6 Things YOUR Lactation Consultant CHarlotte, NC Wants you to know breastfeeding

Are you expecting your first little one and thinking about nursing or breastfeeding? Here are 6 things your lactation consultant Charlotte, NC wants you to know before you even give birth to your little one.

1. Nursing is natural, but it might not feeeeeeeeel like it at first. I nursed all three of my babies and let me tell you, I can still remember the toe curling I felt when it was time to nurse my first little one. I am not sure exactly what I expected, but I was expecting it to come completely naturally and just be easy breezy lemon squeezey. And it was anything but that, at first. Unless you have someone currently sucking on your nipples 6 times a day, my guess is it may not feel as natural to you as you hoped either. Just know that it’s OKAY if it doesn’t feel normal or natural at first. The more you do it, the more natural it will feel.

2. You won’t have any idea how much milk your newborn is actually getting. According to Cheryl, a lactation consultant Charlotte, NC from Charlottelactation.com, this is the “number 1 reason new parents stop breastfeeding, and can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.” The nice thing about a bottle is that you can accurately measure how much baby is getting. But there are other ways that you can tell if your little one is getting enough milk from you. If you have a scale, you can weigh baby before feeding and after. (My own lactation consultant did this at the pediatrician’s office when I had my first.). Your baby will probably lose some weight when you leave the hospital, but your pediatrician will be monitoring baby’s weight to make sure that your little one is getting enough nutrition from you. And also keep in mind, that when baby’s are born, they truly only need about a pea’s size of milk. They don’t need super full bottles when they are in those first few weeks.

3. Nursing should not hurt according to most lactation consultants from Charlotte NC. (Though I personally think this is a bit of hogwash) It might. It did with my first. Every baby’s latch is different and some latch harder than others. It shouldn’t necessarily be hurting the whole time your baby feeds… but your skin will get tougher and more used to all that sucking action as you continue nursing. My first had a very strong latch and it was painful every time he latched for the first couple of weeks. (Remember the toe curling I mentioned before??) I dreaded feeding him, but after about 3 weeks it did get better! But for most people, it should not be a painful experience. If you are having a lot of pain, you may want to check into your baby having a lip or tongue tie.

LactatioN consultants, NC; nursing is natural but not always intuitive

4. It’s perfectly normal for baby to want to nurse ALL. THE. TIME. Like seriously. There might be days where baby stretches his or her feeding out, and there are days where you will feel like a milk cow because that’s all baby wants to do. It’s okay, it’s normal. There are cluster feeding days that will happen where baby is trying to build up your milk supply. They aren’t always the most fun days, but they will pass! (And this also leads to why your baby might want to eat more at his or her newborn session!! Sometimes when I’m taking photos and moving baby around, baby will want to nurse more!)

5. Breastfeeding isn’t all or nothing. Like they say, fed is best. Breastmilk does have a ton of valuable nutrients and can be used for a ton of different things. (I used to put it on baby acne or boo boos!). Your body is incredible and all of those kisses you are giving baby are also telling your milk to produce certain antibodies if needed. But it’s okay to supplement, it’s okay to bottle feed, and it’s okay to do what you need to for your own health’s sake. Lactation consults Charlotte, NC always want what’s best for you AND your baby. If that’s pumping, great. If thats nursing and bottle feeding as a combo, that’s great too. And it it’s bottle feeding, that’s great too!

6. Your milk doesn’t really come in the day you deliver your baby, but something even better does! Colostrum arrives first, which is what most people refer to as liquid gold. Colostrum is super thick and will look yellow or golden. (Hence the name!) And it is super nutrient dense. It has all sorts of amazing properties for your baby’s immune system and is very high in protein. It is much thicker than regular milk and lasts anywhere between 2-4 days. Your milk will gradually lose it’s yellow tinge and turn more white, which is when you know that your milk has fully come in. For some people, this may take 5 days. For my first, it definitely took 5 days for my milk to fully come in, and that’s part of the reason why babies will often lose some weight when they leave the hospital. (This is also normal, but doctors tend to start worrying after about 13 oz or so of weight loss).

So there you have it. Lactation consultants in Charlotte, NC have a lot of great information to share, especially if you are struggling. Nursing is so personal to baby. All of my own children were different nursers, but I will say it was much easier the second and third kid around! (Until the second one started biting… but that’s a story for another day!)

If you think you need some breastfeeding help and would love to reach out to a lactation consultant in Charlotte, NC , here are a few local resources that I found for you!

Atrium Health has a list of providers that work within their network and you can find them here.

Rachael is a former RN who is now a licensed consultant and you can reach out to her website as well.

Breastfeeding can be such a rewarding experience and was one of my absolute favorite bonding times with my kids. If you would like to capture some moments of your breastfeeding journey with photos, or schedule a session for your newest arrival, please feel free to reach out to me here!