Questions and Answers on Nursing Your Baby
Is it true that nursing babies receive antibodies through the colostrum and also through breast milk, which in turn produces healthier children?
Yes, it has been proven that the colostrums (which is the thin liquid which your baby receives from nursing the first to third day after birth) builds your baby’s immune system through natural antibodies. Breast milk also contains these same antibodies, but the colostrum is like antibody concentrate. Most nursing babies have less infections, including ear infections, and illnesses than formula fed babies.
Is it true that nursing acts as a natural contraceptive?
Absolutely Not!!!! You can still get pregnant if you are nursing and do not use a contraceptive. This is definitely an old wives’ tale.
Is it true, that if done correctly, nursing doesn’t cause any discomfort?
I have nursed all five of my children and even with the least aggressive child with no other complications, I felt pain for about 2-3 weeks. It is not unbearable pain, but there is definitely soreness. Tender nipples cannot withstand the “Sucking Power” of an infant without experiencing some soreness. It is important that your infant is getting the whole nipple instead of just the end of it. Oftentimes, the infant will grab hold of the tip of the nipple which will allow him or her to receive milk, but will cause major pain, chafing, and sometimes bleeding for you. The baby should receive the whole nipple, including a large portion of the areola (the dark pigmented area around the nipple). If you notice that your baby has not taken hold of the whole nipple, make sure you correct. If your nipple are experiencing the symptoms above, use lanolin ointment in between nursing to keep the nipple soft, allowing them to heal. If your nipples are bleeding (like a small cut), you can continue to nurse. The blood will not harm your baby. The pain will begin to subside in time as your baby nurses correctly.
Another tip I found helpful was to put ice n the nipple right before nursing. It numbs the nipple for the latch on. The pain usually subsides as the baby nurses correctly. For the most part, the pain will subside in 2-3 weeks. Remember, it is all worth it.
How often should I nurse my infant?
An infant should be nursed about every 2-3 hours for about the first week of your milk coming in. I know this seems hectic, but you and your baby will be glad you did. Most serious breast infections occur when your milk is coming in. Your breasts get engorged if you do not allow the release of the milk every 2-3 hours. The breast ducts can get clogged, if you do not do this, and infection can set in.
Breast milk digests much faster than formula, so in general you will be nursing more often than formula fed babies. I, personally, fed on demand. My schedule allowed for it and I produced a lot of milk. My children often nursed on one side at a time. In the beginning I would nurse every two hours during the day with longer stretches at night. As my babies grew, they were able to handle both sides and went longer between feedings. You will fall into a natural routine in no time. If you put yourself and your baby on hardcore routines, the routine will not allow for any flexibility. It will begin to run your life, instead of you running the routine.
What are the symptoms of a bacterial breast infection and how do I get rid of it?
First of all, if your breasts are bacterially infected, you will know it! The symptoms are hard knots in the breast ducts with red streaks on the breasts, high fever and extremely sore nipples. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, call your doctor immediately because you will probably need an antibiotic. In the meantime, continue nursing and put hot, wet compresses on the breasts while massaging the knots. As painful as this might be, it will draw out the milk and infection from the ducts. The infection will not harm your baby, but the more you can get your baby to nurse the better off you will be.
Another remedy, which was very helpful to me, was peppermint oil (found at health food stores). Rub it on the breast, but not the nipple. It will have a burning sensation as long as it is drawing out infection through your pores. If you get it on your nipples you might go through the roof because of the intense burning you will experience. In fact, it is better to leave it off of the entire areola area. Put the oil on after nursing sessions. This will allow for better penetration and it will prevent the oil from getting on or in the baby. If it gets on the baby, it will cause discomfort and burn. If you want to take extra precautions, you may clean the nipple and areola area with a warm cloth before putting the baby to the breast. You can use the oil as much as you want to in between feedings. I would also pump after the feeding time to make sure all the milk was out of the breasts.
Hot compresses will be your best ally, as well as hot showers. Allow the hot water to beat on your breasts while hand massaging. This will loosen the milk from the ducts and work out any knots.
Now about the sore nipples…..Unfortunately, you will have to grin and bear it until the antibiotic begins to work. Don’t give up! These symptoms will go away. Keep reminding yourself how good nursing is for your baby.
The most important thing to do is to confess the word and put healing tapes on. Jesus paid the price for this on the cross and we need to embrace the supernatural power of God.
What if I have an infection, but it’s a yeast infection, not a bacterial one?
The symptoms of an internal yeast infection are similar to a bacterial infection. You may not experience the red streaking on the breasts or a high fever, but the pain is just as intense. Call your doctor so he can determine which one you are dealing with.
The remedies for these infections will be different. A yeast infection will not be treated with an antibiotic, because yeast feeds on antibiotics , as well as sugar. An acidophilus supplement will help. Kefer and yogurt consumption will help. Avoid yogurt with a lot of sugar. Kefer and yogurt are a good source of live cultures that overcome yeast in the body. Kefer contains more active ingredients than yogurt.
Peppermint oil and purple violet also help draw out the infection and kill the yeast.
Here are some scriptures to confess and meditate on to help concerning soreness or infection of the breasts.
Gen. 49:25, NJKV
By the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
Psa. 41:3, NLT
The LORD nurses them when they are sick and eases their pain and discomfort.
Psa. 107:20, NKJV
He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Is. 53:5, NKJV
But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
What if I am dealing with sore breasts and hard knots, but not an infection?
It’s very common to deal with clogged breasts, especially in the first few months. The clogged ducts cause knots in the breasts that are tender to the touch. The best remedy is to use hot, moist compresses on the breast area that is hard and massage. This procedure is painful, but if you do not work the clog out, it can lea to a more painful infection.
Nurse your baby as often as you can. A baby’s sucking power is better than anything else you could use to draw out the clogged milk. The shower is also helpful. Massage the hard knots while the hot water is beating on them. You may use your breast pump if the baby is done eating, but the breasts still feel full. A few days of these procedures will work out the clogs and you’ll be as good as new!
I have heard that if my baby’s tongue is white that he or she might have thrush. What is thrush? How do I get rid of it?
Thrush is a symptom that nursing babies can experience. Because your baby’s tongue looks white does not mean it is thrush. It is common for nursing baby’s tongues to appear white.
Thrush is a form of yeast and yeast loves warm, dark and sugary places. Your baby’s mouth gives yeast a good environment to grow in. Thrush looks like a thick white coating beginning on the tongue and spreads to the inside of a baby’s cheeks and lips. Contact your doctor in order to get a liquid medicine that is dropped directly into your baby’s mouth. It will begin to clear up quickly, but make sure you finish the dosage.
Wash your nipple area with soap and water after each feeding, so you do not pass it back and forth. Remember, you did not do anything wrong that caused your baby to get thrush. Yeast just loves dark, wet, sugary places!
If you are experiencing painful, white, flaky nipples, you probably have yeast on the nipple. You can use an anti-fungal cream in between nursing, but clean off the nipple with soap and water before nursing. Wiping vitamin E on your breast is helpful and you do not have to wipe it off before nursing.
How do I deal with all this milk? It’s leaking all over everything!
Remember that lots of milk means lots of great food for your baby! The best thing to invest in is disposable breast pads. They will save you a lot of embarrassment. Place the breast pad between your breast and your bra. They will soak up extra milk during letdowns.
You will notice that certain stimulations, other than your nursing baby will cause a letdown of your milk. You are not strange. This is a natural occurrence. Your or another baby’s cries can cause letdowns. Sexual stimulations can cause letdowns. It is not unusual for you to have milk pouring from your breast during sex. Don’t be embarrassed. Just enjoy the process of motherhood.
I’m having trouble getting my baby to latch on, because it seems like my nipple goes inward instead of outward. Can you help?
The problem you are referring to is called inverted nipples. Even when stimulated the nipple inverts when it should protrude. This makes it difficult for the baby to latch on. Don’t get despondent, this can be overcome with some patience and a bit of work.
Here are some suggestions that should help:
Before nursing stimulate the nipples with your thumb and forefingers. This causes the nipples to protrude as much as possible.
If your breasts are full of milk, pump or hand express some milk in order to soften the breast; giving your baby a better chance to latch on.
The football hold is one of the best positions, if you are dealing with inverted nipples. You have better access and control in guiding the baby to the nipple.
Another option is to use nipple shells. If you put the nipple shell over the breast a half hour before nursing, it will help to project the nipple before you nurse.
Nipple shields can be used, too. Place the nipple shields over the breast a few minutes before nursing and during the first few minutes of nursing, so your baby can get a hold of the nipple. Next unlatch your baby, take off the shield, and return the baby to the bare nipple.
The object is to get the nipple to project outward enough so your baby latches on. Once your baby gets it, the nursing process will be successful. It’s about teaching your baby how to latch on to the nipple correctly. If you are still struggling after trying these suggestions, contact a lactation consultant. They can be very helpful and can often demonstrate these ideas so you can nurse successfully.
How long should I nurse my baby?
Many doctors will tell you between three to six months is a sufficient nursing period. The more I read health books about nutrition and nursing they strongly suggest one year and longer, if possible. One of my children actually weaned herself at one year. Although I wanted to nurse her longer, she wanted food and quickly lost interest in nursing. The other children nursed from 15 months to a little over two years old depending on what was happening in our life at the time. It is obviously up to you.
How do I wean my child when I am ready?
I do not recommend a “cold turkey” approach for you or your baby. Don’t leave your baby at grandma’s for the week and wean both of you. You will be very engorged and in a lot of pain for three days. Plus, it would not be fair to put grandma through that kind of torture with your baby.
I have to tell on myself. I actually did that with my first child. Mike and I were going on a mission trip to Russia and David wasn’t weaned yet. I had to think fast and David loved being with his grandparents. Whenever we were there he was so distracted by all of the fun he was having that he would skip nursing sessions. Plus, he was eating food quite well at this time. He would be so exhausted by the end of the day he would fall asleep before I could nurse him. My plan went well until I was a full day away from David. He was fine, but I was engorged and in such pain that I couldn’t sleep. After about three days of this, I finally began to have some relief because my milk began to dry up. I was blessed that my son did fine without me, but boy, did I suffer!
What I recommend is a gradual weaning plan. I always tackled the middle of the night feeding first. Instead of taking the baby out of the crib and nursing, I simply would pat them on the back until they went back to sleep. It only took a week before the baby would stop waking up for that feeding. Next, I tackled nap time. Instead of nursing, I offered a sipping cup and lots of holding, rocking, etcetera. After being successful with nap time, I did the same thing at bed time. By this time my milk supply had weakened. The last session I would take out would be the morning nursing. This was always my favorite bonding time. Since I gradually did this process (over about a 1-3 month period), I had so little milk left that my baby lost interest and I would offer a breakfast item instead of the breast. We were both weaned successfully and pain free! I hope this helps even though you have to figure out your own method.
"I hope I covered some helpful hints that you will be able to use throughout your nursing experience. Have fun and enjoy nursing!!" -Yvette
Yvette is the wife of Mike Kell, associate pastor at Family Harvest Church in Tinley Park and is the mother of David, Breanna, Robert, Tessa, and Ian.
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