Breastfeeding your newborn baby – you are not alone
Breastfeeding a newborn baby is a great adventure, but often very painful and difficult. Not everyone remembers it well, not every mother was successful in breastfeeding her newborn, and others did not breastfeed at all. Read the stories of mothers who are breastfeeding newborn babies – especially if you need support and refreshment.
If you’ve been blogging with me for a long time, you know that my path to breastfeeding was difficult, but well worth the price. The subject is very close to me.
When my first son, Mikołaj, was born thanks to caesarean section, I had a problem with feeding already in the hospital, I asked the midwives and nurses for help. Unfortunately hers I did not receive… instead of tips on what to do to have food and be able to feed a crying newborn, the ladies only fed him a mixture… I started the fight for lactation. The fight was difficult and tedious, requiring hours spent with the breast pump, and the fight against allergies, which turned out to be very uneven.
When my second son Maksio appeared in the world, thanks to the knowledge gained while breastfeeding Mikusia, I knew how to stimulate lactation and had a lot of milk, but … feeding hurt. And breastfeeding a newborn baby it shouldn’t hurt. You can read how I dealt with it here.
Today I wanted to tell you milk stories of 3 women – my sister and my friendsthat we already have today as experienced have prepared some valuable advice for you.
And mine certificates – very personal, beautiful breastfeeding stories.
Breastfeeding a newborn baby
Why is it worth fighting for breastfeeding? Why is it so important?
Without a doubt – the milk we have is … “turbo milk“. I guess there is no other drink like this magical properties : )
Mother’s milk contains lactoferrin, a multifunctional protein with strong bactericidal and virucidal properties. It binds with iron, so it catches it from the bloodstream and thus limits the penetration and multiplication of some viruses into cells.
Mother’s milk also contains the so-called epigenetic, e.g. choline, vitamin B6 and B12 and folates, which, by influencing the way of reading the genetic code, shape the health predisposition of a child. The level of these ingredients directly depends on their consumption in a nursing mother’s diet.
Breastfeeding a newborn baby also means providing it with hundreds of biologically active ingredients, which are responsible, for example, for strengthening the child’s immunity, maturation of its intestines or fighting cancer cells.
Breastfeeding and COVID
Do you suspect you may be infected with COVID-19 or do you have a confirmed result? Don’t give up on breastfeeding! The current (as of the publication date) recommendations of WHO, AAP and UENPS do not present any contraindications for breastfeeding. Even more: milk from mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 could be a potential one an ingredient that provides infants with passive immunity to the disease, even better than convalescent plasma. When feeding, the sick mother should not forget about the principles of safety and hygiene, i.e. isolation, wearing a mask, hand and breast hygiene. So if mom is not in a serious clinical condition, it’s worth fighting for every drop.
Beautiful stories about breastfeeding a newborn by women close to me
I thought I’d ask other moms to describe what was the hardest thing about breastfeeding for them, and what helped them to endure the difficulties and enjoy the milk adventure.
Interested? So let’s go …
The story of Anna Rogalska-Bućko, a dietitian and my friend, and we met on the Internet
AK: How did you imagine breastfeeding your newborn baby before becoming a mother?
AR-B: Everyone says it’s so natural, but hardly anyone mentions that beginnings are almost always difficult and that it is not only a matter of learning for the mother but for each child.
AK: How did you prepare for breastfeeding?
AR-B: I read because how can you prepare for your first child? I was smarter with the next ones. I had a phone call to specialists, in case of doubts, I consulted my doubts and difficulties, and when I was the third child I called the best lactation consultant – Asia Winarska, who helped me with my first child and who relieved my breastfeeding pain.
AK: What were your beginnings with feeding?
AR-B: Heavy. After my first childbirth, I had surgery and I lay unconscious for a long time. A child who had no patience at all to wait fed with a bottle, and this one is much easier than the breast. I fed the syringe with my finger for three days (co the midwives commented it very unpleasantly), and when I was at the end of my tether and I wanted to quit, at night my lactating Angel appeared – Asia Winiarska. She devoted me and a friend from the room all night to not only teach us how to latch on children, but also had an incredibly soothing effect on children.
AK: Who supported you in breastfeeding?
AR-B: Colleaguewho was in labor 3 months earlier and receiving my late-night calls, mentioned lactation consultant Asia, Magda Karpienia, who, despite the fact that she never met me during the feeding, always provided help, advice and a good word.
AK: You are talking about a good word, and what words or actions you heard were not supportive for you?
AR-B: How can you have problems?“,”You’re exaggerating“,” Why are you getting tired, give me a mixture“…
AK: How do you finally remember breastfeeding?
AR-B: As a difficult time. Demanding, full of sacrifices. But in retrospect worth the money. My children did not get much sick as a result.
AK: What would you advise mums at the beginning of the milky way?
AR-B: I could summarize it in four points:
1. Make yourself ready a list of people who will be able to support you after giving birth – a lactation advisor, a midwife who will come even at night, a physiotherapist who will show you how to feed, so as not to damage your spine and suffer from pain. You won’t learn that before. You will need a child for this. This is a specific child.
2. Choosing hospital for childbirth, check if there are midwives working on the ward who are lactation counselors. When you are born, ask about these specific people, if they are on call, and ask for their help. Unfortunately, not every midwife has the appropriate knowledge and experience.
3. Make your partner and immediate family aware of what you will need and do not want after the birth. Well-intentioned “good advice” won’t help, but a box of mineral water by the bed, a thermo mug with hot coffee / tea and soups in a jar in the fridge they will always be helpful. Milk is not formed from the air. For this process, a woman needs calmness, the right amount of fluids and tasty food.
4. Warn everyone that you do not want gifts for your baby after giving birth, because he will not need anything except your closeness and milk. Put the collection jar “For a comfortable chair for feeding”. After the childbirth, go to Ikea together and check which one will be most comfortable for you. It may seem like an unnecessary expense to someone, but in the near future it is in this chair that you will spend the most time. Your comfort is priceless.
The story of Ania Warno, my beloved older sister
AK: How did you imagine breastfeeding your newborn baby before becoming a mother?
RE: I imagined everything would be fine– it’s so natural! I had friends who gave birth a little earlier and I more or less realized what the whole thing was. NUnfortunately, I did not go to childbirth schoolbecause both my pregnancies were at risk and the doctor wouldn’t let me.
AK: How did you prepare for breastfeeding?
AW: A bit I read, some I was asking my friends.
AK: What were your beginnings with feeding?
AW: I have two sons. With my older son Kuba it came naturally and I had no major problems with the feeding itself, only with the fact that my son often choked, which initially gave me a heart attack each time. Fortunately, I finally received professional help and instructions on how to deal with it.
There were, of course difficult moments in moments of developmental leaps baby where you had to get a little tired to adjust the lactation level to the baby’s needs (so-called feeding almost continuously karm). This situation happened about once a month and lasted for several days. I had barely finished feeding and I expected that I would have a break of 2-3 hours, and then I would cry and call for food. At that time, sometimes it seemed to me that I can’t do without artificial milk from the bottle. An experienced friend advised me then: “Ania, you can do it, it has to be like that! The mother-child system is connected, if the baby needs more milk, then by frequent latching on to the breast, it will eventually regulate the right level of lactation.“. I thought about what she said and figured that if I let go of it now and give my baby bottle of milk, my body will start producing even less nourishment. So I did not give up and thanks to that I was able to breastfeed my son until he was six months oldthat is until I return to work.
After the birth of my second son, Piotruś, I was very optimistic about feeding. It started beautifully, I put my son to the breast in an exemplary manner – I already knew how to do it! And everything was going well, but on the second day after giving birth … suddenly I ran out of food and the nurses had to feed the little one with artificial milk.
I don’t know how it happened, maybe I was nervous about being in a single room? After the first childbirth, I was in the room with the second woman and I felt much better.
When I got home things didn’t improve there was still not enough food. However, I denied that I have to breastfeed this baby and that’s it.
Long hours with the baby at the breast began, long feedings. Piotruś ate a little, then fell asleep. After a short time, however, he woke up again hungry, ate a little again and that was how it was all day. I had to feed the little one with a mixture every day.
However, I tried, I fought, I denied that it had to work. Teas, whey, herbs and supplements. But I couldn’t cope on my own. Milk maliciously did not want to produce. Eventually someone recommended me professional lactation consultant from the hospital in Gdańsk Zaspa. She visited us at home several times. It was she who saved my feeding.
First, exactly she wrote down a logical, detailed plan of when and what to drink – I tried various lactation teas myself, but I drank them quite chaotically. She helped me systematize it, she advised me how to change the frequency and type of drinks you drink depending on what is happening.
Second, she brought me peculiar gear: syringe with tube. When I was breastfeeding my baby, I did not feel it, I put a tube through the corner of his mouth, through which I slowly injected artificial milk with a syringe. Even though the breast milk was running out quickly, it did thanks to the milk flowing from the syringe, the baby felt that he was drinking breast milk all the time. My husband laughed that it looks very strange, a bit industrial 
But it was worth it!
Third, the lactation consultant taught me stimulating lactation using the 7-5-3 method, according to the Chele Marmet scheme. After each feeding the baby, I worked with the breast pump for 7 minutes on the left breast, then 7 minutes on the right breast. Then 5 minutes on the left and 5 on the right, and at the end, 3 minutes on each side. I did this work about 6-8 times a day, after feeding and at least once a night.
I was tired for a month until I got tired. I managed to get to the point where I fed Piotrek with only one bottle of the formula in the evening before going to bed. So I did not manage to make lactation 100%, but I fed Piotr 80% on my own milk (where initially it was 10-20%). I was able to continue this throughout the six months of my child’s life (until my return to work),
AK: Who supported you in breastfeeding?
RE: You cheered me up. They also provided support and professional advice experienced friends. Every day I spent a lot of time on the phone 
Very my husband was also supportive, who, after returning from work, no matter how tired he was, bravely took over my father’s duties so that I could rest.
Fun fact: once, during a conversation with one of my friends, we came to the conclusion that it was the same for her and for me: our moms, feeding us in the 70’s, now – in the face of our difficulties – they urged us to… stop breastfeeding. It seemed quite normal and natural to them just give the baby a bottle “and you will have peace and the baby will be full”.
Now is much greater awareness and available help with breastfeeding. While giving birth to my first son in Zaspa, I met lactating ladies who were simply angels. They were very supportive and it was only later, when I gave birth to Piotrek in another hospital, that I realized how extremely important it was. I didn’t have such help here anymore – maybe this stress resulted in my problem with food?
It was wonderful in the hospital in Zaspa: lactating ladies came to our room several times a daythey were always patient and smiling. With angelic patience and sensitivity, they showed how to hold the baby’s head to the breast and they taught me how to feed for the first time.
I was very grateful that I came across such women, because it is really very important – after giving birth to my mother (especially the first one), she is upset, it is for her something totally new and unknown, should not additionally feel lonely, fear that no one will help her.
In the old days, when women gave birth at home, they were surrounded by other women: mother, aunts, sisters… women who were physically nearby all the time, helping, teaching, supporting. For modern women, these ladies in the hospital are the only help and hope in the first days after childbirth. I believe it is of great importance. These ladies’ approach may have a great influence on the entire subsequent breastfeeding process.
AK: So much for support, and what words or actions you heard weren’t supportive for you?
AW: Definitely unsupportive was one of the midwives in the hospital who was simply rude. While the lactation counselors patiently taught me how to latch on and feed me, it was enough for this one midwife to come, make critical remarks, impose her methods and I was fed up. At one point, I just said that I didn’t want this lady to come to me at all. As I mentioned before, the hospital staff is important because the woman is there alone, without her family. The people working in the hospital are of key importance and how they will help us from the start can determine a lot.
AK: How do you finally remember breastfeeding?
RE: As a good time. It is, of course, sometimes a difficult experience, it hurts because you are in childbirth, you suffer from sleepless nights, lack of rest, mood swings. However, this is themden from such hardships in life that are beautiful, although we do not always feel it when we experience them.
Breastfeeding it a unique kind of closenesswhich binds the mother firmly to the child. The problems and hardships that have been overcome only deepen this relationship. I think the experiences we gain make us grow as women and mothers. Difficult experiences that I have managed to deal with alone or with the help of others always give me strength and confidence for the future. I think: since I have dealt with it, I am not afraid of other difficulties. However, there are certainly situations where hardships – instead of self-confidence – cause a breakdown. I think it happens when we don’t have people around us to support us. Fortunately, I did not experience it.
When the baby is born – sure, you love it right away, but I have a feeling you do this love grows and deepens over time, also thanks to these difficult experiences and problems related to breastfeeding. Yeah the relationship with the child becomes mentally really deep.
AK: What would you advise mums at the beginning of the milky way?
RE: Read yourself, be prepared for what may happen. Don’t panice.g. when there is a shortage of food, you only need to know who to turn to for help. I think that the woman should already receive a list of specialists in the hospitalwho will help and answer questions in case of feeding problems. I think that it is worth preparing such a list yourself before giving birth. And nDo not be afraid of the help of a certified lactation adviser.
Furthermore? Support of an experienced loved one. When you have a feeding problem, as I was supposed to, it is worth considering whether we have a cousin, a friend who is going through the same thing now, or even better one who is already feeding the baby or nursed in the recent past and knows the matter “fresh”. Our mothers and grandmothers do not remember what it was like, and certainly the emphasis on maintaining breastfeeding was different, or rather it was not at all.
The story of Asia Samek, my dear friend
AK: How did you imagine breastfeeding your newborn baby before becoming a mother?
AS: Honestly: I couldn’t imagine. Just what I saw someone feeding in my immediate surroundings or in the movies. I have never delved into this topic myself and there was no indication that this could be any problem. It looked so simple, beautiful, natural – like a picture everywhere.
AK: How did you prepare for breastfeeding?
AS: I went to birthing school – there was a lactation consultant who mentioned that there might be problems and she recommended a nice book titled “It is worth breastfeeding. And what’s next?“. This book covers all sorts of problems mom may encounter while breastfeeding. Clogged tubules, aching breasts, the child does not want to drink, the child is positioned incorrectly … a lot of difficulties, which I did not know could happen at the time. Here they were described and explained how you can help yourself – and the child -.
AK: What were your beginnings with feeding?
AS: Fortunately, this was the one who worked in the hospital where I gave birth lactation specialist from my birthing school. She helped me a lot in those first dayswhen it turned out I don’t think I have any milk. She advised me what I could do to make this milk appear, how to help myself with the breast pump, how to stimulate the breasts so that milk would produce. She wrote everything down for me and I must admit that this card was very valuable to me. I took her home and systematically I stimulated lactation using the 7-5-3 method. Thanks to this recommendation, this milk – not much, but always – appeared. Each 10 ml, 100 ml was a huge success.
The problem was not only that this milk is scarce. Majka she fell asleep while feeding, literally after a minute and stopped sucking this milk from her breasts. So I did this so that every three hours, that is, when the child was supposed to suck the breast in a book way, I would express my milk. And when my daughter started to fall asleep at my breast, I fed her with a bottle, but with my expressed milk. I also saw how much she was drinking and whether she was full. I expressed this milk regularly every 3 hourswhether it was the middle of the day or the middle of the night. The breast pump has become such my hand luggageI took him everywhere with me. Sometimes, when I saw that my daughter drinks longer and eats more, I did not express milk anymore to feed her with a bottle – such pumping after feeding was unpleasant when I saw that I had 15-20 ml of milk in the breast pump.
I was feeding a year this way. One year of milking every 3 hours. Later, I was already suppressing lactation, because Majka started to eat more solid food, and I wanted to go back to work. I was so used to pumping milk every 3 hours for half an hour that later I didn’t know what to do with my free time, without counting, what time I have to go out and what time to come back for milk. I forgot that this is how you can live – without constantly looking at the watch and the breast pump in the pocket.
The beginning of lactation with my second daughter Marta was also not easy. Though I knew how to act: pull, haul, and haul! – that’s this postpartum milk was also absent. While still in the hospital, I took my bag out of it a reliable sheet written by a lactation consultant after the first delivery and a request to my husband: “Bring me a breast pump immediately”.
I remember she cried a lot, so I don’t think she had eaten much. Of course, the nurses encouraged me to feed her with the mixture, but we managed to express some milk in the hospital. It seemed to me that just applying Martha to the breast would not stimulate them enough, so the breast pump was irreplaceable. Or maybe I got used to it so much with my first child? I considered it a normal thing. I remember that first drop of milk in the bottle. The joy was enormous, and then I tried to pull out this drop with a syringe to give the baby this precious liquid.
Over time, we learned about ourselves and only managed to breastfeed without all the pumping. Unfortunately, I had to go back to work when Marta was six months old. However, I wanted to continue to feed, which is why twice a day, sitting at my desk, I was accompanied by the hum of the breast pump. Later, I stored the milk in the office refrigerator.
AK: Who supported you in breastfeeding?
AS: My husband, who was always there, but only you. We met when Majka was 5 months old. You cheered me on You were glad that it was great that I have been fighting for food for so many months and taking this milk. I have not heard such words from anyone else around me.
AK: Exactly: what did the others say that was not supportive for you?
AS: “She does not eat it”, “Take it, give it to yourself, give her a mixture”, “Why are you getting so tired”, “This milk is so stratified – it has no value“. But the worst for me was when I had those 100-120 ml of expressed milk – or less, even the 50 ml – and heard: “Just enough?!?“. I was sorry when I heard such words, and I really fought for this milk, for every drop and even 50 ml was a success, for me it was “50 ml”, and for someone on the side: “only that much”. At the same time, let us emphasize that the child was not a skinny girl, but a healthy baby – so it was important that she was developing properly and her weight was within normal limits, not how much milk she was drinking.
AK: How do you finally remember breastfeeding?
AS: For sure It was not tiring for me at that momentalthough for someone looking from the side it was indeed incomprehensible: “why are you doing this”, “why are you getting tired”. I didn’t perceive it that way. I just wanted to give my children the best. And to me it was obvious that if I had this milk and there was some way to extract it, why not do it? This is why I am on maternity leave and this is my role at the moment, in the first year or two of the child, to focus on the child and to do everything to get the best and since milk is the best – what is there to think about? It was my job.
AK: What would you advise mums at the beginning of the milky way?
AS: So that they would not be compared to other mothers. They didn’t feel guiltythat something goes wrong, because then they are frustrated that they can’t, that they don’t want to, a they are supposed to do as they feel. That the fact that they will sometimes give formula milk is not the end of the world and it is important that they feel good about themselves and their situation. There is always some pressure from the environment and the first question after the baby is born: “Are you breastfeeding?” So that they do not take all these comments personally, because you can go crazy when you hear that you should – as I heard – feed the mixture. Conversely, it is definitely just as frustrating.
Comments vary, but outsiders do not know our situation, our idea of feeding, they are not the feeder. They do not know her feelings, what she has been through, what she is going through and it is not worth worrying about the comments of people who want good for the child, but are not in the situation like us.
Make them do as they feel. If someone wants to express milk, they cheat, there is no need to comment on that. If someone wants to give formula milk because he feels this way, because he does not feel up to breastfeeding, it is also ok. not to take all these judgments personally, because it’s up to you to feel good about yourself and your baby.
If I listened to these “good advice” and gave my baby infant formula – which I did not want – it would not be in line with what I feel or with my conviction. You can not force anyone to be right, because it will only bring a negative effect, frustration, irritation, even depression. The beginnings can be difficult, you have to think not only about what is good for a child – because it is known that we always want good for a child – but also what is good for ourselves.
And be aware of that Breastfeeding your newborn baby may not be as easy as it looks, as shown in the movies. A baby attached to the breast looks very nice, full and happy, but sometimes problems of various kinds may arise that we cannot predict – and I think I had the slightest problems.
It may happen like you, Agnieszka, allergyor any other problems with the breast, such as a concave nipple – there can be so many difficulties that you do not realize. From here, I recommend the book mentioned at the beginning, you can reach for it, check it and read it during the preparation and during breastfeeding. There are various groups and forums on the web, but for me such a book is a more reliable source of knowledge.
So if you want to prepare for breastfeeding your newborn baby, remember:
- Ask for help from a trusted lactation consultant – get her number before the baby is born and make sure where she accepts or will she reach you home in an emergency. Remember that each baby breastfeeding can be different.
- Get a cool book on breastfeeding – personally, I highly recommend it “Just breastfeeding” Rapley Gill, Murkett Tracey – you don’t have to read it cover to cover, as most problems won’t apply to you, but in case of complications, you’ll find quick and helpful solutions in it.
- Get a breast pump or find a placewhere, in case of problems with the amount of milk, someone close to you will be able to buy it for you right away – let this purchase not be accidental. Read reviews, take into account the volume of the device, size, battery life or charging method – perhaps it will be your favorite friend not only in case of problems, but also the first time you go to the cinema after giving birth.
- Stock up on drinking products to support lactation – but there is no chance here either. After the first childbirth, I went to the hospital pharmacy and proudly returned with granulated tea for nursing mothers, which the lactation midwife from the ward told me to throw in the garbage.
How to choose a preparation supporting breastfeeding?
Check the composition!
Popular granulated teas are usually sugar itself and a highly processed product. Personally, a lactation midwife recommended Femaltiker, which is now available in an improved formula Femaltiker plus. I omit its delicious taste, but it had a beneficial effect on supporting lactation during breastfeeding.
Food for special medical purposes Femaltiker plus are sachets with powder with caramel or chocolate flavor containing barley malt, beta-glucan and lemon balm, which 30-60 minutes before feeding/ pumping eat with yoghurt or drink with your favorite milk – because my children were allergic, I drank them with plant milk oat, spelled or rice. Such sachets taken 2-3 times a day will give you visible results after 4-7 days!
Why do you think it is said that beer stimulates lactation?
Just due to the content of barley malt! Barley malt includes beta-glucan, an ingredient that stimulates lactation.
But why is it worth to absorb barley malt differently than through beer?
First of all – we do not drink alcohol when breastfeeding, that’s obvious, but 0,0% beers are available today. But second and most importantly, in the production of beer, barley malt is long-malted, and in Femaltiker plus – briefly, it affects the higher content of beta-glucan and the nutritional value of the malt itself.
What does one Femaltiker plus sachet contain?
Femaltiker plus provides women with the above-mentioned extremely valuable ingredients with epigenetic potential:
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B12
- Choline
- FolActiv – a combination of folic acid and its methylated form
and additionally:
- barley malt and barley beta-glucan
- lemon balm.
Vitamin B6, vitamin B12, choline and folates supplied with breast milk affect the activity of the baby’s genesand thus have a valuable and long-term impact on his health and functioning also in adulthood. Unfortunately, with a diet that is not very balanced, we may have a deficiency of these ingredients, so it is worth absorbing them in a different way.
Femaltiker plus is food for special medical purposes Fr. proven performance. Studies conducted on 128 mothers diagnosed with a real food deficiency or poor baby weight gain, who drank the femaltiker formula twice a day for 14 days, showed improvement of lactation in 93%! Women took note too twice as much expressed milk, and thanks to the greater amount of produced food, the child’s increased – normal – weight gain (Magdalena Nehring-Gugulska et al. Midwife Nauka i Praktyka (No. 1 (29) 2015) “Stimulation of lactation with the use of barley malt and the child’s growth parameters in the event of a lactation crisis ).
If you want to share your milky story with us – whether easy or difficult – you will find the perfect place in the comment section of this post.
Post prepared with the support of Nutropharma