Friday, August 15, 2008

Booby Class

Last night, my husband and I attended a Prenatal Breastfeeding class at the hospital. When I signed up a few weeks ago the receptionist on the phone asked if I were bringing my "partner". I was like "Hell yeah!". Unless my husband had some life-threatening excuse, I would expect him to be there. From speaking to my mom and some friends, breastfeeding is work for both the mother and the father. The father should know what is going on and what I am going
(and will be) through. He agreed.

So, we show up at the class and when we sit down there were about 8 other pregos. My poor husband was the only male there! He was a real trooper and even looked through the brochures with me while we waited for the class to begin. When skimming over the information he was totally into the fact that breastfeeding saves a family between $2000-$4000 per year. He informed me that I will be breastfeeding my baby until it goes to Kindergarten!! Hahaha!

The class began. Due to the torrential downpour about 5 more pregos strolled in, 2 of whom brought their significant other....whew!!! I felt so much better for Gene. I was still really proud that my husband was there. I almost felt bad for the mom-to-bes who were there by themselves. Why wouldn't their "partner" go with them? Or bring someone close to you...mother, breast, I mean best friends, ex-boyfriend!!! It really bothered me the whole class and as you can tell it is still bothering me now! (Fast forward to the end of the class: Stacie the Spy was listening to one prego ask the instructor if she could attend the class again because she wished she would have brought her hubby because he should really know "this stuff"...see!!!) Despite his ADD, my husband was really attentive. We giggled at some pictures of engorged breasts, but that is just us! We were on pretty good behavior last night....not like the last class we took!

The nurse who gave the class was awesome. It basically was a Breastfeeding for Dummies class, but I thought it was perfect! First, she discussed the pros and cons of breastfeeding. I did not realize that if you breastfeed for at least 2 years of your life you decrease your chance of Breast Cancer by up to 40%. That is HUGE! It also decreases your chances of other cancers, such as ovarian. It does wonders for the baby as well. The baby will have less of a chance of getting childhood cancers, less ear infections, learning disabilities, and many more! The only con I really remember is sore nipples, but they make lots of different utter cream for that! We brought home a free sample!

I could type for the next 24 hours all of the information that I learned in that 2 hour class, but here are some helpful tips (you might already know, but for those who have never breastfed, they might be helpful):

  • Bring the baby to your breast, do not bring the breast to the baby. Doing this blocks the ducts.
  • Do not hold the back of the baby's head or cheeks. Babies get very mad when this is done to them. You can prop their head below the neck, behind the ears.
  • The babies mouth should be at a 130 degree angle, with is mouth wide open (no fishy lips), cheeks rounded, chin touching the breast, and nose slightly away.
  • It is not normal for it to hurt more than 30 seconds...if i does, relatch because something is not right.
  • Wake the baby up every 2-3 hours during the night the first couple of weeks and offer a feeding. The more you do this, the more milk you will end up producing. It's all about supply and demand!
  • It can take 10-15 minutes to wake a baby up (change its diaper, tickle feet, stroke face, talk to...never hit!).
  • Don't worry if the baby does not eat at every feeding attempt, but at least you offered!
  • You will know that you fed the baby enough if he or she "pops" off the booby, falls asleep, and there are long pauses/weak sucking.
  • She assured us that not all meals will be the same length...just like humans. A feeding can last between 10 and 45 minutes. Every baby is different, and that goes the same with bottle feeding.
I am sure this is all common sense information, but it was all just reassuring hearing it from a nurse. We also learned about poop color, collection and storage, plugged milk ducts (OUCH!), scheduling feedings, engorgement, breast pumps (wow....pricey!), introduction of the bottle, various holds, and a daddy's role. Little does the average person know that a baby daddy should play a huge role when the mommy is breastfeeding. A daddy can:
  • Burp the baby
  • Bring the baby to the mama
  • Rock the baby
  • Walk the baby
  • Change the diaper
  • Give love and support during feedings (such as making a sucking face over the mommy's shoulder....I learned that a baby begins to mimic the first day!)
I am really excited to breastfeed. I know my friends and family members have had trouble, but I am like really psyched! I know it is an "art", but hey, I am creative! Hahah! I still have questions, and I am sure I will have more once the little peanut arrives. If anyone would like to give me more advice or can answer my questions below, that would make my Friday!

Stacie's Booby Questions

1. What is the best book to read to better prepare myself?
2. I have to go back to work 12 weeks after delivering. Is it possible to breastfeed while at home and for my mom to feed her a bottle when I am at work. I don't know how I will pump at work when I have 20+ kids in my classroom and my breaks are not guaranteed!!!! Is it even possible? I will only be at work for 2 months and then be with the baby all summer...seems silly to stop for 2 months!
3. How does drinking alcohol effect breastfeeding?
4. What kind of bottles should I register for? The nurse recommended nipples with a wide base and long nipple.
5. Do you spell BOOBY with a "y" or "ie"?

Have a terrific weekend....we are off to Lamaze tomorrow! That is all for now. I have to go eat some lasagna....everyone does that at 10:15 a.m., right?


M-T-B Stacie

14 comments:

Tracy said...

Wow sounds like an informativve class! I'm no expert 'cause I've only been nursing for about 4 weeks but here is what I'vew learned so far. Drinking (responsibly) is okay. This means limit your drinks to 1-2 or less per week. Any more can reduce milk production. Also the pump and dump method does not work! This will not reduce the alcohal level in your milk! Milk holds alcohal like blood does. The alcohal over time will leave the milk making it safe for baby. From what I have read if you feel sober enough to drive you are sober enough to breastfeed. No I'm not talking about the kind of driving that you do with one eye open and someone else controlling the pedals! Lol! I also personally like the Playtex drop-ins. They are BPA free and my baby took to them without any problem. I having a pretty easy going infant though who takes whatever is put in front of her. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

LOL I spell it boobie. . . but anyway, about your alcohol and breast feeding question, I am obviously no expert but my cousin-in-law does this: If she knows that she will be going out for some drinks she will pump way ahead of time and then give the baby the pumped milk until the alcohol is gone from the milk.

Unknown said...

1. What is the best book to read to better prepare myself?
~The womanly art of breastfeeding is a wonderful book to read.

2. I have to go back to work 12 weeks after delivering. Is it possible to breastfeed while at home and for my mom to feed her a bottle when I am at work. I don't know how I will pump at work when I have 20+ kids in my classroom and my breaks are not guaranteed!!!! Is it even possible? I will only be at work for 2 months and then be with the baby all summer...seems silly to stop for 2 months!
It is completely possible, if at any way you could pump during your lunch break or at least once during the middle of the day, feed the baby right before you leave and then right when you get home that should help to make sure your supply doesn't dwindle.

3. How does drinking alcohol effect breastfeeding?
You can have an occasional drink but it does pass through the milk so nothing regular and not alot.

4. What kind of bottles should I register for? The nurse recommended nipples with a wide base and long nipple.
Sorry I am no help on the bottle LOL of the 8+ years I nursed (I have 3) I never used one hope somone can shed some light on that for you.

5. Do you spell BOOBY with a "y" or "ie"? I spell it boobie LOL

Anonymous said...

Udder Cream

Pam said...

I breastfed my son even after I returned to work. I would do his am feeding before work, the sitter gave him formula during the day, and I would leave ASAP to do the afternoon and rest of the day/night feedings. It worked for us.

Pierrette said...

1. What is the best book to read to better prepare myself?

This is not a book but a video Dr. Jack Newmans visual guide to breastfeeding.

Also read Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding
By La Leche League.

2. I have to go back to work 12 weeks after delivering. Is it possible to breastfeed while at home and for my mom to feed her a bottle when I am at work. I don't know how I will pump at work when I have 20+ kids in my classroom and my breaks are not guaranteed!!!! Is it even possible? I will only be at work for 2 months and then be with the baby all summer...seems silly to stop for 2 months!

Contact your local La Leche League chapter there you will meet many other moms that breastfeed and work they will all be willing to help you with support and tips on how to make this possible. I am a stay at home mom but I know of many mothers that successfully work and nurse.

3. How does drinking alcohol effect breastfeeding?

It takes anywheres between 30 to 90 mins for one drink to leave your body. If you breast feed during that period of time your baby will get some alcohol with his milk. Professionals have mixed opinions on this topic; I myself will not drink any alcohol until Christophe is done nursing. For your information I am also avoiding all artificial sweeteners, medicines unless absolutely necessary and peanuts. You can find some good information on the subject here:

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/alcohol.html


4. What kind of bottles should I register for? The nurse recommended nipples with a wide base and long nipple.

Glass bottles are better for your child and the environment but if you re going to get plastic make sure they are bpa free. Before introducing the bottle wait to make sure your baby has fully mastered latching on. After that you want to get a nipple that has a very very very low flow. Bottles are designed for formula that is much thicker then breast milk so you want the hole in the nipple to be as small as possible. The main reasons for this is for the milk not to come too quick if it does it the bottle could have 2 major adverse reactions: your baby pulls off because the milk is coming too fast or your baby enjoys the fast milk and starts refusing to nurse on the breast because the milk does not come fast enough.

Also make sure your pump is bpa free.

5. Do you spell BOOBY with a "y" or "ie"?

y

Anonymous said...

I LOVED nursing DD...we nursed until 1 year, but I didn't know that you had all those benefits until 2 years...she just so active now at 18 mos.

If you ever feel your supply running low, I have a great, yummy recipe for Mama Jeeper's Lactation Bars on my site:

http://www.heavenlyhold.com/pages/Breastfeeding.htm

Missy said...

I only managed to breast feed for a few months with both of my babies - it is HARD work, and painful - but VERY much worth it. I hope to do it a bit longer with Baby #3 (if or when we have one). Definitely splurge and get a good pump - I did not, and it was difficult. I think that you can rent one from the hospital for a while if you don't want to spend the money.
I give your husband kudos for going with you - if anything, he at least needs to understand the process, to know what you will be going through. :)

Anonymous said...

i am going against the grain here. i/we failed at the breastfeeding. we tried and tried and tried. and i cried and cried and cried about it. i didn't want to give up and go to formula. but it came to that. i want u to know it is also ok to formula feed if breastfeeding doesn't work for u and ur lil one. it is a hard thing to swallow, trust me. i felt horrible. but then u realize that feeding ur baby something is better. i at least got to breastfeed him for a few days. then he decided it wasn't for him!! i know, also, some people can make u feel like a failure if u try and are not succesful at it. of course, it is the best thing for u and baby. but it doesn't make u any less of a mom if it just doesn't happen for u 2.
just in case, sign up with the different formula companies and u can get samples or coupons. that way u do have some formula in the house, in case of emergency.
good luck, i truly hope it works out for u!!

Missi said...

We're still nursing and my daughter is 21 months. I plan on stopping when she wants to. Good for you DH for going with you! Mine was very supportive, too!

1. What is the best book to read to better prepare myself?

On top of the other suggestions, I also recommend So That's What They're There For.

2. I have to go back to work 12 weeks after delivering. Is it possible to breastfeed while at home and for my mom to feed her a bottle when I am at work. I don't know how I will pump at work when I have 20+ kids in my classroom and my breaks are not guaranteed!!!! Is it even possible? I will only be at work for 2 months and then be with the baby all summer...seems silly to stop for 2 months!

Totally possible. I started going back to school when Lillian was 7 months and I didn't pump at school and gave formula bottles and she nursed at home (and I would sometimes have to pump on the weekends or other times and would use that milk if available before mixing formula).

3. How does drinking alcohol effect breastfeeding?

I've seen a lot of mixed things about this. I drank once (some special occasion) and pumped and dumped. Other than that, I avoided most of the recommended things to avoid.


4. What kind of bottles should I register for? The nurse recommended nipples with a wide base and long nipple.

I think you should get a few different types of bottles and try them out. Lillian wouldn't take any bottle until about 12 weeks or so (we tried - I was over producing and had so much milk pumped and DH would try to give her the bottle but she refused. She refused pacis too) and even though everyone recommended doc browns to us, she didn't take to them nearly as well as she did the avent. Every baby will be different - and some may not even have a preference at all!

5. Do you spell BOOBY with a "y" or "ie"?

y

Mozi Esme said...

:} My hubby refused to go to the breastfeeding class with me! At least he went to most of the birthing classes, but NOT that one!

I'm still nursing baby at 16 months - I'd like to start weaning at 18 months if she's ready. There are definitely a lot of cons, especially at the beginning when you are dead tired, it is terribly sore (even with proper latchon, contrary to what you get told in class), and baby wants to eat every hour for 45 minutes at a time. But if you get through that, it does get better.

Ditto on making sure you have a good pump. I don't have a good one and have never been very successful at pumping. That really ties me down as far as doing anything without baby, and I've been very annoyed by that at times.

Personally, I'd avoid the alcohol thing - why take the risk? But then again, I avoid caffeine, too. It's hard enough getting baby to sleep without that extra jolt to her system. I've had it a few times and can see the difference. It's safe as far as I know, but it DOES affect them. And boy am I looking forward to a little caffeine as soon as this weaning thing is over!

Depending on baby's gasiness and allergies, there may be other things you need to avoid in your diet, too.

Best wishes! Hope it works out for you - it is definitely worth some effort, not just in terms of $ savings!

Marcy said...

It's been proven that having your husband support breastfeeding increases your chance of sticking to it so YAY YOU AND HUBBY!

It's good to get informed ahead of time. The book I used is called The Nursing Mother's Companion. Sites like Kellymom.com and www.thebirthden.com/Newman.html (there's VIDEOS which can make a world of difference when you're trying to figure out just how baby really does need to latch-- reading and hearing all the descriptions in the world are still no comparison to actually seeing it) are GREAT resources, too.

It's good to be watchful of latch and pain, though I honestly believe that it's going to be neatly impossible NOT to have some pain, when there's someone sucking on a normally quite ender and sensitive part of your anatomy for cumulative hours of the day.

The first 2 months are very hard. Make a pact with yourself to make it at least through those first 8-10 weeks, it really does get a lot easier after that but at first it can feel like the difficult parts will last forever. Is there a way you can use a nursing cover and pump while at work? You may have a tough time over those 2 months, and may need to supplement depending on what your supply does, but if you pump every time you can and use other things to increase supply, you should be able to keep breastfeeding afterwards.

Best of luck with it, it really is so rewarding. I don't have advice on bottles, other than to say that once you do introduce them try to give baby a bottle once a day, we slacked on this for a few weeks when D was about 2 months and then he wouldn't take bottles anymore after that. *sigh*

Sheri said...

I used the earth mama baby nipple cream and it was so much better than the lansinoh.

Hang in there and go to your local LLL meetings. The group leaders are wonderful sources of info.
I am not going to sugar coat things. It is so hard. Really hard. But it does get better if you just get over that hump. I have had tons of problems with milk supply. Plus, when you have problems we are all here to help you through it. I am on month 5. So worth it.

cathy said...

Yay for your husband going to breastfeeding class with you! Mine went with me too, and only 1 person in our class didn't have her SO with her (she brought her mom, instead). I was so proud of all the daddies!

For my take on your questions...
1. I read a lot on babycenter.com and message boards online. UNLIKE what I was told that my milk would come in by day 4 or 5, my milk didn't come in until about 2 weeks after she was born! It was frustrating, hard and I felt completely demoralized. Fortunately I had a great pediatrician who recommended the Medela SNS (Supplemental Nursing System) which is also not easy to use, but helped a lot. Also, reading the message boards and knowing other people had similar experiences helped. If you're determined to breastfeed, give yourself a goal of sticking to it at least a month to 6 weeks. If it doesn't work or your baby doesn't take to it, then don't beat yourself up. Sometimes it just doesn't work.

2. Completely possible. My nanny gives my daughter bottles of breastmilk during the day. I pump at work during the day. I nurse in the morning and at night.

3. I pumped and dumped, but waited to pump at least 2 hours after I drank to make sure all alcohol was out of my system. Also, I only had 1 drink (frozen margarita).

4. Agree with the poster who said buy a couple of different kinds, and be sure to get the slow flow nipples. We use the Playtex drop-ins quite successfully. Easy clean up, recycleable, and BPA-free.

5. y