Wait: Breastfeeding Is A Challenge?
Well sure, breastfeeding is natural. Of course, it is! It’s the biological reason for mammary glands, after all! The body is meant to breastfeed! When the baby is born, you can pop him or her right on that pap and they’ll immediately start extracting milk from you—right? Well, not exactly.
Certainly, some mothers have an easier time with breastfeeding, but there are plenty of women who have difficulty starting out. The newborn baby has never eaten anything before, much less suckled at your teat. If you’re a new mom, you’ve likely never breastfed before. The result? Well, the first few times your baby latches on can be a little challenging.
Newborns tend to have a bit of a “bobblehead” thing going on, and it can take them a little bit to start nursing. However, persistence pays off. You’re really in trouble if you’re not producing enough milk, though. For newborns, that can be a problem. Right after birth, they’re going to seek out your breast spontaneously. If they get there and it’s dry, you’ve got an issue.
Varying wheats like rye and barley can help you produce more milk. If you’re gluten intolerant, it could actually reduce how much breastmilk you’re able to produce. You may have to figure out how to properly supplement. There are diets that are conducive to production, and those which aren’t. Also, additional issues make breastfeeding a challenge sometimes, we’ll explore a few here.
1. Finding The Right Positions For Breastfeeding
Here’s a link to some newborn breastfeeding positions; there are several of them to consider. The most common tend to be the classic two-armed cradle where the baby is stretched sideways in front of you and both arms are used to cradle his little head, the football hold where you cradle the child in the crook of one arm—this is popular with twins—and side nursing.
Side nursing is when you lean to the left or the right and have your baby lean on the opposite side facing you with their mouth at breast level. The right position can help your baby get the nutrition necessary for healthy growth; sometimes a baby is more likely to nurse in one position than another.
2. Handling Pain
Breastfeeding doesn’t always feel good. Your nipples will likely get sore—especially if you aren’t getting the “latch” process right. This can even lead to milk duct blockage. If you’ve got sore paps, use petroleum jelly to soothe them, and a breast pump to extract milk so your baby doesn’t go hungry.
3. Getting Your Schedule Synced With Your Baby’s Hunger
If you produce milk when your baby isn’t hungry, and you don’t express it, that can make it hard for your breasts to have nourishment when the child decides it wants a little snack. If you’ve got some bottled breastmilk on hand that’s good, but a better idea is to get your milk production cycle aligned with your newborn’s appetite.
Overcoming Initial Parenting Challenges Helps You Later
Parenting doesn’t get easier, but it does get better. It’s not that the challenges go away, they change. When your child is 18, you don’t have to breastfeed anymore, but you may have to post bail after they make the same mistakes you did. So look at breastfeeding as a sort of secondary preparation after the birth itself.
For breastfeeding challenges, schedule sync, learning to deal with pain, and positioning are important for best results. As regards parenting challenges, positioning, timing, and pain tolerance also apply.