When the going gets tough.
There are several periods of cluster feeding in the first few years of baby’s life. Your baby will need more milk, more connection and more comfort. Rapid brain development, teething and an ever-growing body needs parental support.
You will feel tired and it will be hard at times but it will pass. Help yourself by asking others around you for support. Go to bed early so you can cope with the interrupted sleep and prepare yourself for possible all night long nursing marathons.
Please, listen to your baby and do not doubt yourself. It may not feel like it, but you’re doing fantastic.
Golfball in my boob!
Most new mothers find themselves having a hiccup here and there and one thing that is common are blocked milk ducts. This can be the result of positioning, or anything putting pressure on the breast really. A shoulder bag, underwire or even baby’s chin. If you get a blocked duct it’s best to try and clear it as soon as possible and here are my top tips on how to clear a duct.
Hand express gently at the same time as you feed.
Feed and feed on the breast with the blockage. This can help baby clear it.
I never tried this one myself, but apparently many are keen on wide tooth combs. Gently stroke the comb over the lump outwards, towards the nipple.
I have, however, happily used an electric toothbrush in the past. It’s like a vibrating miracle of magic. Put the toothbrush on, hold it against the blockage and keep it there as long as you can then run to get your baby and again feed, feed, feed.
As you maybe guessed from my recommendation to use laid back feeding, I am a huge fan of using gravity. This is where the next advice comes in:
Dangle feed! Yup, lay your baby down on the bed, dangle your blocked milk machine over him. Help him latch, keeping yourself as comfortable as you can. Relax and feel gravity and baby do their thing. This is my go-to and it works a treat.
If you struggle to clear the blockage and you start to feel unwell, please contact your medical service and ask for further advice.
Check all your clothing before answering the door to the postman! – Charlotte Dolphin
It’s all settling down!
So the first few months have passed and you’re starting to find your own patterns, you feel like you’ve got this. Baby’s needs are becoming somewhat predictable and some nights you might even get a three-hour stretch of uninterrupted, beautiful sleep!
You feel amazing, and the world is your oyster, then BOOM.
Meet the four month developmental leap. You will feel like you’ve gone full circle back to having a newborn again. This is the time to be kind to yourself and realise that you can’t do it all.
It’s OK to not clean continually. It’s OK to have a washing basket flooding your bedroom floor. These things do not matter today. Right now your only job is to help that baby grow and you’re doing it like a pro.
So when you walk past the dirty dishes, the dusty shelves and step over a floor with dirty washing carelessly thrown on it, remember as you reach out for your baby who is instantly soothed in your arms and feels comfort at your breast, that this isn’t forever.
I remember thinking I needed an extra set of arms and a beer helmet to hold all the water I was guzzling. – Becky Idems
What reality is today will only be memories tomorrow, so make them the kind of memories that you can cherish for a lifetime.
A huge thank you to my sisters from Breastfeeding Older Babies and Beyond for their input and support, and of course the awesome quotations.
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References:
For more information on cluster feeding:
Sofie Thomson is a writer, breastfeeding advocate and (breastfeeding) peer supporter from Sweden, now living in the Scottish Highlands with her husband and children. Since completing her degree in Child and Youth Studies, she has focused on encouraging parents to follow biological norms and trust their natural parenting instincts via her blog – The Gentle Mum. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
