Episode 237

Well, check this out. If you have been with me from the beginning of Season 3, just take a look at all that you have learned about breastfeeding.The last 6 weeks have been all about breastfeeding from the first day of birth all the way through the second week of life. We have talked about What to expect as far as breastfeeding, milk volume, weight loss, weight gain. I have given you some great information on preventing painful breastfeeding, recognizing engorgement and what to do about it. Lots of good info last week on what to do if your baby is not breastfeeding well. When I teach this topic in Breastfeeding class, I often feel like a “Debbie Downer.” We are all expecting breastfeeding to come fairly easy perhaps with a few small bumps along the way, but certainly are not expecting our baby to not be able to get the hang of breastfeeding. To hear me talk about what to do if your baby is having difficulties breastfeeding, well this certainly is not what you want to hear. I fully understand that as I had that same mindset. This is normal.

What I recognized as a Breastfeeding Educator though is that we were so busy talking about normal newborn breastfeeding, that we left parents with no tools in their toolkit, so to speak, if they did run into problems in the early days. There are so many parents who do not even know breastfeeding is not going well because they don’t know what signs to look for. Many parents are happy that there baby latches on and is sucking. It is not until that first pediatric appointment that they realize there baby was just hanging out at the breast, doing some sucking but not really transferring milk. If you have figured out that your baby is not breastfeeding well. Now what do you do? No one told you what you need to know. The frustration level for parents in this state is quite high as they realize that all the information they learned in class is not helping them at the moment. I have a strong desire for you to be partners in your babies healthcare and knowing what to do in this situation, helps to empower you in a situation where you may feel like you have little to no control.

You have learned so much in the last 12 weeks about normal newborn breastfeeding behavior that you are soon going to be an expert in all this yourself. From listening to the shows, You now know how to tell if your baby is breastfeeding well, what the signs to look for are, how it is suppose to feel for you, how your baby will typically respond. I have received emails and posts in the Facebook group from moms telling me how helpful the shows were in helping them get off to a great start with breastfeeding. The knowledge they gained helped them to assess how breastfeeding was going. This may sound crazy to you, however, whenever I hear stories like this, I just know that I am in the right place and doing exactly what I am suppose to be doing.

My goal in these last 12 weeks, has literally been to get you ready to go for the first 2 weeks of breastfeeding. This audio format is great for people who are not a fan of reading. This is a great series for you to share with partners who may be interested in breastfeeding, but lack the patience or interest to read about it. There are people in your life who can really benefit from all this great early breastfeeding information. Be a great friend or coworker and send them links to subscribe to the show.

The last topic in this series just brings it all home. Your baby is now 2 weeks old. How do you know that breastfeeding is going well? Once again, you can go to the show notes page and I have a great handout that you can access which has this all written down in a down loadable format that you can print
and hang on your fridge or put in a handy place.

1. Your baby should have been gradually gaining back any weight loss from the first 4 days, until they were back to birthweight at 2 weeks old.
2. Breastfeeding should not be painful for you.
3. Your baby comes to the breast and feedings are comfortable for you. You should not be experiencing any breast pain or nipple pain.
4. When your baby is breastfeeding he should be relaxing at breast, focused on feeding, staying put and not coming on and off, multiple times during the feeding.

Your baby should be feeding about 8 times a day. Perhaps it is 7 or perhaps it is 9 somewhere in there would be normal.

After most feedings, your baby that started off the feeding with strong hunger cues, should appear quite satiated and content. Some babies need a few minutes of rocking, perhaps to burp, perhaps a diaper change before they seem to settle down. Output should be within the normal range of 4 heavy wet pee diapers and 2-3 yellowish stools that are at least the size of a quarter. After 2 weeks of age, your baby should continue to gain about 1 oz per day, at least up until they are 5-6 months old.

.I looked around for that one special quote to leave you with for the New Year.
Turns out, there were so many great ones that I had a hard time choosing.

I don’t call them New Year’s Resolutions. I prefer the term, ” Casual promises to myself that I’m under not legal obligation to fulfill.”

Have hope
Try New things
Be active
SEE the good,
Say, I love you more
Challenge yourself
Choose to be happy
Eat better
Enjoy today
Forgive more readily
Read more often
Become your best you

And then there is the one I like the best as it feels quite attainable.

I am choosing one word, just one word, that will Guide Me with everything I do this year, particularly when I am in a state of indecision. It is a simple word and it is one letter, literally. The word I?

As in what do I want?
What do I need?
What can I do?
Where can I go?
Is this the job I want?
Do I really need this?