From: sasmlb@pecos.unx.sas.com (Maria Moore)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: breast feeding
Date: 11 Jan 93 17:27:20 GMT
Organization: SAS Institute, Inc.

In article <1993Jan11.155523.18662@ultb.isc.rit.edu> uxgisd@ritvax.isc.rit.edu writes:
>I am due March 26.  I plan on breast feeding, but after reading all the
>information in previous posts, some doubts are forming.  First off, I 
>only plan on breast feeding for about two months.  I will be on 
>maternity leave for 2 1/2 to 3 months. Although I wont be working, I am
>still going to continue taking classes (only one night a week).  I'll 
>probobly be gone for about 5 to 6 hours that night, hopefully less.  It
>depends on how I'm feeling, but I only plan on missing one or two classes
>after the baby is born.
>
>I know that it is very important to either breast feed or bottle feed, 
>not both.  What I was hoping to do, is start breast feeding right from 
>the beginning.  After about 3 or 4 days, I was planning on giving the 
>baby his first bottle, only once a day. 

I am not an expert on breastfeeding so this is just one person's opinion and
experience.  I would wait more than 3 or 4 days before introducing the bottle.
It takes the baby awhile to "learn" to breastfeed the correct way.  Since
getting milk from a bottle is easier you may complicate things by giving the
bottle before he is completely comfortable with breastfeeding.

In my case I had two months of maternity leave and I didn't have other
commitments that would take me away so I breastfeed exclusively for three 
weeks before introducing the bottle.  Then all the literature I had read said
to have someone other than the mother give the baby the bottle since the 
baby won't take the bottle from the mother but hold out for the breast.  So
Dad tried giving the first bottle.  TJ wouldn't take it but just cried.  The
harder Dad tried, the more he cried.  So I gave him the first bottle.  I had
to work with him but he finally caught on.  I had to give him the second 
bottle also.  I started giving the third bottle and then passed both baby and
bottle over to Dad and from then on baby and Dad did just fine.  What had
happened was TJ knew that when he was hungry Mom fed him.  So he just knew
that Dad couldn't possibly have anything he needed.  The "experts" aren't
always right.

TJ is almost four months old.  I still breastfeed in the evening, nights, and
weekends and express twice a day at work.  We are lucky enough that we have
arranged things that my husband stays home with TJ during the day.  He 
switches back and forth from bottle to breast with no problems.  

The first week of breastfeeding was not easy.  We didn't have any real
problems but there was a learning curve for the baby.  So I would try to make
things as easy as I could for the baby.

On thing I would highly recommend for ANYONE who is beginning to breastfeed
is anhydrous lanolin.  It has to be anyhdrous.  I was given a small container
before I left the hospital and used it on my nipples after EVERY feeding and
after showering for the first month.  I still became sensitive during the 
first week but I didn't have any major soreness or cracking.  Plus it is not 
harmful to the baby so you don't have to worry about washing it off before 
nursing.

Good Luck.
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