Across social media over the last few days I have been asking our followers to help burst some breastfeeding myths. There is so much mis-information out there about breastfeeding, to make an informed choice, you need to sift through so much information.
I asked our followers the most common questions I get asked all the time and they responded with some great answers! Experienced breastfeeding mums can be a great source of knowledge about breastfeeding.
A lot of mums don't feel they have an option to breastfeed if they don't have help at home and feel they will be stuck to their baby without the ability to get some sleep or even a break.
It is true that breastfeeding is hard, I am definitely not going to deny that, but some mums usually give up around the 6 week mark, when a lot of the hard work has already been put in and feeds start to slow down a little by then once supply is established.
Babies feed regularly for the first 6-10 weeks as they establish breast milk supply. Some mums can think this means they don't have enough milk for the baby as they are feeding so often. But your breast milk supply is based on demand, so baby will keep demanding milk until supply is established to fulfil their needs.
Some of our mums on Insta had some great suggestions for breaks if you need them;
- Plan to take a rest or break after a feed when baby is sleeping, even use this time to sleep yourself.
- Feed baby lying down during the day, so you can have a rest too.
- Try and meet up with other like-minded mums, so you have someone to talk through about what your going through. Attending a baby massage class or mum and baby yoga can be a great safe space to connect and share any frustrations you have.
- Collect any excess milk with milk collection cups so you can introduce a bottle at some stage so your partner or other family can help.
- Before you have your baby talk to your partner about boundaries, expectations and how you expect him/her to help once your baby is born.
- Try to get 10-20 minutes a day just to yourself, to either go for a walk, have a snack, take a shower, or whatever you enjoying doing just to remember you are still a person without your baby.
- Browse our highlight on Insta for BF myths to see what else you might be thinking about.
Collect your excess milk:
