When you're nursing, if lying down doesn’t work for you, try sitting up in a
comfortable chair with a back and armrests. Or sit up in bed with a nursing
pillow (like a Boppy). Make sure you are bringing the baby up to your breast
rather than leaning or hunching over to the baby. If you do the hunched over
position, you’ll end up with a very sore back and a baby with a bad habit.
Another way to hold the baby to nurse is in the football hold, with his body
across your side and his feet around at your back.
Engorgement
The first day or so after having your baby, you’ll feel like there’s no
milk. That’s normal, that’s just when the colostrum is coming down.
It’s just a tiny bit, but it’s all your baby needs right now. On about the
third day (the day you come home from the hospital, of course), suddenly you
will start to feel your breasts filling with milk. If the baby isn’t nursing
well at that point, you may get engorged.
Let me warn you, engorgement sort of hurts. It feels like your breasts have
become rock hard and might burst (they won't). You just will feel like
you would do anything, anything to get the milk out of you. But wait!
There are ways! Of course, the best way is for the baby to nurse, but that’s in
an ideal world where the baby is already latching on correctly and helping you
out.
If that’s not the case for you (it wasn’t for me), then get a pump. Walmart
sells them, baby stores sell them, and they’re not as expensive as they used to
be. Double pumps are nice, but not necessary. You may save yourself a few
minutes, but they’re awkward to use and you have no free hands. A single pump
is fine. You can also rent one from the hospital. Just don’t waste your time
and money on a hand pump - splurge and get an electric one. You’ve got enough
problems right now without dealing with inadequate equipment! Just pump for
about 10 minutes. Pump as often as you want to while you are
engorged. It will get the milk out and give you some relief.
Once you've got the relief, however, don't keep pumping unless you are
trying to build up your milk supply. The more milk you express, the
more milk you will make. You can give your expressed milk to your baby,
either in a bottle now, or freeze it for later.
If you do decide to use a pump, don’t make the mistake of thinking you need
to freeze a whole bunch of milk for your baby. You just don’t need it, plus the
stuff that’s in your milk is right for your baby at the moment, and what your
baby needs in a few weeks will be slightly different. Mother Nature seems to
know how to make it all work out so you don’t have to worry about it.
If you are still engorged, take some Motrin or Tylenol to relieve some of
the pain. And if you’re looking for a homeopathic remedy for engorgement, try
cabbage. It sounds crazy, but I actually tried this on a recommendation from a
lactation consultant, and it really did help.
You're wondering, "Cabbage?" Yep, I'm telling you to try cabbage.
Get someone to go to the store for you and buy you a head of cabbage. Make a
big bowl of icy water and put some of the leaves in there to get them nice and
cold (and wet). Crush them a little to make them less hard so that you can mold
them onto, yes, you guessed it, your breasts. You’ll need a towel because there
will be cabbage water running down you. It’s weird, but it really works!
Believe me, if you’re desperate enough, you’ll try it and see.