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About Breastfeeding a second child.

Cindy - posted on 06/05/2012 ( 1 mom has responded )

189

34

My husband and I are trying to have another baby. I have a 6 year and when he was born I wanted to breastfeed him,but at first he gagged and then I tried pumping and got nothing (I kept trying for a week and nothing). Has anyone had this problem with a child,but able to breastfeed the next child? He was 4lbs 9oz when born and I didn't have a good pregnancy at all, I stayed sick for 7mths and could not keep a lot of fluids down either. I didn't know if this might have caused it or not.

Thanks for any info I can get!

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Andrea - posted on 06/05/2012

467

11

I have no had this issue, so I can't help with experience. But I can say this, being so small, can make it hard to latch. Honestly, it took me about 3 weeks with BOTH of my children to get the hang of things, then another 2 or so before it felt natural. I'm not trying to discourage, just know that it can work, you need support and determination. I always called on my lactation consultant for ANYTHING - so so helpful. It's very rare, even with much larger babies, to have it be easy from the start. The baby has to learn positioning and such. I found it helped to lay down with my babies - then I didn't have to worry if I was holding their head right or anything, and I could relax more (FAR MORE important than anyone makes you realize). Plus, one of the reasons you may not have had any luck pumping is because it's NOT the same (to your body) as having that baby skin to skin. Skin to skin is not just important for bonding, it actually tells your body (along with as much suckling as possible) to make milk. If you don't have that skin to skin sucking, it sometimes wont come in :( With my first I had supply issues because I let my baby sleep too long (5-6 hours the first night) instead of waking her, and it took longer for the milk to come in (4-5 days). With my second I knew better and was putting her on the breast (to get the colostrum, which is VERY important for the first few days) every 2 hours, and my milk came in in about 2-3 days. I also took comfort in knowing they only need a TSP of colostrum every feeding for the first few days, and when the milk comes in they only drink 1-2oz at first, they don't need a whole lot. With my second, I actually used a manual pump on one side, while I nursed the other side - that helped a lot too.

I wish you the best! It's hard for everyone, but so worth it! Beyond what i can tell you in words. Just get the support you need, it makes a huge difference. Overwhelm yourself with knowledge :)

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