A Nursing Tale

Originally posted January 9, 2014. I want to expand on this post, and will do so soon, but thought re-posting this is a good place to start.

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A friend recently brought it to my attention that through the feeding experience with Little E, I learned a lot of precious information (and so did Andrew!).

I thought I would share much of it here, in hopes that it helps someone else! That being said, if you have a health practitioner you should ask their advice and follow that - this post should give you lots of things to ask them though :)

Our Schedule at the Beginning when Little E was in the NICU:

• Nurse as soon as you can see the baby.
• Go every three hours to feed the baby (or as often as the NICU nurses will let you).
• Do a combination of attempting to nurse and bottle feeding.
• Nurse for a few minutes, then bottle feed (or let partner), then pump for 15 minutes on a medium setting.
• Drink a glass of water and have a snack every time you feed/pump.

Other tips for increasing supply:

• Nurse more often (if that's humanly possible...)
• Skin to skin
• Also known as cuddle time :)
• Helps promote milk production.
• Helps baby to moderate their temperature (up or down).
• Good for partner too!
• Pump, pump, pump!
• Have a picture of your baby nearby or visit the NICU and imagine your baby nursing while you pump, or if possible sit near your baby!
• Make sure you have correctly sized phalanges.
• Invest in a double electric pump, it saves time and makes it easier to actually pump when you don't want to.
• This is my pump. (I love it).
• Drink nursing tea
• I loved the taste of Lunar Eclipse nursing tea
• We were able to find this at Zehrs.
• Also helpful for baby's gas problems.
• Sleep!
• If your baby is taking a bottle/supplementation anyway, take one of the 12 feeds off a day and sleep/rest through it. This will help with supply as a well-rested body can make more milk!

Don't be afraid to try other things:

• Bottle feeding:
• You may need to bottle feed while nursing is being established, don't feel bad about this!
• Use a bottle that has a wide nipple to simulate the size/feeling of a breast. We used this kind. This looks like the new version of it - wide base, short nipple. (Everett didn't have a wide mouth but it worked just fine)
• Have someone help with the bottle feeding at the beginning as nursing and pumping is more than enough effort and you will need your rest.
• Someone else will need to wash (and if using formula, sterilize) the bottles. This is something that should be delegated at the beginning.
• Have baby sit up to eat out of bottle so that he is forced to draw the milk down the nipple and it isn't poured in (simulating real nursing I was told).






• Crazy straw mechanism - Lact-aid
• Didn't work well for us since Little E was annoyed by the straw's presence in his mouth and tried to spit it out.
• Works amazingly for others!
• Nipple shield
• Apparently good for torn up nipples, also has other uses.
• We used it to get Little E to sustain a latch on the breast as it would engage his sucking reflex much like a bottle.
• Only warning we heard was to not use it exclusively if you're needing to increase your supply as the baby's direct latch works better for that.
• Goal was to use for a few weeks only (for Little E to wean off the bottle and onto the breast).
• Hand expression
• Not something that was particularly easy for me, especially when establishing a supply.
• Here's a link to an explanation and how-to for hand expression and massage.
• Massage
• Worked well before pumping.
• Helped with clogged ducts.
• Brought milk down to make it easier for Everett to get milk sooner (at beginning).
• Other Supplements:
• Never used either, but work for lots of mamas!
• Fenugreek
• Blessed Thistle

Great Resources:

• La Leche League
• Breastfeeding Buddies
• Pre-birth Breastfeed Class
• Health professional (lactation consultant, midwife, family doctor)