QUESTION:

Dear Mr. Dad,
My wife gave birth two weeks ago and been trying to nurse our son ever since. We always thought that breastfeeding was going to be so easy and so natural but every feeding seems to cause my wife more pain. We've read a lot about the benefits of breastfeeding and both agree that it would be the best thing for our baby, but my wife is about to give up altogether. Is there anything I can do to help?

More health care providers are observing that mothers who receive multiple intrapartum IV's experience delay in expected postpartum fluid shift. Increased edema during the puerperium complicates engorgement, increases sub-areolar tissue resistance...

QUESTION

Dear Lactation Consultant,
I have a two-month-old son who is breastfeeding and hopefully will continue to do so for at least a year.

My diet has always consisted of tons of carbohydrates throughout the day. I would like to cut back on them to feel better about myself (sometimes after eating lots of carbohydrates it's hard for me to get up and move around because I feel so full) and to loose some of this after pregnancy weight. I am 5'3" and weigh 150 pounds. I am still about 25 pounds more than before my pregnancy.

I knew that new parents were supposed to be sleep deprived, but I had never expected anything like this. What's the best sleep strategy for exhausted new parents? How can you be there when you baby needs you, but still get some rest?

One of the most challenging choices a new parent faces is how to feed her baby in those first months of life. No doubt you have already received enthusiastic advice from friends and family members who favor one feeding method over the other. Your choice should be based on a good understanding of infant nutritional and emotional needs, and an honest assessment your own situation.

QUESTION

Dear Lactation Consultant,
I have a question about chances for success at breastfeeding when your first time did not go well.I have a 20 month old son, and the day I had him, I got a fever in the hospital and was put on antibiotics. I was in the hospital a couple extra days hooked up to an IV. My milk did not come in until about the 7th day, and by that time my son had to be given formula to supplement, since he was not gaining weight. I was determined to breastfeed and make it work, and tried pumping and using a nursing supplementer.

by damomma

When my newborn daughter Mary started having screaming fits at 7 weeks, everyone told me it was "colic". It was infuriating how quick people were to dismiss my mother's instinct that something was wrong. I was a new mother and she was a tiny newborn and this, they told me, is what newborns do.

Within a few days, he was taking a cup, and handling solids remarkably well, but the moment I offered him the breast he would start screaming. I pumped milk for a few more days, in the hope that he would decide to go back to nursing once the pain subsided, but the moment had been lost. I no longer had a nursing baby.