Is a breastfeeding pillow neccessary?

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Cherry blossom

Member
Hi mummies!

My EDD is 12 dec 2012 next month. Jst want to hear from mummies out there whether is it neccessary to invest in a breastfeeding pillow? I read those books that teach u about latching and it seems that you always need a higher pillow for support.

Also, after feeding the baby, if they fall asleep already, do we need to burp them? I am afraid they will regurgitate the milk out if put to sleep immediately.

If first few days after birth no milk, can we give them formula?
 
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Miaeko

New Member
Depends. NB is small n light that home pillows does e trick.. As they get bigger, a firm good pillow might worth considering.
Nursing pillows r to help correct poor posture in tired confinement moms too.
Burp is always good cos it will safe ur bb from colic. Regurgitate is just common.
 
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ilovebbdylan

Member
Cherry blossom said:
Hi mummies!

My EDD is 12 dec 2012 next month. Jst want to hear from mummies out there whether is it neccessary to invest in a breastfeeding pillow? I read those books that teach u about latching and it seems that you always need a higher pillow for support.

Also, after feeding the baby, if they fall asleep already, do we need to burp them? I am afraid they will regurgitate the milk out if put to sleep immediately.

If first few days after birth no milk, can we give them formula?
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not necessary to get a bf pillow. but it will help to relieve tired hands if baby gets heavier overtime. bf pillow are firm and long term breastfeeding might caused sore shoulders etc if posture is not correct. but we can use a few normal sleeping pillow to help as well.

it is very common for baby regurgitate even after burping. so no worries on this.

personally find that baby does not grasp in air from latching compared to bottles. but burping makes them feel better all times. sometimes u just need to observe the baby , there is no fixed rules because sometimes u just dont want to wake a cranky baby up after seeing him dozing into deep sleep.

whether to supplement formula or not, it is your own decison.

but if u decide latching full time, no need formula since u cannot measure how much he drinks, just feed on demand. if u intend to pump and allow others to help to feed , but output is not that much, then u can supplement formula in between till milk gets more

most importantly, choose a way/method which you think is best for you and baby, don't be too stress if no milk initally, it takes time.
 
Jojoai

Jojoai

Member
I did not invest in a pillow too. Any other ordinary pillow will do. Although bf pillow better support but you save the money. :)
And yes you should still burp them even if they sleep ! So they feel btr. Don't worry they will go back to sleep !
 
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rachelleling

Member
i find any pillow will do. as long as can support the arms.

yes, burping is impt. even for bf babies who latch. cos if you have oversupply of milk or your letdown is forceful, baby may b gulping down milk fast and gulp dwn some air in the process. so definitely must burp. I was tld that must burp till you hear 2 burping sounds. but i often stop at 1 burp. cos sometimes really too tired!

actually, first 1-3 days you will get colostrum coming out from your breasts. this one is impt and must try to feed to your baby. Then the difficult part comes. for some pple, milk comes in early some late. can be from day 4 - day 10. so, whether to supplement with fm is really up to you. but if you really are determined to bf, even if you decide to give fm, must also try to pump to stimulate milk supply cos without latching/pumping, your body will not know that u ned milk and thus, no supply given.

For my first son, i was so determined to bf tat I refused to give fm. it was stressful cos colostrum was finished by day 3 and day 4 was practically no milk coming out. my hubby even brought a tin of fm and begged me to give. lucky my milk came in day 5. so, i guess it was the constant latching that helps the milk to come earlier.
 
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felicity

Active Member
Yup I use normal pillow during confinement. Now I just cradle her sitting in bed n sit with one leg knee up so my thigh support my arm on which she's resting on... Haha hope u understand wat I'm saying..
 
D

diza

Member
I use normal pillow too when baby was a few weeks old. Sometimes I lift up my leg to transfer the weight frm hand to leg. Doing it ATM while typing this. If u want to purchase, can consider getting pre-loved pillow.

If bottle feed, I will definitely burp my baby. If he is asleep and does not burp, I will put him on my chest for at least half an hour before putting him on the bed. Soon, he will start to fuss and cry. That is a sign that he feels uncomfortable and wants to burp. After that he goes back to sleep. If he latches on me, I do make him burp but not all the time.

My baby was only given FM when he was admitted because of jaundice. The first night when baby was at home, I just feed on demand and I only have colostrum at that time. When he was in the hospital, I just pump my milk and by day 4, my milk start to come in. Since then, I just feed him on demand. It's VERY tiring but worth it as your supply will increase. I didn't supplement with FM as I did not want to "disrupt" my milk supply. Ultimately, it's ur choice. Giving FM allows u to have free time but ur BM supply might be affected as babies fed on FM tends to sleep longer compared to babies on BM who are constantly hungry.
 
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lyra

Member
Not necessary to buy breastfeeding pillow n if we rely too much on it, it's not gd. Imagine we bring baby out, how to bf without the pillow? The we'll b in trouble Coz baby will get used to having a pillow's support. At home, I use a normal pillow when I'm nursing on my bed or sofa. But i use pillow only when my arms r tired. If go out, I use a sling to support. Very convenient. I buy from moms in mind. Can use the extra cloth from the sling to cover.
 
xiaodaisy

xiaodaisy

Active Member
personally , i dont feel its a necessary item .. after i figure out how to lie down to bf , i dont need to carry my baby anymore .. so when lie down to latch , baby sleep and i sleep =) win win situation for us lol !


Cherry blossom said:
Thanks! Mummies for advice! If possible i want to bf fully but i'm just worried I dont have milk for first few days.
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u will have colostrum for the first few days and baby have reserves in bodies to keep them full , so just keep on latching and supply will come in ard 3 days maybe , some would be early and some would be late .. still depends on individual ..
 
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notabigdeal

Member
Can always get the bf pillow in the hospital if u find that u need it. I relied on it as I had a c section and it really helps for the first 2 to 3 months.
 
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Mummy2TwoSoon

Member
I use the my brestfrend pillow and I must say it is great. It's firm and yet light. It lets me be very hands free while my baby nurses at my breast. It even comes with two round bumps which bb can rest his head. I can sit it on an office chair with arms and bf while I use my laptop. I can even hold the outside of the pillow and walk around to get things, cos it is light yet supports bb.
 
C

Cherry blossom

Member
Okie.. i think i shall wait until after i've given birth, den decide whether to buy or not. :) Kiddy palace also have right?

Thanks alot mummies! :)
 
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Itsy Bitsy

New Member
I used My Brestfriend Pillow too. It such a great help, especially if you have a c-sec delivery, since the wound will make your body less flexible to do proper nursing.
and yes, it will free up your hands to do other things. I trimmed my baby's finger nails while nursing him, browsed the Internet etc.
Like Mummy2TwoSoon, I also hold the pillow with my baby on it and walked around when needed (to grab something etc), carefully of course.
you will likely seldom go out with newborn or the first few months, so not to worry about nursing outside, what important is you are able to nurse properly with good support (nursing is tiring, honestly).
Even if you have to nurse outside, it's just for a short while, while you do the nursing mostly at home.

About nursing to sleep, just be careful. Although some managed to do it successfully, there are also some stories where babies were found dead because the mothers had fallen asleep while nursing, and without knowing it, the breast (plus mother's body weight) had pressed and blocked baby's nose, hence couldn't breath (babies can only breath with nose, can't breath with mouth until certain age, if you should know).
Did not mean to scare anyone here, but there are true stories happening.
better be safe than sorry.

I saw some mummies selling the Brestfriend pillow at the WTS section.
You may want to check it out.

Good luck and all the best.
 
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Mummy2TwoSoon

Member
Thanks Itsy Bitsy for the good reminder of danger nursing lying down. Did that few times and baby really has to be so close. Was so worried will suffocate baby.
 
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lyra

Member
Maybe you can try lying down to nurse when baby is older. When my baby is still a newborn, I also stopped lying down to nurse for awhile, not bcoz I'm afraid of suffocating him but bcoz its rather hard to nurse in this position when baby is very young and cannot lie on his side very well, he will keep turning over to face up. Not sure if it happens for other babies too. I will nurse baby in cradle hold and then place him back to his playpen to sleep. When he's older, this is a great position for nursing bcoz he can turn his head by himself as his neck muscles r stronger, so less risk of suffocation.

Mummy2TwoSoon said:
Thanks Itsy Bitsy for the good reminder of danger nursing lying down. Did that few times and baby really has to be so close. Was so worried will suffocate baby.
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reiann

Member
bf pillow works very well, but I can do so without one too, just use a normal pillow. but, a bf pillow is much more comfy for me and my baby. when I'm out, just prop her up on my crossed legs, but when I'm at home, I will use the brestfriend pillow. pricey, but since I use it so much as I bf exclusively, it's worth it.

as for burping - ha. you'll learn when you have your baby :) it's a whole new game... depends on your baby if it has issues with reflux etc. sigh. it will get better.

good luck!! you're expecting soon! :)
 
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