ecym
Well-Known Member
Continuing on breastfreeding for first time mummy... I also learn the hard way in the first three weeks after that because of my job I am able to exclusive provide expressed BM to my bb till she is at 1 yr mark...
Just a few things to remember for first time mummy
1) Your full milk supply wont kick in until maybe 3-4 weeks after delivery (yes its is that depressing)
2) your infant will have a growth spurt every 3 weeks or so, you will find that your bb will root for your milk almost every hr and you start to doubt whether if bb drinking enough from you
3) during the first few days post delivery, the colostrum is very beneficial to bb, so how ever little you start pumping during these days, MUST give your BB. If you latch, you cant see or gauge how much your bb has drank so we always go by timing, like 15mins per breast
4) Drink PLENTY of water, soup, red dates longan water every hour... and latch/pump every 2 hours during the first month.
5) If you are engaging massage lady, they usually will help you to massage the breasts to regulate the milk flow
6) buy fernugeek supplement if you want to increase the supply but this supplement made me very gassy
7) before every pumping/latching, you can use the following methods (or all steps), these will help to regulate your milk flow (prevent blockages)
7.1 use warm hand towel to massage your breasts
7.2 circular massage your breasts
8) First time mummy, your nipples will surely crack and bleed if you latch/pump too often... cuz nipples not sanitized (sp)...after latching/pump use these methods to ease your crack nipples
8.1 apply your own breastmilk onto the nipples and let it dry
8.2 apply nipple cream onto the crack nipples and leave it till next latch/pump
Breastmilk is not a GRANTED thing, mummy has to work for it... more demand (latching/pumping) more supply ...
TO STOP PUMPING!
Forgot to add : if you have started pumping and wanted to stop at 6 months mark or any other markers, please do so in a GRADUAL phase... cuz by 6 mths, your milk supply would be very established... its normal to pump up to 200ml from each breast if you are pumping every 3 hour...
Always remember - supply = demand... lower demand = lower supply
if you stopped pumping altogether suddenly, you will have all Mastitis, Fever .....
i think for latching is easier to wean off cuz your bb would have taken soft solids then, so your supply definitively will drop... for those exclusively pump, your pump is your latch... if you are pumping every 3 hourly and 20 mins each time, you have to drag to 4 hourly 15 mins for a few days then drag to 5 hourly 15 mins etc etc... watch how your breasts react to the slow down... in the beginning please do not drag from a 3 hourly pump to a 6 hourly pump... you will surely get nasty engorgement...
