The first few feeds with my son seemed to go well, I had read as much as I could about getting a good ‘latch’ so I felt as prepared as I could. I was under the supervision of my fantastic homebirth midwifery team for the first ten days after his birth so I received many visits from them to check feeding was going well. I also have a fantastic neighbour who happens to be a breast feeding peer supporter so visits from her were also incredibly helpful.
I seemed to be getting on O.K but struggled to see my sons latch or face for that matter as my boobs were just so big and completely in the way. Especially when my milk ‘came in’ and my breasts became enngorged. There were four feeding positions I was recommended to try.
My midwife recommended the football hold might be easier for larger chested ladies, but I could never quite get the hang of it. My son always looked uncomfortable.
The side lying position worked at times but was very hit and miss. Possibly because I had a lazy feeder, (or maybe I was an enabler). Whatever position we were in I found that if I manipulated my nipple into his mouth, feeding was much easier.
I would pinch my nipple between my thumb and forefinger and literally place it into my sons mouth, when he had his mouth open and ready. I found I could see him better this way, (so I could make sure my huge boob hadn’t suffocated him!) If you too have a large chest and are struggling getting your little one to feed, give this a try.
One thing nobody ever really tells you is to ‘prepare’ for breast feeding. No, you don’t need to buy bottles, sterilisers, formula or anything like that but you most certainly do need breast pads, (I found these worked brilliantly https://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/popin-reusable-breast-pads-d3113.html?gclid=CjwKCAiA9qHhBRB2EiwA7poaeNz2ThSZg0VpI3XqZ4VmEgOGS5uRPTA1ze-2_omK7WXhMOGH0uRqdBoCk6cQAvD_BwE)
A couple of good nursing bras, and ‘feeding friendly’ clothes. By this I mean tops and dresses with buttons so you can access a boob easily. Or should you prefer OUOD (one up one down) a couple of good vest tops are ideal to wear underneath tops to keep your mum tum and dignity intact.
Whilst we are on the topic of nursing bras, having a big chest can make buying a good nursing bra almost impossible. I tried many after having my son, some cheaper ones from shops like matalan and mothercare, which to be honest, I found very disappointing. Yes they came in the size I needed but they offered little to no support. Unfortunately, any larger size nursing bras, which offers good support will more often than not cost you a pretty penny. Shops such as Bravissimo are great and something like this gives fantastic suppport. https://www.bravissimo.com/products/luna-nursing-bra-grey-marl-ro105gml/.
My son breastfed for 5 months and slowing down/stopping was really his choice. I know many will argue that cant be possible but at around the 4 month mark he started to get very, very distressed at the breast, at EVERY feed. Which was not very nice for him or me. I was doing nothing differetly, my diet hadn’t changed, he just seemed unhappy feeding. I tried any advice I was given, from trying other positions to giving infacol, gripe water and more but nothing seemed to work. I decided to try him on a bottle of expressed milk and he fed like a dream. From then on her was taking my expressed milk during the day for a few feeds and was happily breast feeding at night. The point came where I introduced formula to supplement and my milk production decreased with doing this (as I knew it would). I was still managing to breast feed at night, which we both seemed to still enjoy. Fast forward a month and my milk was no longer satisfying him at night so I made the decision to formula feed for all feeds. I wanted to get to 6 months exclusively breastfeeding but my little one had other ideas. He is content which makes me happy and fed is best after all.
Please don’t ever feel pressured into breastfeeding. It’s a hard skill to master and isn’t right for everyone. If you don’t want to or simply cant for any reason, formula will still feed your baby.
If you have any breastfeeding stories or tips to share please feel free.
Thank you for reading, please pop back again soon.
X Nikki X
