Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aurora" data-source="post: 3683970" data-attributes="member: 6418">Previous posters have given some great advice. There are some breastfeeding/nursing (both terms seem to be used pretty equally here that I have seen <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ) mistakes that I made with my first child that I won't be making with my 2nd. 1) Make sure the baby rooms in with you. (Some hospitals advocate it others don't) No matter how tired you are. No matter how much you just want that one more hour of sleep. With the baby in the room, you will automatically begin picking up on the hints that baby is getting hungry and wants to eat. That gives your wife plenty of time to get comfortable and attempt to get the baby to latch on. If baby is in the nursery, the nurses won't notice until the baby is crying, and then by the time they bring baby to you, he/she will be ANGRY and HUNGRY. It is very hard to get an angry baby to latch unless baby is a pro, which obviously isn't in the beginning. I can't stress that point enough. 2) At the hospital after having baby, you and her will most likely be exhausted and you may think "Oh it won't hurt to give the baby one bottle". It really can. Is it something that you might be able to come back from....yes, but that is a much harder road to travel. At least from my experience. 3) Be prepared if your wife is having latching issues to just have her stay in bed with baby all day and do nothing but tend to him/her. This may happen even if there isn't issues. LOL Many nursing babies will want to eat every 2-3 hours in the beginning and sometimes the feeding takes an hour. She is going to be SO VERY tired. She just needs to get through the first couple weeks and it will get much easier. 4) Buy Lanolin oil BEFORE you go to the hospital and your wife should use it after she nurses every time, whether she thinks she needs it or not. And she doesn't have to wash it off or anything before she nurses the next time. Oh and she should always change her nursing pads when they wet and let her nips air dry, and no using soap on them in the shower. These things will help prevent them from getting sore and cracked. She may want to look into a product called <a href="http://www.lilypadz.com/index1.html" target="_blank">Lilypadz</a>. I am going to be ordering some, so I'll let you know if they are as awesome as I have heard they are. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />5) If your hospital has a lactation consultant make sure they come see you before you go home at least once. Even let the nurses know right after having the baby that you are going to want to see them. Even if things are going great, they can be of great use, and make sure you get their card so if after you get home, if you have issues you can call and ask their advice. Don't be afraid to call! 6) If your wife is going to go back to work, and wants to pump, make sure you buy a good quality double electric pump. IMO Medela makes the best ones on the market and it is worth the money you spend. Cheap pumps will actually hurt her milk supply if she is having to pump daily. Trust me. 7) If you have a LLL (La Leche League) or something similar in your area, it is a good idea to have her check out their support groups, especially if she needs the encouragement. She may even look into that now and maybe even see about attending a meeting. Someone mentioned swaddling. Swaddling is GREAT for a baby. They are used to being all tight and cozy in the womb. It makes them feel safe. I have tried a lot of different swaddling blankets and hands-down, I think that the <a href="http://www.miracleblanket.com/index.htm" target="_blank">Miracle Blanket</a> is the best one. My best friend also got one for her daughter and felt the same way.Wow, I wrote a lot. Sorry. LOL</blockquote>

Verification