I am so glad you talk about how much stress new moms put on themselves for breastfeeding. I just had my first baby 7.5 months ago and I was TERRIFIED of formula...I didn’t research any formulas and I said I would never give him a drop of formula. 3 weeks in and he still hadn’t regained back his birth weight. I HAD to give formula because he was starving, and I still felt so bad about it for some reason, I cried with every bottle I gave. Like I wasn’t doing my job and I wasn’t able to feed him with my own body. Now looking back I was so uneducated and shallow. My son is now exclusively breast fed but that formula pretty much saved his life while I was upping my supply and it never caused nipple confusion or anything- just made him happier and FED!
Thank you for this. I'm due anyday with my third boy and plan on breastfeeding. But to hear someone was okay supplementing formula doesnt mean it's the end of breastfeeding.
Im currently pregnant and whenever i talk about breastfeeding everyone seems to have an opinion that I MUST breastfeed and i dont know what will happen, my mom never lactated and both me and my sister were 100% formula fed but everyone seems to think that its easy or 100% guaranteed
I never wanted to give my baby formula but every since he was born I always tried breastfeeding him until this day and he hasn’t been fully latching on. I became very disappointed and decided to have formula as back up so that he isn’t hungry. Now I pump as much breast milk as a can & give him formula as well & that seems to work better for him.
True and that weight gain is so necessary for the baby. If they need it, they need it. I regret not supplementing with formula sooner with my second child. He was so small. I got him on formula and felt better because I was able to feed my baby.
Thanks for watching this video! The overall message is YOU CAN DO THIS no matter what your method of feeding your child. Also, I want to point out, the nurses at the hospital are my everything. They made both my hospital stays better and offered tons of help. I know they mean well when they encourage breastfeeding! 🤗
I’d like to share my experience. I have so much respect for breastfeeding. However I couldn’t do it an decided to go full formula quite early on. Fortunately, my baby has never been sick until now (she’s 17month old) except for a couple of times having a blocked nose. I’ve been feeling sane and super happy and content since being mum and a lot of that is due to me not stressing over how I feed her and keeping myself sane first for her sake. She’s a very happy and super talkative girl as I have the energy and joy to really be there with her, talk, sing, dance and teach her everyday
Thanks for sharing, I feel your pain,I co-feed I had the same problem but after 6 months of continuing breastfeeding and despite introducing formula as early as 2 months magically milk supply increased
Oh my! I kept nodding my head throughout the video. I'm a first time mum and I found out people have so much "strong" opinion about breastfeeding which often give us stress/anxiety instead of encourgement. I agree with all the things you mention *virtual high five*
My baby learned to latch at 3 weeks! And we’re breastfeeding, 15 weeks! She gets 1 bottle of formula before bed. I was super stressed about her not getting 100% breast milk but you know what, i’m doing my best and she’s getting fed and we have our breast-feeding time so I’m completely happy with that now🥰💕
Ananda Renee oh Yesss she totally has spelt thew the night since 2 months. But that’s also because we follow the taking cars babies day schedule where she eats every 3 hours
Hey girl, FED is best! In the end, it doesn't matter if you breastfeed, formula, or both! I'm glad you didn't stress and did what you needed to do to make sure your baby is healthy. I'm glad I have your advice and resources for when I finally do have kids and support from the women in my circle who preach this as well.
I love your attitude. The message I’ve been getting is that if you don’t do everything exactly a certain way from the second they’re born, you will never be able to breastfeed. It’s too much pressure. Maybe the pressure is the real reason a lot of people end up unable to breast feed because of stress, and not because they actually did anything wrong.
As a current breastfeeding momma, I'm glad to see this video! I feel there isn't enough support TO breastfeed for those who really want to, and so many are quick to formula feed. Breastfeeding is not easy! It's a full time job that requires commitment, but it is the best for your baby, especially in their first few months of life. I had to supplement with formula in the beginning while getting my milk supply up. While supplementing with formula my baby was experiencing colic and it hurt me to see her go through that. Once I was able to put my baby on only breast milk the colic went away over night! I agree fed is best but please mommas do your absolute best to breastfeed before resorting to formula.
you are so right about the nurses. i just had my first child a month ago and i am experiencing a lot , because my baby doesn t latch well on my breast and the thing is so painfull I ahve to express milk every time, and all the nurses ,yeah they mean well but sometimes they say different things and all becomes so confusing especially when is just you and your baby .
@Brittany Frana they say its because he doesn t suck with the mouth open only with the tip, but its hard even to practice when the baby is hungry is not much pacient. after a while the pain goes away if you are not engorged, but it is really hard for us. In the end you are left with a few options.
I just got a baby and after 3 weeks with him I really doubt myself and my abilites for feeding him. Most of those things you talked about in the video I came to them by myself and with help from my husband. But I really really really wish that somebody could tell me all of that straight forward with no bullshit after or before delivery. I appriciate the simple form od "this worked for me and this dont" beacuse whenever i tryed to reach some infos about any topic not only with breastfeeding but with nursery too, it all was going for "dont worry, its a miracle, you be good" and "oh man, go see a doc if you see xyz". More people should share their stories like you did. Thanks Susan for that :)
Susan, you are the friend every mother needs. I'm about to have my SECOND child and I feel so nervous as I experienced ALL the trails as a 1st-time-mum. I am so grateful to have you, your spirit and energy is so beautiful xxx
I recently had my second as well ( 12/30/19) and delivered as a repeat c- section. And my baby started going down in weight while waiting for my actual milk to come in. I love ❤️ the point you made of doing what you gotta do- my baby gets both birth milk and formula- which is going very well
Mandie B it was a struggle! My daughter was a preemie so luckily in the nicu they would just have me pump and provide formula for what I didn’t get. But with my son he was exclusively breastfed. He lost a pound of weight in 2 weeks which was much over the 10% that they were saying was normal. Not a single nurse let me have formula, and our pediatrician was like “just keep trying” once night at 2am I sent my husband to Walmart for some formula because my poor baby just looked so thin and seemed so malnourished. At 2 weeks old he sucked down an entire 4oz bottle of formula he was so hungry. I could pinch his skin and it wouldn’t spring back, he was clearly starving and dehydrated. Not all stories are perfect and breastfeeding doesn’t work for everybody. It’s perfectly okay to reach for that bottle. You are still a good mommy regardless.
Can we just take a moment and talk about how flawless you are?! At some point when watching your videos, I realize I'm just staring at your bone structure, the perfect placement of highlights, lip color, skin... then I have to rewind to listen to everything one more time because I got lost in the beauty and was totally spacing. LOL
What you said about the fear of being the only one being able to feed baby was 💯 percent the same for me with my first born. Totally going to introduce my second (due in june) to the bottle as you suggest! 👏👏👏
OMG, first off she’s so adorable! 😍 I wish I seen this video before my baby girl came into this world! All my nurses insisted that I used the football position for her and she hated it.... so when I finally found a position she liked we were good. They also kept waking us both up so I could feed her, which was annoying! But when I left breastfeeding was relatively going good. Then I wasn’t producing enough and she was yelling her lil heart out... and I just sat there and cried and felt like a failure. My bf just comfort me and went to buy some formula. I felt bad that I couldn’t provide for her but I felt worse if she didn’t eat at all... I learned a lot being a new mom and the biggest tip I ever gotten was to listen to your body, listen to your baby, and that there’s no right or wrong way to raise your bundle of joy... as long as you’re trying to do your best!!!
I'm a first time mom and bbgirl is 12 wks today. My experience with breastfeeding hasn't been like cupcakes and rainbow in the very beginning. It gave me anxiety because like you I placed a lot of stress on EBF. My bbgirl also couldn't open her mouth big enough to latch the way I was taught they should be latching so my right nipple ended up getting fissures and a small wound opening developed. With her cluster feeding a lot the first two weeks, I had trouble enjoying the experience and ended up crying a lot. My husband researched the Haakaa pump and it was my saving grace. I EBF from my left and pumped on my right everytime she bf so I can give that nipple time to heal. like you, I bottle fed her the contents of the pump and it worked well. After it healed, I was scared to use it again cuz I would get flashbacks of the pain I felt. Anyway, I am now using my right nipple and bf def got better but i can't say that it was this beautiful experience because it wasn't. The first two months were brutal and frustrating. I'm sure my nipples got tougher cuz even if my bbgirl still doesn't latch well, my nipples don't hurt the way it did before. On another note, bbgirl suddenly, after 6weeks, STOPPED taking the bottle 😅 she still doesn't take it so now my stress is keeping my milk supply up cuz she's sleeping longer stretches and cuz shes been refusing the bottle, I'm afraid my supply will not be enough. Anyway, the experience is def not static. It's like a rollercoaster ride for me where I just roll with wtv bbgirl gives me and hope for the best. Thanks for the video! I watched it as I pumped before bbgirl wakes up from her long sleep.
First time momma with a one month old here, and I couldn‘t agree more with you! Taking care of yourself and not be anxious about introducing a bottle or giving formula while breastfeeding at the same time is what I found to be key in my breastfeeding journey. Hope these tips will encourage fellow mamas out there too!
Yesssssss!!!! You are spot on about lactation consultants and nurses. I got shamed/so many rules for my first which resulted in my daughter never latching. My second child is breastfeeding like a champ because I didn’t let them stress me out
If your baby is refusing expressed milk from a bottle it's worth taste testing your milk. My first would never take a bottle and my second did the same until I discovered my milk has too much lactase and goes off super quick. I tried my milk about 45 mins after expressing (it was in the fridge) and it had gone off. Switched to formula and suddenly baby no 2 was fine with the bottle. Wish I'd discovered first time around!
New subscriber here! This video was amazing. I am three weeks away from my due date and a lot of what you said about breastfeeding/bottle feeding I really wanted to do but I needed to hear from someone else that it works! I feel so much more confident now in my convictions about breastfeeding. Thank you so much for sharing your tips!
Silicone pump is the best thing you can get during breastfeeding! This is the tool that helped me build my freezer stash and increase my milk supply. I am actually working on the recommendations about breastfeeding video. I agree with Susan, Nature bond or haaka are really the same thing.
The lactation consultants in the hospital have been rough, distant and shaming both times I have had babies. The consultants that do home visits are way better and gentler I think. I never had any issues with them and really happy with them.
First time mum of a baby boy who is nearly 7 weeks old. This video is very helpful and I wish I watched it a few weeks ago during solve very dark days. Thankyou for being so level headed, not patronising and helpful xx
You always give such great advice, thanks Susan! I will be a first time mommy this Spring and you always seem to put things into perspective and ease any of my anxieties. Thank you!!
Im a first time mom so i do not have experience but everything u said was spot on. The haakaa was life changing & i’ve started my milk stash with it. Drinking lots of water is essential- i drink 2 liters of water daily at least. Definitely ask the hospital nurses to show you how to latch & breastfeed. I found that it was not intuitive. Once one of them showed me how to do it properly it made such a huge difference. Introducing a bottle after breastfeeding was well established which for me was at 3 weeks helped too. I really dont know how a baby can confuse a fake plastic nipple with a real one but i have heard that nipple confusion does happen 🤷♀️
Using haaka while feeding my baby on the opposite boob is the BEST thing I’ve done! I catch an insane amount of milk at every feeding with no effort! I’ll catch 4-5 oz at her first feed of the morning and at least 2 oz at the others. Amazing for creating a freezer stash or if babe needs an extra bottle before bed, like mine. And it doesn’t mess up your relieving cycle/times because you’re not technically pumping. Love love love!
Just found this video but have been a subscriber for years. My daughter will be 3 soon and I never tried breastfeeding hard enough, now currently 33 weeks pregnant with twins and really want to give breastfeeding a go so thank you so much for this video. Sending love from Scotland x
This video relieved so much of my anxieties about breast feeding my second baby due in April! With my daughter, I never gave the concept of supplementing a thought because it was never given to me as an option from my lactation consultants. I ended up having to take my newborn to the hospital because she wasn’t having enough wet diapers or pooping, and once they gave her a bottle of formula I never looked back. I realized later on that it didn’t have to be so cut and dry about breastfeeding, but I’m so glad I found this video to give me the confidence to try again!
I’m due any day now and have been researching breastfeeding vs formula. One thing I’ve noticed that makes me sad is how judgmental people are about feeding babies. Like no matter what you do someone is going to judge you. It is so sad to me because it can be so discouraging to new moms. To be made to feel like they’ve made a bad choice or are somehow harming their child, I just can’t imagine. I don’t understand why we can’t support each other as moms. My favorite advice you gave is to take care of yourself. That’s the one thing I’ve learned as I’ve looked into breastfeeding vs. formula. You will be judged no matter what so stop listening to what everyone is saying and listen to yourself, your own motherly instincts. You know what’s best for you and baby. That’s what is important. I want to breastfeed but I’m also not willing to sacrifice my happiness and stress myself out trying to do it. Being happy and motivated will make me a good mom, not breastfeeding.
👏👏 as a postpartum rn, yes yes yes to all of your tips! anything we can do to relieve stress on mama will automatically pass down to baby! All that stress hormone (cortisol) mixed with lack of sleep will never let that milk come down! also, side note, Hashimoto’s has a huge impact on milk production! all that stress and lack of sleep with your drop in thyroid function definitely contributed to your colostrum slow down. great video! ❤️❤️❤️
Yes! Rough grabbing of breasts by lactation consultants at the hospital, and yet, they did not help with the latch! Oh, well! Good thing there are other methods of feeding nowdays! Thank you for the tips!
I love this video and I can relate with feeling policed over how I should take care of our baby in the hospital. Also I had to introduce formula bc of my baby’s weight went down very quickly and I was freaking out. Then a niccu nurse said it would be best so baby could get rid of jaundice. I was so stressed and upset that the baby wasn’t getting enough. Things are getting better but definitely came here for breastfeeding tips and all your tips were so useful. Thank you!
I feel like the hospital was super pushy with breastfeeding. With my first, I wasn't producing enough and he was losing weight so my dr suggested supplementing with formula. With my second son I gave him a bit of formula the first night because again I wasn't producing enough. I remembered how stressful it was for both of us during the first birth. The nurse came in and we told her about the formula and they seemed shocked that I gave him formula. Ultimately fed is best.
I love how you talk about YOUR experience breastfeeding! I don't understand why women have to keep bringing up formula when that is not what the video is about. The reality is that many women don't receive proper lactation support and don't do their own research on the benefits of breastmilk and nursing which is why they have no success. Breastfeeding is trial and error. Let this mama talk about HER journey! 💕
Great video, thank you! I was a formula fed baby and turned out fine - and am preparing to try breastfeeding with my twins, due in a few days. I feel so fortunate that knowing fed is best and excited to see where this journey takes all three of us. Cheering on every mama who is doing what's best for themselves and their babies!!
I love your videos Susan! To the editors, maybe less frequent cuts to the second camera. It may detract from Susan and her message. Nonetheless, so happy you have this channel and thankful that you share so much with us.
I love ritual vitamins! I tried out several while we were still trying, hoping that by the time I got pregnant, I’d find one I liked, and ritual was definitely the one. The taste isn’t gross, I love that I don’t have to remember to go to the store, it just shows up in the mail right on time! Doesn’t make me nauseous - it’s really just an amazing brand for prenatal vitamins.
In the hospital now with my second born. I breastfed my son for 14.5 months. With my son, I also had a nurse shove a my boob in my babies mouth when he wouldn’t latch. I asked for help again with the lactation consultant because I was having pain with the latch and it was good because I got a refresher course on latch and it helped me feel more confident.
Update on my postpartum experience in the hospital...we had to stay an extra day due to jaundice and about 3 different nurses have asked me if I was supplementing with formula because I guess they think it would help. But like you say as a second time mom you are more confident and I told them repeatedly no that i didn’t want to supplement with formula because I trust my bodyband trust the process. Going home today...and we didn’t need to formula feed in order to go home. I really did feel pressured. I was expressing my own colostrum to give to my baby in a syringe and the nurse told me I was “stubborn” like her daughter and the amount of colostrum I had expressed was “not enough” to clear the jaundice. I honestly just ignored her and kept doing what i felt was best for me and my baby to do. Also, I wasn’t going to get the advice from the nurse to supplement especially if the pediatrician had not told me supplement. It’s best to be knowledgeable before you start breastfeeding so you can make the best choice for you and your baby.
Awesome video and cuuuute baby! I'm only 20 and am not planning on having a baby any time soon, but watching your videos and other people's, it is making me less and less scared of pregnancy and post-partum stuff in general, which used to absolutely terrify me! Thank you for making such informative and reassuring videos :)
Great video! Ayla is sooo sweet! The haakaa pump really saved me. I was actually able to build up quite a store using it alone. Tip for a more secure haakaa latch: fold the flanged top all the way back, squeeze the body of the pump, then attach and unfold the flange over the breast. I learned this the hard way after a very full haakaa of milk unlatched and made a huge mess all over me and babe 😅. Xx
Great video Susan! Very informative. I really liked that you reassured us to not feel pressure and to do what feels best for you and your baby. Any NEW recommendations for nursing tops, pads, bras? I know they have nursing bras that absorb leaks, kind of like period underwear, any brands that you have tried? I loved both your breastfeeding videos, you are so open, honest and informative! Thank you, i love your channels!!!
Just came across this video, currently almost 24 weeks pregnant and I just wanna say THANK YOU for this video! I feel like most videos I’ve watched regarding breastfeeding have made me more stressed out than anything. I love your “go with the flow” approach. I’m a FTM and I’m mostly just really nervous about how pushy the nurses/doctors/etc will be at the hospital because I have no problem with supplementing with formula if needed. Just need to advocate for myself more for sure :)
Don’t let anyone pressure you into doing something if it doesn’t work out. It’s completely fine to supplement or completely go to formula. Just learn a bit about what to expect then it’ll be less stressful. And use lactation consultants!
Couldn't have said it better! I'm in the same boat....2nd baby at home almost 10 weeks old and I am much more confident this time around with my choices I make to feed my son. I found introducing a bottle earlier on when needed made a significant difference in his weight gain. Keeping him healthy and plump was all I cared about. I still BF him everyday, but when those growth spurts arise and he starts cluster feeding I'm glad I don't have to worry about having enough supply whether it be from my pumped milk or formula supplement. Our Pediatrician is completely fine with this method. Don't let other people, professional or not, dismay what feels right for you and your baby. It shouldn't feel shameful or overwhelming at all. Follow your motherly instincts! Also, thanks Susan for reminding us to take care of ourselves..been slacking with taking prenatal vitamins post birth. I don't like taking pills either! Just ordered the Rituals to try :)
I loved this video Susan! I just had my first baby 4 months ago, and oh my- the pressure I dealt with regarding breastfeeding was insane!!! My baby had a tongue tie that the hospital or lactation consultants didn’t catch for months, and if it wasn’t for formula, would have been in very bad health. Several of my friends dealt with similar problems, and even my ob was not able to breastfeed. All of us tried everything, and we all have healthy babies. Thank you for offering such calm, common sense advice! You also look absolutely stunning in this video ❤️
Oh wow! I didn't even think about Thyroid while breastfeeding. My doctors and I are trying to get mine down before TTC, I know we need to keep track during pregnancy, but didn't think about after. Thanks for that reminder :)
Great video! Just want to share two more tips for baby’s that won’t latch. 1. Check baby’s mouth for tongue 👅 tie or lip tie. 2. Use nipple shield if necessary. Sometimes baby won’t latch and mom’s are told to tough out the nipple pain. But really, the baby’s mouth just needs help opening. And sometimes nipples are not pointy enough for baby to feel on the roof of the mouth, so a nipple shield will help with that. My baby didn’t latch until month 3, until after I tried everything in the book, and those two tips were my saving grace.
Great video. Love all the useful tips. All I can think about is when you, Olivia, and sharzard (sorry if I spelt that wrong)did the ring test and how accurate it was.
Just found you. I had 4 kids - and had super low.milk supply with all of them - I dont know if it was due to hormones or not enough breast tissue (small breasts). My max was 3 ounces in the morning combined. With my last baby I had a max of 2.5 ounces in the morning, and then about 45 grams every 3 hours after... It caused lots of depression, anxiety, tears for me. First 3 months I tortured my breasts. After a month the babies would start fussing and refusing the breast because it was impatient (and used to bottle by then). I'd be supplementing with formula. With my firstborn son, I unknowingly caused him to lose too much weight (he was latching correctly). After the 2 week appointment, I rented a baby scale, and rented a hospital grade scale eith all my babies since. Every feeding was : 1. baby is hungry 2. I weigh baby - baby gets impatient and starts to cry 3. Breastfeed baby 4. Supplement with formula or an ounce I pumped beforehand, 5. then formula 5. Went to pump I want to do things different this time (pregnant with my 5th baby). But I still cant help to stress out about the fact that baby is already hungry in the hospital, and they should be getting their colostrum, etc. Maybe if my firstborn didnt have severe constipation from the formula, I'd take it easier... Your advice not to be stressed is a super wise advice. You're stronger than me! God help us moms who do our best and beyond.
I think it really sucks that people make formula look like some kind of horrible thing you have you explain. I formula fed my first, and while I will try BF this one, my first was fine and I see absolutely nothing wrong with doing what you need to do for you and your baby. Like... it's ridiculous.
Jib Jabs True, but the research shows all of it is only slightly more beneficial. Definitely more beneficial, but not enough to stress moms out. I was breastfed, my sisters weren’t. Yet here I am with three autoimmune diseases and they don’t have any.
lmdav for real. I’m so not going to breastfeed this time. I spent 6 weeks killing myself trying to breastfeed my daughter and I’m not doing it this time. She was perfectly healthy with formula. I have 2 autoimmune diseases that make recovery and breastfeeding nearly impossible. I’ve learn to not give a crap about what anyone else has to say about how I feed my baby including “science”. Whatever is easier for my child and I is what I’m going to do.
@Jib Jabs hey now, I completely understand and support the science. Please don't lump me into a group of people who don't. You actually don't know my personal reasons for not BF my first, and my POINT was that I don't need to explain it to anyone. I did feel at one point that I did, and frankly, nothing I said made anyone respect my choice anyway. It was mental health related, and it's disappointing to me that women still feel the need to explain their choices. Formula saves lives too, and I'm so thankful that it was available to me for my baby when it was needed. I know you aren't saying formula isn't good, only that there are risks to not BFing your baby, but I wanted to clarify my viewpoint.
Jib Jabs I found these two very intesting paper updating the diferences on many items between formula and breastfeeding: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361236/ and www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5909901/
I wish I watched this befor I just had my girls! The hospital staff was so freaking aggressive and grabby. Some LC were amazing and some were so off . So much contradictory advice. It was so overwhelming and aggravating. Im now nursing at home after lots of bottles because my babies were in the NICU. No Nipple confusion at all, baby prefers breast . Go at your own pace and don’t stress is THE BEST ADVICE
This video is super helpful and informative. I am due in a few weeks with my first baby and have been doing tons of research on breastfeeding. There are so many viewpoints out there that really boggle the mind. Your video answers exactly those questions that I have had from someone who has experienced it twice. Hopefully, I will be as calm and confident as you are when it comes down to it! (fingers crossed!)
I'm expecting my second baby in two weeks. We did have nipple confusion with my first but I'm still introducing bottles before a month because I'm enforcing a half day momcation every Sunday. I felt like a hermit the first time. I'd rather have a formula fed baby than feel so isolated again. This time I'm setting up follow up with an LC after the hospital as well as using the Tele LC access that's free from my insurance and pump company if I need it. I'm also going to video call to my MIL and CILs in India if I need help after hours. Every generation breastfed plus the cousins are all doctors so I can rely on their advice not hurting me or baby.
Wow this was helpful. I will take these things into consideration next baby. Unfortunately i struggled with my newborn breastfeeding and was definitely not confident
Thank you for these great tips! I'm about to be a first time mom and I think this is just what I needed to relax a bit. Really, thank you! P.S. what's that lip stick? Love the color!
Thank You Susan for sharing so much important, and informative information. Knowing that you're experiencing this and giving tips on how to make this a good experience for you and baby. I'm looking forward to trying this. Thanks Again!
I have to say, I took Ritual the first 5 months of my pregnancy and later found out that it doesn’t have the Complete nutrients needed for prenatal vitamins, it only has the Essentials. I’d suggest taking another vitamins.
The only thing about the formula in the hospital is that she probably got less colostrum. So yes she was filled up, but having colostrum is a world of a difference from just filling her with the calories in formula. Wonderful that you were able to keep breastfeeding and get it all figured out anyway!
Thank you for sharing! So much of the stuff you shared I had to learn firsthand and wish I would have had this video 3 weeks ago. A ton of useful information and support. My baby turns a month old on Saturday. Hope you do more stuff like this! ❤️
Wish I would have seen this before I had my baby five weeks ago. She lost a lot of weight in the hospital bc I had trouble producing colostrum and I ended up having to supplement with formula for a little bit anyway. Starting that IN the hospital when I had trouble would’ve saved us from so much stress!
Wow thank you for this advice, especially about breastfeeding and ways to cope with stress. I needed to hear formula is perfectly okay, full time or even just to supplement and take a breather. ❤️ first time momma
I am FTM and had my baby late December. I was fortunate enough to have extremely supportive nurses and doctors who encouraged me to supplement with formula as well as to continue breastfeeding coz I had an emergency C-sec and my baby simply wasn't getting fed enough . I am continuing the same now that we are home and I have to say it has given me comfort to know that my baby is well fed and getting everything she needs.
Haha funny thing I noticed.. “breastfeeding tips” vid of yours 4 years ago you also wore black and white stripes top. Soon to be mum so I’m watching all your pregnancy/baby related vids!! ❤️❤️
This is so helpful! The ask for help when you need it part is especially true. I’m glad the LC didn’t come visit me until like day 2 or so because I would have gotten so confused with the advice. It was really tough bf at first and my baby did NOT want to stay on… working with him I figured out it he preferred sitting up. I’m pretty sure it was coming out too fast for him and he didn’t like being on his side 😅 One note about the formula - statistically most Moms do not exclusively breastfeed, so I think the pressure to ebf is more reactionary? Because most moms do end up supplementing w formula or switching to formula. I would say almost all my coworkers have used or use formula with their babies, I didn’t actually know a lot of moms my age breastfeeding.
I agree with the stress on breastfeeding. I was a mess with both of my sons and stressed myself out. This time I am much more confident and will just remind myself dont stress about it. I'm due anyday with my 3rd boy. Lactation consultants kind of scare me as with my first they were very hands on. Which I wasnt prepared for. (I was only 18) which I think traumatized me. And never asked for a lactation consultant again.
As long as the baby is fed it’s the best method, I don’t have kids but I never understood why feeding kids where shamed. Y’all can do it, learning what works for you and your kid.
For prenatals, If you don't trust the Ritual advert and/or would rather use your insurance, I can recommend the Citranatal harmony brand. They're prescription only but they are so much better and cheaper if you have insurance. They taste like vanilla and don't make me sick. Something about the iron is different and doesn't cause the horrible naseua that every other Prenatal vitamin caused for me.
My Pediatrician recommended to give baby bottle after feeding because she wasn’t gaining weight enough and I did it unfortunately my baby stop latched after 4 days. Now I am exclusively pumping and it wasn’t my plan or choice. I changed pediatrician but my daughter eat only from bottle... Thank you for telling about pressure. I wish I knew that 6 months ago. Thank for your videos I like your content
Also my second baby was wayyy more particular about everything especially breast feeding positions!!! Ahhh. Also I don’t lose weight during breastfeeding either. Give me those peanut m&ms!!!
I also topped off with formula, for me through week 3! This was my first and I definitely felt some sort of way about it but at the end of the day the pediatrician recommended we do that for his weight gain and our peace of mind, so I followed her advice. She even said we could top off with expressed breast milk too. At three months we are exclusively breastfeeding and have had no issues. My LC was also against formula but she did help with the latch and I met her around the time my milk came in and my baby became a more efficient eater. If or when we have a second, I think I’ll still go ahead and top off bf sessions with formula in the beginning. My baby won’t take a bottle now since we stopped topping off in the first month. It’s definitely giving me anxiety.
