Breastfeeding Tips from my class :-)

We had our breastfeeding class last night and it went really well. Lots of interesting information (and my hubby went with me and he was such a great participant!! I was so proud!). Also as a bonus the instructor had twins that she breastfed so she was such a great help in that department. Some interesting tid bits I thought I'd share if any of you are looking to breastfeed:

-- Malt (like a Malt vs. milkshake) has something in it that increases your milk (bring on the Malts!! )

-- For sore nipples buy a head of cabbage and put it in the fridge. After breastfeeding take a leaf of the cabbage and put it on your boob and leave it on (under bra or whatever) and it has something in it that both soothes and heals

-- Also for sore nipples - buy the nursing pads and wet them (she said disposable works well for this) and then put them in the freezer. Put them on the nipple both before and after feeding for relief

Tomorrow is our Prepared Childbirth class and I'm looking forward to that. Hoping to get lots of good info and learn lots of ways for hubby to support me during labor and delivery . We're doing a one-day (all day) class vs. the 6 week course. Besides getting it done in one fell swoop I won't be worried that I'll get put on bedrest and miss classes. Anyway - hope the tips help someone. I thought they were really interesting and things I'd never heard of before.

 

QUOTE(LMW1015 @ Aug 22 2008, 12:15 PM) [snapback]942496[/snapback]
-- For sore nipples buy a head of cabbage and put it in the fridge. After breastfeeding take a leaf of the cabbage and put it on your boob and leave it on (under bra or whatever) and it has something in it that both soothes and heals


This WORKS!!!! I did this after we lost my daughter and it was SO soothing. Don't freeze the cabbage, though... then it doesn't work. And you have to change it out about every 30 minutes or so. And you might start smelling like Burger King. But it actually PULLS excess milk out of the ducts and helps clogged ducts get flowing, so only use it if you are having duct issues. It doesn't help with soreness as much as the cold compresses do (at least for me), but it REALLY helped with those ducts! I went from 12 pumps a day (producing CRAZY amounts... I'm a dairy cow) to ZERO in a week with no issues thanks to the cabbage.

 

I still breastfeed and you just gave me a license to drink a malt - bring it on!!!!!

I wish I had known about the wet breastpads when my breasts were sore! - that makes total sense!!

thanks for posting this!!

 

I just want to add to those tips:
Be careful not to use very muhc cabbage leaves, they can decrease supply: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/en...nt.html#cabbage

And do not keep anything wet on your nipples for more than a few mins, wetness increases the likelyhood for thrush, and you do NOT want to get thrush!!!!

And visit the bfing forum to find all kinds of btdt advice

 

QUOTE(excitedk @ Aug 22 2008, 12:17 PM) [snapback]942612[/snapback]
I just want to add to those tips:
Be careful not to use very muhc cabbage leaves, they can decrease supply: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/en...nt.html#cabbage

And do not keep anything wet on your nipples for more than a few mins, wetness increases the likelyhood for thrush, and you do NOT want to get thrush!!!!

And visit the bfing forum to find all kinds of btdt advice

Yep.. I was just about to post that cabbage leaves are a way of lessoning your supply when you are trying to wean them. I encourse you to visit us in the breastfeeding forum for any specific questions. WE have some very good stickies at the top with tips. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy & I hope the class goes well.

 

VERY interesting!! Thanks for the other tips!! I'll have to call the instructor and let her know about the cabbage lessening the milk. I think my favorite was the MALT!

 

Yep, I was just going to say watch the cabbage leaves because it does decrease supply. In fact I wore them for 3 days after I weaned to help with the discomfort, but also to help dry up that milk!

 

Thanks for the tips!

We also did the 1-day classes (childbirth and infant care) and did them over a weekend. They worked well for our schedules and got them out of the way so I could focus my time during the week on resting.

 

I used that lanolin cream made for nipples -- I must say you only need one small container since you hardly use much of it. I used it before the girls were born when my nipples felt like they were on fire and it helped.

 

Wow, I feel way behind the game... I'm 20 weeks and still haven't even filled out my registration for the hospital or even signed up for classes.... let alone actually attended one.... YIKES!

I didn't find out about the twins until 14 weeks and since then I've been so busy getting ready to move into our new house and starting a new school year, I guess I just forgot about it.

Thanks for the reminder!! I'll have to get on that this weekend!

yusra

 

Thanks for sharing the tips with everyone!

One of the most important things I learned in breastfeeding class actually didn't have anything to do with breastfeeding. My class was specifically for those expecting multiples and the LC kindly let us know that most of us were going to still look like we were pregnant with a singleton for a while after having the babies. It's totally true too and that knowledge came in handy when I was asked when I was due by a nice lady at Walgreens 5 days after the girls were born. :lol:

 

I agree, www.kellymom.com is such an excellent site! Be sure to check it out for all things breastfeeding.

I'd also recommend the EZ 2 Nurse pillow. I don't know what I would have done without one. They're specifically made for nursing twins, those little boppy things will really not do the job for you. Google it, I think the site is called double blessings or something like that.

Get the book Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding and Caring for Twins or More. It's an EXCELLENT book put out by LeLeche League and it's really the only book about nursing that you will need. Here's the amazon link. http://www.amazon.com/Mothering-Multiples-...2244&sr=8-1

And don't let anyone tell you it can't be done, and ignore the looks that people will give you when you tell them you plan to breastfeed your twins. There are a lot of us here who have proven that it CAN be done!