Breastfeeding

One of the first activities for every new mom is to supply her baby with his/her first meal. Generally, this involves an important process known as breastfeeding. Although most women consider breastfeeding to be a natural and enjoyable process, it is by no means an easy one.

Sometimes breastfeeding can be stressful, time-consuming, painful or even scary. However, we can assure you that everything is absolutely worth it in the end. Once educated about your baby’s stomach size, you’re good to go. We understand that you may have countless questions and concerns about how breastfeeding works and how to do it effectively.

Why Should You Breastfeed?

Breastfeeding is the process of nourishing an infant with breast milk by suckling on his/her mother’s breast. The process of breastfeeding is really important for the following reasons:

• Nutrient Supply: Breast milk contains the perfect combination of every nutrient your child needs in the first six months of his/her life.
• Boosts Immunity: Effective breastfeeding reduces the possibility of ear infections, respiratory illnesses, and tissue damage. This is because breast milk contains antibodies which fight off harmful organisms and keep your baby healthy always.

In this article, we have compiled 21 essential tips to make breastfeeding effective for you and your little one.

The Mom Tips

1. Relax

This is the first step to an enjoyable and effective breastfeeding journey. It is important to note that your baby can sense tension. If you’re nervous or tense, your baby may not latch properly, thereby impairing the process of breastfeeding.

Before breastfeeding, remember that this period is designed to be enjoyable. Calm down, take a deep breath and enjoy the process.

2. Use a Good Nursing Bra

A good nursing bra is really important for effective breastfeeding. A suitable nursing bra would have special hooks, bands, and straps that make your breasts really easy to access during feeding sessions. In addition to this, avoid bras with under-wire while breastfeeding.  

3. Eat Right

Remember, you’re eating for two and breastfeeding consumes a lot of energy. We recommend a well-balanced diet that contains a rich blend of vegetables, proteins and fruits to boost your breast milk production and supply.

4. Stay Hydrated

Breast milk is made up of 90% water. Every mom who hopes to get the best out of her breastfeeding journey should drink water often. Although fluid requirements vary for each person, you should take at least 6-8 glasses of water daily.

In fact, we suggest you drink a glass of water just before you begin to breastfeed when possible. In addition to keeping you hydrated, this would calm your nerves and ease any nervousness.

5. Get a Comfortable Position

Comfort is key. To get the best out of breastfeeding, it is important to find the right position. As a breastfeeding mom, you’d spend a lot of time holding your baby to your breast during feeding sessions. Doing this in an uncomfortable position would leave you with serious back, shoulder, and neck pains.

There are several positioning options for you to choose from. This includes:

• The Cradle Hold: sitting in a reclined position with your little one nestled in your arms
• The Lying Down Position: baby and mother lying on their sides facing each other are common.

The important thing is to make sure your body is well supported, and you are holding your baby well.

6. Watch the Signs

Ultimately, your baby’s overall health and nourishment status would show how effective his/her breastfeeding sessions really are. To ensure that your little one gets the best out of every meal, watch out for the following key signs:

• Swallow Rate: The faster he/she swallows, the hungrier he/she is.
• Skin Color: After an effective feeding session, a light-skinned baby should be rose-pink or slightly blushed while a dark-skinned baby would look very relaxed and comfortable.
• Alertness: At the end of a proper breastfeeding session, your child should appear drowsy or completely asleep.

The Baby Tips

Essentially, these are just more tips for the mom. However, the following guidelines would help every baby get the best out of breastfeeding.

7. Use the Golden Hour

The first breast milk you produce right after birth is really important. This ‘first meal’ is called colostrum, which is rich in antibodies, nutrients, and essential vitamins. In addition to nourishing your child, breastfeeding in the first hour after birth (or the golden hour) promotes mother/child bonding.

8. Find the Right Latch

To get the best out of each breastfeeding session, your baby must latch (to your nipples) properly. To get a good latch, hold his/her chin down gently and open as he/she approaches to feed. Next, tickle his/her upper lip with your nipple and wait until the mouth is wide open before you guide the nipple in gently. Aside from ensuring your baby is fed optimally, a proper latch will help you to prevent pain in the breasts.

9. Get the Right Position

Your baby is really smart. We assure you.

In the early stages of breastfeeding, your baby would likely find the right position for him/her. You should pay close attention to this position so you can help him/her get into it easily. The goal is that your baby should face the nipple with his/her head, neck, and body in a straight line.

With the right position, your baby is sure to get the best out of every breastfeeding session.

10. Keep an Eye Out For the Poo

A proper meal is expected to stimulate bowel movement. To monitor how effective the feeding sessions are, keep an eye on your baby’s diapers. In the first few months of life, a baby is expected to have about 8-10 bowel movements daily, however, the diapers are expected to become very wet at mealtimes.

The Nipple Tips

The most important body structure during breastfeeding is the breast. The following tips would prepare your breasts for effective breastfeeding throughout this period.

11. Watch for Changes

As you nurse your child, observe your nipples closely. We advise that you keep an eye out for any obvious change. If your nipples are sore, itchy or reddish, it may mean that your baby is not latching properly.

Furthermore, you should report any lumps, consistent pain or discomfort to your doctor or lactation consultant.

12. Don’t Use Soap

Soap may leave the skin on your breasts dry and prone to irritation. While breastfeeding, we recommend that you do not apply soap on your breasts or nipples.

13. Keep Your Nipples Moisturized

Use a nipple cream regularly. In addition to moisturizing your nipples, a good nipple cream would keep them soft and pliable always.

14. Use a Cold Compress

Recent medical research show that breast engorgement serves as the leading cause of discomfort while nursing in the United States. This condition arises when the breasts produce more milk than required.

To avoid this, you can apply a cold compress after each feeding session. While using a cold compress, place a piece of cloth between your skin and the icepack. Please, do not place an icepack directly on your nipples.

15. Massage Regularly

While breastfeeding your child, remember to massage your breasts gently and regularly. This would drain the milk effectively and reduce the risk of breast engorgement.

Tips To Boost Breastmilk Supply

16. Drink Water

Again, you need to stay hydrated. Since breast milk is a fluid filled meal for your baby, one of the best ways to boost the supply is to take as much water as possible.

17. Feed on Demand

Allow your child set the pace. Right now, your baby knows his/her needs better than you do. Don’t schedule feeding sessions, we suggest that you breastfeed as often as your baby demands and milk flows.

Furthermore, let your baby determine the duration of feeding sessions. Don’t worry about how long he/she wants it, just remember to supply whenever a demand is made.

18. Switch Sides Often

Resist the urge to focus on one side. In the first few weeks of nursing, feeding from both breasts would boost breast milk production. Remember to alternate the breast you start feeding with each time. Regular feeding from only one breast would make it bigger and more productive than the other one.

19. Eat a Balanced Diet

Your meals matter too. As a nursing mom, you should eat right and eat regularly. Remember to balance your meals with a proper blend of fruits, carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins.

20. Use a Breast Pump

A breast pump is a guaranteed way to maintain breast milk supply for your baby even when you’re not physically present. Remember, the more you supply, the more you produce.

21. Get Professional Assistance

This tip is really important for women with complex problems like extremely low breast milk supply or glandular hypoplasia. In this case, a lactation consultant or breastfeeding support group would supply needed support, counsel, and medical advice.

A Final Tip

Remember the breast milk demand and supply rule?

Yes, it works.

Our final tip is that you don’t stop breastfeeding. As you continue to nurse your baby, it’d get easier and the supply would increase. Therefore, no matter how difficult it is in the beginning, the journey would get easier.

Also, remember to speak with your doctor about any major concerns or discomfort while breastfeeding.

We hope these tips would help you nourish your little one effectively and make the breastfeeding journey smooth and memorable for you.  

Many times, new moms tire of breastfeeding in the early days of this journey; sometimes, this is due to stress, physiological changes, or even the pain experienced while feeding their little ones. The truth is, this sharp pain during breastfeeding can discourage many moms from the all-important process of breastfeeding.

It is interesting to note that the cause of this pain varies from woman to woman, therefore, each mom should carefully check for the specific underlying cause; as it’s the first step to proper treatment. This article provides you with the causes, prevention, and treatment of sharp pain during breastfeeding.

Causes of Pain During Breastfeeding

1. Breast Engorgement

This is a condition that ensues when the breasts produce more milk than is removed either by the baby sucking or by pumping. Essentially, it’s a situation where supply exceeds demand. As a result of this, the breast becomes overfilled and quite painful.

2. Let-down Reflex

Let down means the release of milk. Mothers share a very special bond with their babies. Sometimes, when a new mom hears her baby cry or just thinks about him/her, the ‘let-down’ reflex occurs, leading to a stimulation of the milk ducts.

This experience can be painful for first-time moms, especially when it’s not feeding time, as it causes the milk ducts to distend significantly.

3. Using A Wrong Latch

For many breastfeeding moms, especially first-time moms, it may take some time to learn the right position during breastfeeding. When a proper nursing latch is used while nursing, the baby is able to get the milk properly, causing no pain to his/her mom.

However, a shallow latch pressures the nipple & causes an entire world of pain. Sometimes, bruising may occur. One tip to note and remember always is that feeding a baby is breastfeeding, not nipple feeding. Ensure your baby’s lips are around most of your areola when feeding. Read our helpful article on fixing latching problems here.

4. Yeast infections

Babies can develop an oral yeast infection also known as thrush and then pass it to the mothers’ nipple during feeding, resulting in painful, sore & tender breasts. A baby with a yeast infection can have any of the following symptoms: white patches on the tongue or inside of the cheeks, diaper rash, or persistent fussiness.

5. Mastitis

Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast tissue, which usually results from delayed/improper treatment of a blocked milk duct. Whenever this occurs, the breast or breasts become swollen and tender, and breastfeeding is always painful for the affected mother.

6. Tender Nipples

We understand that the first few days are the toughest. In this period, you may have to deal with painful, sore, or cracked nipples. However, once your baby latches on well, this pain will subside.

7. Breast Abscess

When the inflammation caused by mastitis persists, it can lead to breast abscess. A breast abscess is a condition characterized by a pus-filled boil on the breast. Breast abscesses are really uncomfortable and quite painful.

Prevention of Pain During Breastfeeding

• Get A Good Latch

To get a good latch, hold your baby’s chin down gently and open as they approach to feed. Then tickle your baby’s upper lip with your breast and wait until their mouth is wide open before you guide them to the breast gently.

• Help Your Baby Unlatch

While helping your baby unlatch, it’s important to break the suction before pulling him/her off. To unlatch your baby, put your finger between your breast and his/her gums gently to break the suction. Then guide your baby’s head away from your chest. Doing this right would prevent the possibility of a sore nipple or pain during breastfeeding.

• Adjust Your Hold

Your holding position during breastfeeding goes a long way to determine how comfortable feeding sessions are for you and your little one. To attain a healthy hold, ensure that your baby’s face is parallel to your breast and his/her tummy is in contact with your body. You can try out multiple positions and change positions to avoid getting sore.

• Prevent Thrush

Each time you breastfeed, you leave your nipples wet. Persistently wet nipples can lead to thrush; a yeast infection of the nipples. An infected nipple hurts a lot during breastfeeding, furthermore, this thrush can be transferred to the baby, making him/her really sick.

To prevent thrush, keep your nipples dry. Once feeding sessions are over, dry your nipple with a baby towel.

• Keep Your Nipples Moisturized

Nipples may crack and bleed during breastfeeding as a result of dryness. Therefore, you need to moisturize them often. Ensure you use only moisturizers that are safe for babies since your little one would put his/her mouth directly on your nipple. Apply the cream on your nipple after feeding so that your skin can absorb it all before the next feeding session.

• Wear A Supportive Bra

Avoid underwired bras while breastfeeding. Try out nursing camisole tops that can stretch more. You can also ask your doctor what bra type is best for you.

• Treat Mastitis

Whenever you observe a reduction in milk production or painful swelling in your breasts, please consult your doctor immediately. This may result from a blocked milk duct that should be treated immediately.

Treatment of Pain During Breastfeeding.

1. Reduce engorgement if your breasts are engorged: The breasts become engorged when they are too full. To express more milk from your breast, use a warm, wet towel to compress your breasts one after the other. You can also use a breast pump to remove more milk and store if you want to.
2. Apply a cold compress: A cold compress soothes sore nipples after breastfeeding. To use a cold compress, place a piece of fabric between your skin and an icepack. Please, do not place an icepack directly on your skin.
3. Treat your nipple if it’s blocked: Blocked nipples appear as a whitish or yellowish blister on the nipple. It may go away on its own or reoccur in some cases. You can use a warm compress or massage with olive oil for relief. However, you should not pick at it as it may lead to bleeding and infection. If you have a painful and reoccurring blister on your nipple, consult your doctor immediately.
4. Soothe sore nipples with a hydrogel pad. You can use hydrogel pads at room temperature to relieve pain from sore nipples. These pads also prevent your nipples from sticking on your bra fabric.

Conclusion

Breast pain can discourage you from feeding your baby, leading to malnutrition for your baby. It is best to seek medical help as soon as you notice any pain in your breast.

Breastfeeding your baby is a beautiful experience for every new mom. However, most babies don’t get to feed well due to inadequate milk supply. Breastmilk is composed of proteins, fat, water and other necessary minerals and vitamins essential for your baby’s growth and development.

Of course, your baby needs the best supply of milk to grow well. However, this supply may be impaired by caffeine & alcohol consumption, stress and dietary changes.

In this article, you’d find 10 amazing ways to boost your breast milk supply and an extra tip on maintaining a good health while breastfeeding.

1. Drink Enough Water

Breastmilk is made up of about 90% water. Therefore, water should be a regular part of every mom’s diet. Although, the exact quantity of fluid requirements varies for each persoin, you should take at least 6-8 glasses of water daily.

You can also supplement with other healthy liquids such as fruit juice, milk, or tea.

Dizziness, slight headache or a dry mouth may be signs that you are not taking enough water.

2. Eat A Well-Balanced Diet

Breastfeeding consumes a lot of energy. As a result of this, every nursing mother requires an average extra calorie intake of 500g daily.

Thankfully, smoothies, yoghurt, eggs, fruits and veggies can help you meet this calorie demand and boost your breastmilk

Also, your vitamin and mineral intake need to be regular and balanced. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends Calcium, vitamin D, iron, folic acid as important minerals and vitamins needed by breastfeeding moms.

3. Feed On Demand

The trick is to feed as your baby demands.

Don’t schedule your feeding. Feed as often as your milk flows and as your baby demands. This means that you feed your baby as soon as they are hungry.

Although this may be difficult for most new moms, creating a workable plan would go a long way to help out. If you really want to boost your breastmilk supply, you need to feed based on demand.

4. Let Your Baby Feed Fully On Each Side

Feeding from both breasts during each feeding in the first few weeks after birth helps to build a stronger supply of breast milk. Always remember to alternate the breast you start feeding with each time. This is because the first breast usually gets more stimulation. Starting each feeding from the same breast will make that breast bigger and more productive than the other one.

Milk production functions like a demand and supply system such that the more you empty your breast, the more milk is produced. As a result of this, when your baby feeds often and empties both breasts, they are sure to get both the fore-milk and the fatty hind-milk which is great for their development.

5. Use A Breast Pump

Using a breast pump is a good way to maintain milk supply for your child while you’re away. Remember that the more you empty your breast, the more milk your body will provide.

You can also use the breast pump to stimulate your breast after even after you are done feeding or the milk has stopped flowing. This will signal to your body that you need more milk and more will be produced.

6. Use Breast Compression

The Breast compression technique is guaranteed to help your baby feed more during breastfeeding sessions. This technique also helps to remove more milk from your breast during feeding.

Always remember, the more milk is expelled; the more milk that will be produced.

You need to note that this technique works best if your child is not feeding well or sleeps off during feeding. If your child is feeding well, you don’t need breast compression.

7. Keep Breastfeeding

Remember the breastmilk demand and supply rule? Yes, it works.

When the demand for breastmilk increases, the supply will also increase. When you breastfeed more often, your body will receive the request to produce more milk and this will boost your breastmilk supply.

8. Breastfeed For Longer Periods

The more time your baby spends breastfeeding, the more stimulation you get to produce more breast milk. Your newborn should breastfeed at least 10 minutes on each side daily.

9. Don’t Skip Feedings

If you skip feeding or give your baby formula, you won’t allow your body to produce more milk. This is because when your baby feeds at the breast, you are sending signals to your body to produce more milk. Your supply will reduce if you fail to pump in place of that feeding. But this won’t produce as much result as breastfeeding.

10. Avoid Things That Decrease Milk Supply

Despite the fact that you’re doing all to make your breast to increase supply, some activities can decrease your breastmilk supply. Some of these include:

• Birth control pills
• Caffeine
• Smoking
• Alcohol

Birth control pills, especially a method that controls estrogen in the first six weeks after birth can make it difficult to produce breastmilk. This is because estrogen suppresses the production of breastmilk.

Taking too much caffeine can also reduce the supply of breastmilk. Smoking or drinking alcohol can also interfere with the supply of breastmilk.

Avoiding these substances while breastfeeding is a sure way to boost your breastmilk supply.

An Extra tip

Stress is one critical factor that can affect your supply of breastmilk. So it is important for you to rest well as much as possible. Try and take much nap, or sleep when your baby is sleeping so that you’ll recover and gain more strength.

Have you ever experienced mastitis?

It’s a situation where part of a woman’s breast becomes warm, very painful, and swollen because of inflammation.

Sometimes it’s associated with fever and chills and later develops into a collection of pus (an abscess) as the body tries to contain it.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Mums who stop breastfeeding abruptly due to latching issues or weaning and later develop blocked ducts or engorgement are at risk of mastitis. Infected nipple cracks, sores, and smoking are also risk factors.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Mums who stop breastfeeding abruptly due to latching issues or weaning and later develop blocked ducts or engorgement are at risk of mastitis.

Dr Ijeoma Idaresit, The Edie & Amy Company

How can mastitis be prevented?

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1) Always drain your breasts of milk after each feed or express whenever your breasts are engorged.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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2) Avoid nipple cracks by ensuring that your baby has a good latch during breastfeeding ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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3) Ensure you are using the right size of breast shield (flange) in your breast pump. The wrong flange can mar your pumping experience. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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4) If you do develop nipple cracks or blisters please keep them clean or seek medical care as soon as possible if they don’t heal within 3 days.⠀

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5) Adopt a gradual approach to weaning your baby off breast milk to reduce the risk of engorgement.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If you develop mastitis ensure you keep hand expressing milk from the affected breast and apply cold gel pads.

The wrong flange can mar your pumping experience.

Dr Ijeoma Idaresit, The Edie & Amy Company

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Visit your doctor to get an examination and a prescription of painkillers and antibiotics as well. Learn more about dealing with common breastfeeding challenges here.

Baby Fola was already 6months old. Her parents loved and adored her so she never lacked anything. Her mother, Sade, was able to take some time off work so she could breastfeed her little one exclusively. Sadly, Sade’s break had come to an end and she had to go back to work. She had to start giving Fola solid food, but was uncertain about how to go about weaning.

Was Fola even old enough to be weaned? Sade didn’t know where to begin.

What Is Weaning?

Weaning is the introduction of solid food into a baby’s diet, while gradually stopping breastfeeding.

When Does It Start?

The WHO recommends children be fed breast milk till the age of 2 years. Milk should form a major part of your child’s diet within the first year of life. It has several benefits for mum and baby such as reducing the risk of breast cancer and obesity.

At first, breast milk is all your baby needs. However, after 6 months, your baby requires more nutrients that breast milk cannot provide. At this point, you need to introduce solid food. Keep on breastfeeding even after you introduce solid food.

This gives your baby time to adjust to the new diet.

Reasons For Weaning

Reasons for wanting a breastmilk production to stop could vary from :

• having to go back to work,
• reaching your breastfeeding target,
• You are tired and just wanting your body back (personal),
• having a baby or mother with a medical condition that is incompatible with feeding breastmilk or
• unfortunately if a mum looses her baby.

How To Start

Weaning can be either natural or planned.

Natural weaning is also called “child-led weaning”. In this case, your child determines the time and pace of weaning. It starts when your baby gradually begins to accept different types of food, while still breastfeeding. It’s best to start gradually, with one ingredient meals. We’ll discuss this in another article.

This continues till breastfeeding completely stops. This method of weaning might take some time, till your baby is about 2 years or more.

On the other hand, planned weaning or “mother-led weaning” is based on the mother. She chooses when to start the process. However, you should still wean gradually.

Begin by alternating solid food and breast milk. Introduce one food at a time. As your baby begins to adjust, you could then add a variety of meals.

How Can I Tell If My Baby Is Ready For Solids?

This usually coincides when your baby is around) months old but it varies from child to child. The signs of readiness to look out for include the following:

• They can sit up without support.
• They start showing interest in the food they see being eaten by others around them
• They loose the extrusion reflex; the tendency to push food out using the tongue instead of rolling it in and to the back of the mouth

Next Steps

• Gradually drop take off one feeding or pumping session every 2-3 days replacing this for baby with your desired semi solid meal. This tricks your baby and your body. For kids who are “aware” ie. over 1 year old you can substitute these sessions with healthy alternatives such as yoghurt or fresh fruit smoothies.
• Increase the time in between each feeding or pumping session eg. If you pumped or fed every 2 hours, increase the interval to 4 hours.
• Shorten the duration of each session. If your feeding or pumping sessions usually last 20-30 minutes, cut it down to 10 or 15.
• Gradually your baby should loose interest. This doesn’t mean your milk supply will dry up immediately. This will come with time.

Drastic measures…

You can stop Breastmilk production more abruptly using specific medication( diuretics or prolactin inhibitors). A doctor can prescribe this for you

How Can Weaning Affect You?

When you stop breastfeeding, your body experiences some physical and emotional changes. Some of these include;

• Mood swings
• Return of your periods
• Decrease in breast size

Additionally, your breast will continue producing milk for some time. Weaning gradually allows your breast milk supply to reduce little by little.

This is necessary to prevent your breast ducts ( which transport milk) from getting blocked and causing an infection.

How Can You Care For Your Breasts When Weaning Starts?

Your breastmilk supply obeys the laws of demand and supply after your baby turns 1 month old. The best way to reduce and finally stop your milk supply is to drain as little of your milk as possible. However, your breasts may become engorged with milk, your ducts may clog up and get blocked, causing discomfort and pain.

If this happens to you, you could try;

• Using warmth to help loosen up the clogged duct. This is done by taking warm showers, use hot compresses or a hot water bottle to massage your breasts. Please wrap in a towel before applying to your skin to prevent burns.
• Hand-expression or pumping to temporarily drain milk in the affected breast. This will help clear your ducts. You can do this with a silicone breast pump.
• Wearing a looser bra. Bras that are too tight especially those with underwires can lead to clogged ducts. We stock some comfort ones from Biamo designs.

If left untreated, a blocked duct could cause an infection called mastitis. This may need treatment with antibiotics. Your doctor may also recommend paracetamol or ibuprofen to help with the fever, pain and inflammation.

Once the blocked duct or mastitis is treated, you can resume not draining your milk. With time, your breast will decrease its milk supply till it eventually stops.

Do you….

Whether you are breastfeeding directly or pumping exclusively, the decision as to how and when to begin to WEAN your baby off breastmilk is yours.
Tricking your body to stop producing milk is another matter altogether. If this process isn’t handled well it could lead to undernourishment in your baby or complications from breast engorgement for example.

We’ve written on 10 Nigerian meal ideas you can try for weaning. Meals like pap and Tom Brown are mixed with soya bean powder are great once your baby gets the hang of your starter one ingredient purees.

It would be a big change for both of you physically and emotionally. So do what you think is best, in your own time. Seek support from family and friends when needed.

You’ve  got this mama!

Do you know that the texture of the teat and flow of the milk during bottle feeding or while using a nipple shield is usually quite different from the way your breastmilk flows from your own nipple during breastfeeding?

Your baby will have to do a bit more work in sucking to get milk out at the same quantity and speed when feeding directly from you. Shields are usually introduced to help breastfeeding with flat or inverted nipples or dealing with nipples sores which make breastfeeding painful.

As a result, babies on the bottle or using a shield tend to get frustrated whenever they are breastfed. They may eventually lose interest in direct breastfeeding. This is called nipple confusion.

We can avoid nipple confusion by :

• Making sure proper latching and direct breastfeeding your baby is fully established before introducing a bottle/shield. This also one of the steps to ensuring your baby gets enough milk.
• Always check that you are using the right teat for your baby’s age. As your baby gets older, the number of holes in the teat of the bottle increase from 1 to 3 and so on. A 3 week old has no business with a teat that has 3 holes.

If nipple confusion already exists consider…

• Ensuring you feed baby on demand… follow baby’s early hunger cues and not the clock.
• Consider pumping or hand expressing before putting your baby to breast to encourage milk let down . Milk let down is the initial flow of milk. This way, your baby does less work to suckle.

Dear Mama, not being able to breastfeed your baby directly does not make you less of a mother. Some mums have to pump their breast milk exclusively to feed their babies and so on and that’s totally fine. It’s just a different way to go.

Check out our previous posts on alternative ways of feeding baby breast milk and as well as tips on how to wean your baby off a nipple shield.

Dear Mama, you had a challenge with breastfeeding that required a nipple shield.

You got the right size shield.

The challenge has over time been solved / corrected. Your baby no longer has a tongue tie, your flat or inverted nipple is now corrected.

Your baby is currently feeding adequately (i.e. gaining weight, peeing and pooing as expected etc).

How then do you transition smoothly to directly breastfeeding your baby?

We’ll share some tips on how to wean baby off the nipple shield :

Follow your baby’s early hunger cues

• Breastfeed your child on-demand to prevent the baby from getting impatient and upset at feeding times.
• Try pumping or hand expressing to encourage milk let down before baby latches.
• Ensure your latching technique is on point and baby opens her mouth wide for a deep latch.
• Try starting the breastfeeding session with the nipple shield then unlatch baby and take the shield off to continue breastfeeding directly . Gradually keep reducing the time you spend feeding with the shield per session.
• Experiment with different breastfeeding positions.

Please…

Don’t cut the top of the nipple shield while weaning as some advise. It will create dangerous sharp edges that can hurt your baby’s mouth.

Ensure your nipple shield is made from high-grade silicon. If all else fails, don’t stress yourself, Mama. Weaning may take longer for you and your baby than some other mums.

Please be patient.