Does breastfeeding hurt and how do you know if you are producing enough milk ?

Question

I have a 3 year old daughter and when she was born, I wasn't able to breasteed her because she had an allergic reaction to my milk and was very very sick. And now I am pregnant with my second child ( due February 26th ) and I really want to breastfeed this one, and does it hurt to breastfeed and do they really get enough milk from the breast...And if I pump, because I will be going back to work when the baby is 6 months, does pumping hurt and yeah, just a lot of worries on my part concerning breast feeding. Thanks

Answer 1

Hi, I had the same concerns, and it did hurt for me but it passes and it's well worth sticking at it

Thing is you've never done it before, nor has your baby so it takes practice. I would say give it at least 4 weeks, don't expect too much of yourself in the early days

Practice makes perfect

Its the best thing in the world, give it a go.

Good Luck

Answer 2

Congrats on your decision to breastfeed!  

I nursed both of my sons well past one year (one was 14 months and weaned himself when I was already PG with the 2nd and the other made it to 15 months and weaned himself) and I was fortunate enough to never feel any pain whatsoever.  However, some women do have some pain either in the beginning when they are adjusting, or sporadically as a result of thrush or clogged ducts or other issues.  In all my time nursing, I never had one of those.  I can't say that I did anything special to avoid them.  Just lucky, I guess?

I also work full time.  I went back at 9 weeks after my first son and 2.5 weeks after my second.  Naturally, my pump was my best friend!  Pumping does not hurt at all.  I would recommend a good high quality pump.  A working mommy needs the best pump she can afford.  It's different than a SAHM who just wants to pump now and again to be able to go out for an evening.  You need something that will work well and efficiently.  I love my Medela PIS Advance.  It has made it through the last two babies and is sitting there waiting for me when I deliver this one too.  Oh, and my favorite storage bags are the Lansinoh ones.  Fill them up and then freeze them flat so you can stack or file them in your freezer.  They take up less room this way.

The best advice I can offer is to try a lot of things and don't be discouraged if the first thing doesn't work.  Babies are different.  They like different positions, different timing, some are one-sided nurses while others are two-siders.  As a side note, except for the first week when I was establishing my milk supply, I always did one-sided feeding and I truly think it maximized my supply.  Speaking of supply, if you ever have problems, look for something called Domperidone.  You have to get it online as most OBs won't write a Rx for it since the FDA hasn't approved it in this country for lactation yet -- but everyone admits that it works better than anything else and they use it in every other country for it.

A great breastfeeding support website is www.kellymom.com and another amazing resource is Dr. Jack Newman.  You can Google him and find his articles on a lot of sites.  He also answers emails personally and fairly quickly.

Good luck to you and be strong!!!  Remember that breastfeeding is a supply and demand system so the more you nurse, the more milk your body will produce.  If you opt to supplement with formula, your body will adjust production and make less.  Enjoy the special bond you get from nursing your baby and do the best you can with it!!

Answer 3

Of course they get enough off the breast! You get a baby & then you get milk for him, the more he eats, the more your produce.

It wasn't painful for me, i just got very sensitive nipples, i used lansinoh lanolin & in 2 wks i barely felt a thing. You know your baby is eating enough by his diapers, If he doesn't pee or p**p, you know he's not. But i'm sure your baby will be more than fine on breastmilk!!

I work 8hrs a day & pump, pumping does not hurt either!

Congrats on the upcoming baby!

God Bless

Here's a website i really enjoy about breastfeeding--

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T020100...

Answer 4

In my experience, it hurt a little at first, but after a few weeks it was fine.  Sure they get enough milk from the beast, amazingly enough.  The more you pump and nurse, the more milk you'll produce (it's supply and demand).  And you know they're getting enough by the amount of dirty/wet diapers the baby has (and of course whether they're gaining weight and growing).  Pumping doesn't hurt -- get a good quality electric one (like Medela) and you'll be fine!

Answer 5

I think breast feeding is a bit like giving birth in that you know how it's supposed to go but it's not always the same for every woman. I tried to breast feed two of my three children but for different reasons this just didn't work out. However don't let this put you off as I know plenty of woman who have breast fed without any problems.

As far as pain goes I think the rule is that if it hurts you're doing it wrong, so reposition the baby and start again.

Answer 6

Breast is best. I tried breastfeeding and gave up and still feel guilty about it. Clearly there is nothing you could do with the first child. And that may be the situation with the 2nd child. I could not get my daughter to latch on properly therefore it hurt so bad that I just wanted to rip her off of my breast. Pumping was a little painful but nothing like the bad latch. I highly recommend a breast feeding class. When I was pregnant, I thought it would be so easy. You just stick the kid on there and they feed. Not in my case. My next child I will take classes before giving birth so I can get everything right. I am not one of those people to tell you that you are evil for using formula. But I will always say breast is best. It has been proven numerous times. Anyone who says differently is simply ignorant and needs to do their research.v