Breast or Bottle ???

[Wombles]

It's only early, but i am starting to worry about the choice of breast feeding or bottle feeding.

With my first son (who will be 11 in may) i breast fed for approximately 4 to 6 weeks but it was a living nightmare. Infortunately i have what they call "Inverted Nipples" which made breast feeding hard. I wore a nipple shield but it would slip off and become confusing for both baby and myself. He was hungry and confused so i would feed as much off me as i could and top him up with a bottle, after awhile he took to the bottle and wouldn't have a bar of me. Unfortunately at this time i didn't know or think of the option of still giving him my milk through the bottle. I would really love to breastfeed but i don't want to happen what i experienced with my first son, does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on what i could do ?? Or are there any other women out there who have experienced the same situation ???

I would love to hear some good feedback.

[Visitor7]

Inverted nipples are very common with women, and many women who have inverted nipples have a successful breastfeeding relationship with their baby. Have you checked out the Aust Breastfeeding Assoc website, or become a member with them? You'll find heaps of info on their website, and by becoming a member you'll have access to a wealth of support with lactation consultants and other breastfeeding mums.

[Ellibam]

everything that jodi said!!
join the ABA and go to b/fing classes before bubs has come!
arm yourself with knowledge!

[River]

Inverted nipples are very common with women, and many women who have inverted nipples have a successful breastfeeding relationship with their baby. Have you checked out the Aust Breastfeeding Assoc website, or become a member with them? You'll find heaps of info on their website, and by becoming a member you'll have access to a wealth of support with lactation consultants and other breastfeeding mums.

What Jodi said

Plus, I know that nipple shields are a whole different kettle of fish now days. My eldest is 9 and I know that the ones they have now are far superior than the ones when she was a baby. There is also a device for inverted nipples which 'pulls' the nipple out just before feeding. I think you'll find with correct attatchment for inverted nipples, the sucking will drag the nipple out during a feed anyways (??).

Expressing feeds is a great idea if you cannot feed through the pain of inverted nipples. It makes sure that bubs gets what he/she deserves and needs from their milk.

Definately join the ABA and have a lactation consultant on hand. Unfortunately, many of the midwives you find in the hospital might not be of much help, many of them are all too keen to push artificial baby milk down a newborns throat, so be aware of this and try to resist it until you have seen a qualified lactation consultant.

Best of luck with your journey .

[BekZ]

Get as much help and support as you can. Invest in a lactaction consultant!!! All the best

[paradise lost]

What everyone else said!

I had flat nipples before DD and found the following helpful:

I went to a breastfeeding workshop and a few breastfeeding groups for mums and mums-to-be before she was born.

I got a really good book (sheila kitzinger, Breastfeeding Your Baby) and read it very thoroughly several times.

I had her checked at birth for tongue-tie to make sure the problems i was potentially facing were minimised.

Before every feed i would pull my own nipple out long by hand - it was WAY less painful than letting DD do it by suction as i could do it slowly and gradually over 30 seconds rather than suddenly over 2 sucks.

I expressed a little milk before i tried to attach her if i was very full - flat nipples are hard enough to get hold of, without them being on the front of flat, hard, full breasts. I made sure the nipple and area just back from the areola was softened before i put her on.

I used the football hold where bubs is feeding from the right breast with her side against my right side and her feet going under my right arm (or vice versa for left boob) rather than tummy to tummy across my chest as it allowed me to be able to see the nipple and her mouth and check she had good attachment better.

Every time she slipped off i dried my breast and her face with a muslin cloth before trying to put her back on - the fact that it was all slippery made it much harder for her to get a grip on the nipple properly.

I didn't go to nipple sheilds - i know that one isn't for everyone but i figured what i REALLY needed was to learn/teach DD to feed well without a shield and i didn't see the point in teaching her to feed from a sheild and then having to re-teach her to feed from the boobie without a shield. I figured i'd rather a week of quite sore nipples than 2 episodes of slightly less sore nipples (while i taught her to feed and then when i re-taught her without shields). I would have used them if my nipples had become injured.

Bx

[SamiH]

I have been an ABA member for 5 years. At all times the counsellors have supported my decisions regardless of the breast is best phrase I fed both my bubs - but they were so different!

What I am trying to say also is that even though you had trouble first time around, each b/f relationship is different - so enlist all the support around you now, and take it as it comes.

The ABA n your local area will also have monthly coffee mornings for any pregnant or mums no matter how old your kids are - bottle or breast fed everyone is welcome. I would encourage you to go along and meet some others in the same boat before bubs arrives!!

Good luck
Sam

[Candy Jay]

Hi Wombles,

I have the same problem as you, with DD who will be 9 when this one is born, I couldn't get her to latch at all so ended up expressing into a bottle from the very beginning.

This time I have booked in with the Lactation consultant at my hospital @ 25 weeks where we will actually somehow stretch my nipples out correctly... something like that so I can breastfeed bub.

It's so daunting this stuff but contact your midwifery area as they will be able to provide some advice on their consultants.

Best of luck

[Wombles]

Thankyou so much for all your help and advice I joined the ABA and have found it really really helpful. Unfortunately i don't have any support groups where i live as i live in a very remote little town.

Having helpful sites like bellybelly and ABA is such a relief for me knowing that there is somewhere where i can get help and/or assistance. I really REALLY want to breastfeed and will endevour to do so. With the assistance of the counsellors, i have full confidence that i will pursue my ambition.

Thankyou all so much for your help.

[didispunk]

Whatever you choose will be fine for bubba!!

[Epacris]

Hi Wombles,

I have inverted nipples and I successfully breastfed my DS till he self weaned at 14 months, and he was slowish to start solids too so he was exclusively BF till about 10 months.

I too was worried before DS was born, as I'd head all the horror stories about inverted nipples. For me BFing has been one of the most fantastic experiences of my life and I am so proud of myself.

Like SamiH said, every BFing relationship is different. Find what works for you and go with it. What worked for me and others may not work for you (or hopefully it will!). I didn't use nipple shield and I didn't pull my nipples out.

Anyway, this is my story:

I did heap of reading before DS was born so I was totally over informed about all things BFing.

After DS was born some of the midwives in the hospital would pinch my nipples to try and make them come out and I HATED it! It really took me by surprise because I can't even remember them telling me what they were going to do, let alone asking me if it was ok. But I was too overwhelmed at the time to say NO STOP TOUCHING MY NIPPLES!!! It wasn't all of the MWs, jut a couple of them and by day 2 I was strong enough to tell them to bugger off if it looked like they were about to give them a tweak. In my experience it was completely unnecessary for anyone to touch my nipples. If you feel comfortable touching them then that's fine but don't feel like you have to let other people touch them. And I never did, I just put DS on and he pulled them out himself (but I think he was a good sucker) and I found his sucking much gentler than nasty fingers.

In the early days I paid very close attention to getting attachment right. I would attach DS myself and get a MW or LC to check. I did this for every feed for the first few days (I was in a Private Hospital and so had MVs whenever I wanted for 4 days). What worked best for me was to just shove as much of the areola in as I possibly could. Sometimes I would poke a bit more in on the side with my finger, rather then pull off and reattach and surprisingly that seemed to work a treat for us.

The MWs and LCs kept going on and on about it not hurting if you're doing it properly. They kept saying that if it hurts, then your attachment's not correct. For me it really, really, really hurt and all the MWs and LC agreed that the attachment was right. Then at about the 6 week mark it suddenly just stopped hurting and we went ahead in leaps and bounds from there.

I hope that helps. Please come back and tell us how you're doing and ask us for help anytime.

[paradise lost]

Sometimes I would poke a bit more in on the side with my finger, rather then pull off and reattach and surprisingly that seemed to work a treat for us.

ME TOO! I also did a whole lot of things "they" said i shouldn't. My BB's are huge so i ALWAYS held the boob i was feeding from steady with my hand. I did pull out my nipple (i also had pain with good attachment and i'm positive it was just the internal anchors of the end of my nipple being stretched out as the pain stopped at a time when they were more consistently "out" rather than flat between feeds) but i was told not to! I squished my nipple down with finger and thumb just back from the areola to make sure as much as possible went as deep as possible into her mouth AND if the attachment wasn't QUITE there but almost and she was really hungry i too would shove a bit more in (used to push mine in underneath against her lower lip).

I'm a big believer that if a mum is well-informed about what she's TRYING to achieve (nipple high in the mouth and way back, near the soft palette) then however she wants to try to do it is all good. The "rules" and advice CAN be really useful, but as we see in so other areas of parenting, if a woman is allowed to get to know her baby in peace and the two of them can figure it out together (especially when there's an LC in the wings to help if need be) they will usually find success together.

[Epacris]

Oh Bx, you make me LOL! That (shoving a bit more in) was such a NO NO! They (MWs and LCs) would always say, "you must pull off and reattach!". Wow, I can't believe I'm not the only one it worked for.

if a woman is allowed to get to know her baby in peace and the two of them can figure it out together (especially when there's an LC in the wings to help if need be) they will usually find success together.

Too true!