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Sunday, July 07, 2013

Successful Breast Feeding!; Thriving on breast milk;

Just lately I've become very interested in breast feeding again and how to make a success of it!

The reason for my renewed interest is that I have become a Grandmother and my daughter decided that, by hook or by crook, she was going to persevere until she got it right because, at the end of the day, it is the best start in life one can give to an infant.

Sadly the help and information she was given while still in the maternity unit was very inadequate and scanty.
Baby was finding it difficult to grab the nipple and finally, after much unnecessary stress for both mom and child, she was given nipple shields but not before a blister had developed on one nipple which was rather painful and could have lead to an infectiAAon and possibly the use of antibiotics.

We started reading up on the pros and cons of breast feeding and how important it is that baby attaches properly to the nipple from the word get go and that breast milk is in itself a useful treatment for cracks and blisters.

It is important to remember that the breasts are a 'dairy' and that fluids removed in form of milk have to be replaced all the time by more fluids..water being the preferred medium.

Demand feeding is the way to go in the beginning and this is very tiring and stressful for both Mom and Baby as both get far too little sleep for a number of weeks. However the more baby sucks, the more milk is produced and that's the key.

Apparently the baby does not need water to quench its thirst if Mom is drinking at least one liter per day more than she usually drinks.

In all this struggle a supportive Dad is a great asset! He can take Baby for periods so that Mom can get some sleep even if only power naps.

Mom also needs to keep taking her vitamin supplements and her diet should be a healthy one.
Certain foods containing a lot of sugar and which cause winds and gas should be avoided as what Mom eats affects the baby's delicate digestive system leading to cramps and colic.

Regular weighing of the baby lets you know whether it is getting enough food and, contrary to starting supplement feeding and wrecking the whole breast feeding plan, the answer is to feed hourly or two hourly until the 'dairy' starts to regulate itself and baby gradually takes in more food as its sucking power increases.

Perseverance triumphs and both Mom and Baby win out in the end when victory is reached.

My granddaughter weighed 3kg at birth and now, 8 weeks on, she weighs over 4kg after losing 200g after birth. She has also grown more than 5cm in length.

Feel free to ask questions should you read this posting and are unsure.

12 August 2013

Today my darling granddaughter turns a whole 3 months old!

She is thriving on breast milk and now weighs over 5 kg and is many cm taller.

She sleeps for about 6 hrs at night before waking up for the next feed and is lifting her head and rolling over and taking notice of everything around her! She has 'found' her hands and feet and enjoys talking to herself. She even recognises her fluffy toy giraffe and likes to
have it close when she drifts off to sleep.

Because Sweden has experienced some very hot days this summer, Mom has had to increase her fluid intake somewhat as baby gets very thirsty. Sometimes she drinks as if it's the last milk she'll ever get!

All in all I would say she is a very contented child and hopefully will continue to follow this curve!

17th July 2014

Thought I'd update this seeing as my Granddaughter has turned 14 months and is now being gradually weaned from breast milk seeing as she will soon have 8 teeth and Mum will be going back to work.

In these 14 months she has had 2 colds and recovered rather quickly from a bout of Rotavirus. After the vomiting and nausea had subsided she carried on drinking breast milk and I think this was the reason she recovered so quickly.

Having a grandchild is the greatest blessing and I do feel blessed!

Hopefully this input will be helpful if you're having problems!


Rotavirus