Breastfeeding help. Those in the know.

I'm with my girlfriend who just has a baby. First time mom. Breaths feeding.

Some questions for those who have experience.

1. She feeds the baby. He falls asleep on her boob and stops feeding. Um. Is this normal?

2. She has so much breast milk she has no idea what do with it. She is pumping and gets tons of milk. Feeds the baby and 5 min later feels like she is going to explode. Is this normal? We assume it is. Anything she can do to help being so engorged?

3. First mom instinct. She is not QUITE sure when the baby is hungry. For example we were just sitting here. Baby woke up. He was fussy. Hand in mouth. But it almost seemed like he was soothing rather than hungry. Put him on the boob and he is now eating. So I guess the question is if it looks like he is hungry he is probably hungry right?

4. Her boobs are muther flicking sore. Sore. Anything she can do for that and does the pain subside at all?

Re: Breastfeeding help. Those in the know.

Breastfeeding help. Those in the know.

Leb. You are awesome.

Breastfeeding help. Those in the know.

1. If baby is sleepy and not eating well, undress them to try to jeopardize them awake. Falling asleep while nursing is normal.

2. Tell her not to pump too much. She will create an oversupply which is no fun. Her supply needs to regulate and the only way it'll do that is by supply and demand. Too much demand from pump = too much milk.

3. In the beginning, I pretty much just always nursed my DS when he was fussy. Lol. It worked for us. Hands in the mouth are a sign of rooting

4. No advice here. My nipple hurt like a b1tch no matter what I did for the first 8 weeks.

Breastfeeding help. Those in the know.

Sleepy newborns are normal, they just need a little time to outgrow that. Like pp said, the best way to stop being engorged is to let her supply regulate which means not pumping. If she really needs, pump a little and freeze the milk but definitely don't pump till empty. Feeding at any sign of fussiness is perfect. I used a little breastmilk on my nipples and let them air dry and it worked great. Making sure baby has a good latch is also important.

Re: Breastfeeding help. Those in the know.

I agree with everybody - don't pump unless you absolutely have to. I waited until 3 weeks with both my girls because I had no choice...I needed to be out of the house for a few hours. I would tell her that the first few weeks are a nightmare, especially with your first. It's so painful and exhausting...and then it's not. Tell her to hang in there!

Re: Breastfeeding help. Those in the know.

1- yes totally normal. With breastfeeding or formula feeding. Newborns are sleepy. It's important that they eat so I would tickle my daughters feed to wake her up and she'd go right back to nursing. In the very beginning I would even have to wake the baby to eat.

2-the supply will level out once her body figures out how much the baby needs. She could pump,to relieve some of the engorgment and use specifics breastmilk freezer bags. I like nuk. A stash is great especially if she's going back to work and it will take the stress off of keeping up with her baby's needs.

3-they can be fussy for SO many reasons and sometimes no reason at all. If the baby is rooting, she's hungry. I would take my pointer finger and bend it. Gently rub my knuckle to the left or right of her mouth. If she tries to latch on and turns her head she's rooting and looking for my nipple.

4. Ahh yes. Sore, cracking, bleeding nipples. I would only use earth mama nipple butter or there's an amazing shop on etsy called artichoke baby that has a very similar nipple butter. Totally organic and safe for baby u like the medela and Lansinoh ones.

I'd tell her to hang in there. For me it didn't get truly easy until 3 months out. Once I made it to 3 months I know I can go to a year if not longer. Although there are ups and downs and it won't always be easy. You do what you can and its a big commitment to your baby, but it's so worth it.

Re: Breastfeeding help. Those in the know.

The other have given great advice- I did not do well with breastfeeding so I'm not much help.
I just wanted to say what an awesome friend you are! She is lucky to have you and especially at the very beginning to have a friend willing to try to get you some help and just be there for you is amazing! She might be too tired to tell you- but I bet she is so grateful!