning, if its meant for you to breastfeed, no matter how hard it is, you must persevere.

The first few days before the breast milk comes in is critical. It will make or break a new mummy. Old folks and people who do not know better will tell you that your baby needs to feed, he cries because he is hungry, you don't have enough breast milk so you must give formula milk.. Pray for strength and patience and comfort in times of pain and stress like this. The breast milk will come! Babies do not need to feed for the first few days of their life! (This is because they still have storage in their bodies)

And when the breast milk comes, still there will be people telling you its not enough. Do not give up! The more you breastfeed, the more milk your body will produce. During the first 2 weeks after delivery, I will keep on breastfeeding Ben every 2 hours. Even the wee hours of the morning, I'd wake up and just latch him on. Suffer now, and reap the benefits later.

Thank you very much, Jenny, for sharing your tips on how to make breastfeeding successful. The above is an excerpt from her breastfeeding article on her blog which Jenny has very kindly given permission to reproduce. I think they're great tips so they should be shared. If you want to read more breastfeeding tips from Jenny, check out her article on The Truth About Breastfeeding.

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Breastfeeding Story - A Wonderful Journey

My Breastfeeding Story - A Wonderful Journey

By Germaine Liew

My experience as a breastfeeding mom would be akin to hiking in a new country and discovering an exciting adventure that was challenging at the start but enjoyable throughout. I’ve been on this journey for 55 months now, only taking a break of about 6 months from the time I weaned my son at age 2 until I delivered my daughter. It has been a pleasant journey I would say, with hardly any problems encountered along the way. There were a few ‘blisters’ in the beginning from the use of ‘new hiking shoes’ and a few painful encounters of the engorgement kind. But, overall, a wonderful bonding journey with my babies.

I am going to share how I prepared for this journey and what has helped me to keep going.

1. Breastfeeding 101

Just like how you’d research and read up on a travel destination before embarking on a vacation, the same goes for breastfeeding. Get as much information as you can from books, parenting sites, family and friends who have experience in breastfeeding. In my first month of breastfeeding, I hit the books and reading materials again to see if my baby was latching on correctly, to know when my milk should start to turn white, how to relieve engorgements and treat cracked nipples and to be sure that my baby was getting enough milk.

2. Think Positive

The moment I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I had already psyched myself up to breastfeed him. Before you go on a trip, don’t you envision yourself enjoying the holiday? This is what I kept telling myself throughout my pregnancy:

“I am going to breastfeed my baby. He is not going to drink anything except my milk. And I am going to have enough for him.”

A major motivation factor for me was also the successful breastfeeding stories of friends which drove me to believe that if they can do it, I can definitely do it too.

3. Set Goals

Before you visit a place for the first time, you would have an idea of what you’d like to do and the sights you’d like to see. Well, just like breastfeeding, especially when it’s a first time, you’d like to set yourself some goals. Setting goals will motivate you and give you a sense of achievement once you’ve accomplished them. For me it was the breastfeeding guideline on how long you should breastfeed your baby – exclusively for the first 6 months until age 2. Well, I stuck to the guideline too rigidly and weaned my son exactly at age 2. Partly also because I was already pregnant with my daughter at that time and I thought it would be challenging to handle 2 clingy kids. On top of that, I had no idea what tandem nursing was and did not consider doing that at all. I might have gone on to tandem nurse both my children if I had to do it all over again...maybe.


4. Perseverance

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I know of a friend who had mastitis at least 3 times during the course of breastfeeding her first child. I don’t know how she did it but she persevered and successfully breastfed her son till he was close to 2. Now that’s what I call perseverance. I don’t know if I would have been able to handle it all if I were in her shoes but I certainly look up to her as a perfect example of endurance.


5. Nix the Naysayers

“Your baby’s not getting enough milk that’s why he’s constantly crying”

“You should probably give him a little formula milk so he’ll sleep better in the night”

“Are you sure you’ve got enough milk for your baby, how come nothing much’s coming out when you pump?”

“It’s okay to give the baby a little water, most mothers do that. Takes away the heatiness”

“Asking for milk again? See, your baby’s not getting enough. He’s hungry again”

These are just some of the things that were said to me in the first month of breastfeeding my first child. It was difficult and discouraging to hear things like these, especially when you’re a new mother trying your darned best to cope with a new baby. But, back to No.4, don’t let them get you down. I remembered checking on the books to see how I can tell if my baby was getting enough milk and that was to see how often he is wetting his diapers. So, I reassured myself and nixed the naysayers.

These 5 points have worked for me especially when I was a first-time breastfeeding mom. When I had my second child, breastfeeding was a breeze. She was a pro in latching-on and I hardly had any difficulties breastfeeding her, except for maybe 2 occasions of a slightly engorged breast. The thing about an engorged breast is that the only way I’ve found effective enough to relieve that is your own baby nursing on it. The tip is to try different positions of nursing your baby while massaging your breast. No amount of cabbage or hot compresses can beat that.

I’d like to add though, that you shouldn’t give yourself a hard time if you haven’t been able to breastfeed your baby. Circumstances are different for everyone and no two breasts are the same – not even on a single person. Take comfort in knowing that you’ve tried your best and that you’ve given it all you could. At the end of the day, all your baby needs is a lot of TLC.

I am fortunate enough to have had it easy with breastfeeding. I can’t thank God enough for that.

It has been a wonderful journey for me.

Germaine blogs at Kiddothings.com. You can read more about her wonderful Motherhood experience and Breastfeeding stories at her blog. Thank you Germaine, for sharing your wonderful and inspiring breastfeeding story especially those useful tips. I like tip No 5 on how to Nix those Naysayers. 

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Breastfeeding Stories

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

I had a very hard time breastfeeding both my children. With the first, I did not have enough support and knowledge. Sure, there are a lot of breastfeeding resources on the internet. I read most of them.

However, it did not prepare me to breastfeed because I lacked support. I am fortunate to have a wonderful supportive spouse but I think it would have helped to have the support of other breastfeeding mothers.

With my two children, eventually I went on to breastfeed the first for 1 1/2 years. She lost a lot of weight initially which was extremely worrying. I refused to give her any water or formula because I had read that they would sabotage my breastfeeding efforts.

On hindsight and looking at her tiny haggard face in her newborn photos, I think I should have relaxed a little an allowed her a little formula while I continued to work on breastfeeding. My staunch refusal caused us both a lot of trouble and she lost a lot of weight. She was constantly crying from hunger. Hers was a difficult birth and it did not help that I didn't have any help. I was quite weepy at the time.

Eventually, her feedings had to be monitored by her doctor and dedicated lactation consultant. I tried really hard to express milk for her but it was not enough. I had to record her feedings and slowly increase the ratio of breastmilk. I kept an almost hourly record. It was a crazy tiring time but it was necessary.

I did manage to feed her fully at night eventually and we had mixed feedings during the day for 1 1/2 years. It was a really tough time and marred what should have been precious moments enjoying my baby.

My second time breastfeeding was not any easier despite the breastfeeding experience. My little boy did not learn to latch on for 2 whole months! The doctor said that the reason could be because he has a tongue tie. However, this time I knew how to express early and I had the opportunity to so my milk was not compromised. Unlike the first time when I could only express a miserable 1 1/2 ounces each time. This time, I could express up to 10 ounces each time.

So I expressed and fed him from a spoon at first and a cup later on. No bottles. It was very tiring since I could not breastfeed him directly. My days passed by in a blur of expressing, feeding, trying to latch baby and repeat!

He latched on at exactly two months and 1 day! The day that I almost considered giving up from weariness and frustration. It was only after that, that I began to enjoy the freedom of breastfeeding and the joys of breastfeeding. I eventually breastfed him fully for 3 years and the 2 months of difficulty was all worth it.

I digress so much. I had started this post to state my intention to start a breastfeeding stories category on this blog and open it to contributors to support other breastfeeding moms who have difficulty breastfeeding like I did and yet have no support accept the internet.

During my difficult time breastfeeding, what kept me going was reading the breastfeeding stories from other mums online.

I wish to invite all breastfeeding mums to contribute to this Breastfeeding Stories Category. Some I will personally invite but even if I don't send you an invite, just feel free to invite yourself.


Please begin your story in this manner. Here are some examples..


My Breastfeeding Story - I didn't know how to breastfeed my newborn


or:


My Breastfeeding Story -  My experience in Tandem Nursing


or


My Breastfeeding Story - How I pumped and work at the same time


or


My Breastfeeding Story - My Problems with Weaning


or


My Breastfeeding Story - (__________________) Fill in the blanks with your breastfeeding experience that you would like to share and which you think will be helpful whether it is breastfeeding mulitples, the difficulty or simply the joy you experience in breastfeeding. Then write anything you like and in any length you like and email it to me at


mumsgather@gmail.com


At the end of the story, please remember to link back to your blog or the breastfeeding cateogory on your blog if you have one.

We may not be very successful in reaching out to support other mums individually but collectively, I hope that our stories will be able to help someone out there the way it helped me to perservere doggedly on and remain motivated and inspired despite the uphill battle (yes, it was almost like a battle). I wanted to give up many times but reading the many stories helped me to continue.

Breastfeeding mothers do share a special bond. Lets come together and reach out to support others in a small way. All you have to do is share your story.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your inspiring Breastfeeding Stories.

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