Source
r/breastfeeding•
steviethetv1

What are your “I wish I would have known” breastfeeding mistakes?

I’ve had a very successful breastfeeding relationship (13 months and counting!) but also have had a few mess-ups. For example, my first night home from the hospital I pumped for 15 minutes. Ended up with 10 oz of colostrum that I froze. Was then massively and painfully engorged (they was ROCK hard and shiny) - so much so the pediatrician said it was like “trying to latch to a bowling ball.” I eventually reigned it in but that pain and massive oversupply was so avoidable. I did it because I thought it would help with engorgment (haha) plus my husband and I found it pretty fascinating to watch this whole milk thing. This hurts the most: never even used 5 of the oz, still in my freezer over a year later. By the time I bottlefed he hated the colostrum taste. Also had some mishaps with correct milk storage (like would collect milk all day in Haaka or add warm milk to cold milk and cheaped out on some crappy bags).

What are some of your coulda, woulda, shouldas?

Posted Apr 5, 2019, 3:09 AM UTC

1517
mymaidennameebf #3•

Low pumping output does not equal low supply.

My biggest regret is slowly switching to formula because it took 3 pumping sessions a day to make enough for one bottle (even though I am a SAHM). That along with formula company sending free samples, using a previously used breast pump, lack of knowledge about pumps, and family members bringing me down ultimately lead to me stopping before my goal BUT also made me determined to successfully breastfeed my middle child (w/o any formula) and want to continue breastfeeding my last child for even longer.

9
AllonsyMonPetitsecond nursling born March 2018•

I wish I had prioritized my pumping schedule over visitors. I just didn't realize the difference regular pumping would make to my supply in the long run.

I also wish I bought a pumping bra sooner.

9
numbers_game•

Not supplementing from the get go. The hospital insisted that I only nurse for 5 minutes then give them a full 3 oz of high calorie formula. I can't help but wonder if that is why I had low supply this go around.

8
DocMcAwesome•

Bad latch! I had no idea what a good latch was! Thankfully I had this group and lots of time to Google at night and I got it corrected. Also not realizing early on that most cries were hungry, regardless of how recently baby had eaten. I could have saved myself a lot of tears if I'd realized sooner.

8
witnge•

My mistake was assuming all babies will take a bottle.

Still it all worked out. She never took a bottle so when I went back to work she'd feed all night long to make up for it. Thank goodness for cosleeping.

3 years, 3 months and counting!

7
easy2memorize•

You are awesome mama! I was looking for the bottle feeding reply here. Neither of my babes would take a bottle, so I extended my (unpaid) maternity leave for about a year off each. I can't imagine working all day and nursing all night!

2
witnge•

Only went back 2 days when she was 12 months. Then 3 days. I night weaned at 2 years because I was over having my boobs sucked all night.

I've learned being a mum we are stronger than we think and capable of coping with more shit than we'd have thought possible.

3
AwkwardSquarePeg•

Not taking the time to get a good latch in the first few days. Was absolutely agony that nearly made me give up

6
g2gworms•

I wish I'd worried less about supply and having enough stash. I really didn't need much and I stressed myself out over having "enough."

5
laifalove•

Been better about feeding on both sides. I preferred my left because it wasn’t bleeding as much. 7 months later it’s super obvious. My left breast is almost a full cup larger, even when my right breast is engorged. Ugh.

3
GizM050•

Listen to my gut more. Even though I had an LC come to my house for a few hours she said he didn’t have a tongue tie. The latch still killed and I finally listened to my gut to have an ENT check it out about 3 months in (at my whits end) to find both a lip and tongue tie. Wish I had done it sooner!

Edit: white to whit

2
AJmama18•

Wish I had known:

  1. That when I used bleeding from nursing before my milk came in, her latch was not OK, as the LCs said.
  2. That I wasn't a bad mom/hurting my supply giving ONE ounce of formula before my milk came in, as the LCs said. Shout out to LOs pediatrician for righting that thinking!
  3. To use my haaka from the start.

Things I'm glad I did:

  1. Had a small amount of formula on hand when we came home from the hospital. Only used an ounce of it but that ounce was such a game changer for two new parents who couldn't get their hungry baby to stop crying.
  2. Waited to get her tongue tie clip. After a week or so, her mouth grew and it was no longer an issue.
  3. Gave a bottle at least once every other day on maternity leave. Helped Dad bond with baby and made the transition to daycare easier on her.
2
ScoutAames•

I’m still struggling. I pump five times a day and only get enough for half of my LO’s feeds. The other half is formula. I only nurse ~1 time a day now because it’s so time consuming and her latch is kinda lazy. It also only works on one side (different nipple shapes/breast size). I also don’t count it as a feeding because my supply is low and we had a weight loss issue when she was two weeks. I’m now kind of obsessive about knowing exactly how much she’s getting. I think she’s gaining well now (will know in a week), but I feel like now I’ll always want to ensure I’m feeding her enough.

She’ll be four weeks on Sunday. Has anyone been able to increase their supply at this point? Five times a day pumping is about all I can manage (it’s round the clock also). I’m just hoping with consistency I’ll start to see an increase.

To answer the actual question...I wish I hadn’t listened to the LC like what she said was gospel. In the hospital they made me feel like I had ample supply. Then on a follow-up phone call, they told me since I was getting enough diapers that my supply was established and I could alternate sides to let my nipples heal (engorgement fucked me up when she couldn’t latch because I was like an overfilled balloon). I think alternating sides hurt my supply, and her diapers were like the bare minimum. I’m a FTM, so I didn’t recognize the dehydration. I feel awful still, but she’s well fed now and happy, even if it’s from a bottle and only half mom’s milk.

1
pm_me_ur_kittiesssss•

That you only need the pump as high as you feel comfortable! And to get a pump ready before you leave hospital and not wait until insurance sends one over. Electric pumps SO much better than manual ones. Seeing a LC asap - if nothing else so they can let you know what you’re doing is wrong with an absolute horrified face.

My hospital never told me that (and I wouldn’t find out until almost a week and half after birth). Because it hurt so much on the setting I put it on (max, because ofc I would), I avoided pumping until my milk came in.

And then once it did come in, my insurance pump hadn’t arrived. I’m leaking everywhere, my baby can’t latch and I sent my SO out on a pump-hunting mission...and he came back with a manual one. Oh. My. Lord. I never realized how out of shape my hand was. I had cramps after 5 minutes of pumping. (This ofc would be 11pm the first time I tried pumping so nothing’s open)

Next day, I send him on a mission to get an electric one. Any electric one. And then went back to the max setting.

Edit: also, not using the haaka back when my boobs would just happily leak. By the time I got it, I had pretty much stopped leaking from the other side. So much wasted milk...

1
mwrarr•

I wish I hadn't ever touched a nipple shield.

1
MamaTigger•

Did not get the Haakaa as my milk was coming in. Could have saved so many ounces, just wasted all over my clothes.

1
PennyHammerSpectra >>>>> Medela•

This sounds so stupid in retrospect, but I wish I had known to offer both breasts during a nursing session. I didn't really appreciate that after a while nursing on the same breast will lead to diminishing returns, so I let my baby nurse on one side for 30+ minutes and didn't offer the other side each nursing session. As a result, I'm convinced he was underfed until I learned to offer the other breast after 15 minutes.

Also: take care of a clogged duct immediately! Don't let it linger. That led to three bouts of mastitis and a milk bleb that really hurt my supply in one breast. And the best way to get rid of a clogged duct (after trying extra nursing, pumping, showers, breast massage, and hand expression...) is having an adult suck the clog out. I wish I'd tried this earlier -- it always fixes my clogged ducts really efficiently.

1