1. Your milk doesn't come in until 3-4 days after you give birth. I thought everyone knew this but I'm including it because no one in my class knew this and almost every mother who I've spoken with who have "failed" at breastfeeding "didn't make enough milk" and quit before they even left the hospital.
2. Speaking of the "not making enough milk" excuse... Pumping after feedings will tell your body that your baby needs more milk at each feeding and will increase your supply. You will want to do this if you want to create a supply, particularly if you are going back to work. If you don't really need a supply, it's not recommended to do this because then you will create an oversupply and your letdown will be too strong.
3. Letdown is when your milk starts to come out a little faster for your baby. You will notice that your baby sucks really fast when he or she latches on and then after about a minute his or her sucks starts to become slower and stronger- this is when your baby have achieved letdown and the milk is coming faster so he or she doesn't need to suck as fast to get it.
4. Cluster feeding is when the baby eats a lot- sometimes only getting off the breast for a few minutes per hour and then right back on. This usually happens at night and during growth spurts. Cluster feeds help tell your body that it needs to make more milk for the growing baby. Growth spurts usually happen at 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months. There are a few other "smaller" spurts that I hear mentioned usually (3 days, 7 days, 9 months are ones that come to mind) but these are the BIG ones. Our instructor told us not to get frustrated during these cluster feeds because you are providing the best nutrition possible for your growing baby. For me, understanding WHY it was happening really did make me feel so much better about having a baby hanging off my sore nipples 24/7.
5. Although it may be (IS) frustrating at times to be waking up in the middle of the night (multiple times!) with your newborn (or 6 month old), it actually helps to protect them from SIDS. Since breastfeed babies wake up so often at night, it is said that they sleep lighter and therefore are less likely to die from SIDS. This definately helped me MANY a night. I just try to remind myself as much as possible that I should be happy that he is waking up in the night because its just another way that my nursing him is protecting him from some of the horrible things that can happen to babies.
6. Our instructor taught us that the little whitehead looking things that develop on your breast during pregnancy actually secrete an oily substance that not only lubricates the breast to facilitate breastfeeding, but it is also similar enough to your amniotic fluid that it helps the baby to find the breast immediately after birth. Our instructor therefore noted that we should ask the staff at the hospital to NOT fully wash the baby until after the baby has had a chance to latch and eat. This actually came in handy for us because I remember telling DH (or screaming at him in between contractions) to not let them wash him off if I have to have a C-section (which I did).
7. One thing that I did not learn in the class but learned the hard way is that sometimes you may get a fever when your milk comes in. I seriously thought I was dying! I kept telling my husband that we needed to go back to the hospital (I think we JUST walked in the door and I started to feel like I was going to pass out, my boobs got rock hard in what seemed like 10 minutes, they felt HOT to the touch, and my temperature was like 102*). Thankfully my husband is proficient in his use of Google (OMGEEEE how did we live before the internet).
8. Kellymom.com has been another great source of information for me. One big myth about breastfeeding is that you can't drink. Kellymom's site debunks that myth for moms that just can't get off the bottle. WHAT?! I was drink-free for 9 FREAKING months... our anniversary trip to Sonoma/Napa... DRY for me- I deserve a little something. But key word- LITTLE. Just because Kellymom says its okay to have a drink or two, doesn't mean you can get wasted at your college roomate's wedding and then go home and feed the baby- probably not the best idea.
9. There are things that you can do and take to increase your supply. Whenever I feel my supply going down I take fenugreek for a few days (3 or 4 pills twice a day for about 3 to 4 days). I read somewhere that if you start to smell like maple syrup, you know you are taking enough. I bought my bottle of fenugreek at GNC. I also pump after every feeding, just for a few minutes so that it lets my body know that the baby needs more milk. Finally I drink some Mother's Milk Tea. Mine is from Traditional Medicinals and I get it at my local Kroger. It was hard to get used to the taste at first because it has a black licorace taste but I'm used to it now and actually enjoy it. If none of this works, I have heard there is a prescription medicine you can get from your doctor that might help as well.
10. Help is out there! Lactation consultants are usually available at every hospital so request that they come to your room to help you with latching, even if you think you don't need help. Also, check out La Leche League International and see if they have a local chapter where you can meet up with other breastfeeding moms for help and encouragement.
I'm sure there are more but again, it was almost a year ago so I'll edit and add more as I think of them. Happy World Breastfeeding Week!
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