What Can an IBCLC Do For You? The Importance of Breastfeeding Support
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Breastfeeding can be hard!
This is why Breastfeeding Support is so important.
It was much harder at first than I thought it was going to be. I had this idea that it was natural so it should be easy, or the baby and I would both just automatically know what to do. There is a definite learning curve and it takes some time to figure things out.
One of the quickest and easiest ways to figure it out is by using the support of an IBCLC.
IBCLC stands for International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. They are the experts on all things breastfeeding and are by far the BEST breastfeeding resource there is.
My Experience Using an IBCLC
Baby #1
My first baby Eleni (read her birth story here) had a shallow latch so it was painful for weeks. The doctor wasn’t much help or rather wasn’t worried about it because my baby was transferring milk fine and putting on weight, but my nipples were MISERABLE. I saw an awesome IBCLC (Heather Shabestari) while I was visiting San Diego (we were living in Pittsburgh, PA at the time).
In our in home appointment (yes she’ll come to your house isn’t that great!?) she found her upper lip tie that was causing all the problems. After a quick procedure to correct it once we were back in Pittsburgh, all our breastfeeding problems were gone within 24 hours! I definitely wished I knew this was the issue sooner. I was in pain for like 6 weeks until we figured that out. Get evaluated for tongue tie and lip ties right away! Save yourself weeks of pain!
Baby #2
With my second baby, I was ready to schedule an appointment with Heather the week of my due date. This time around was much easier but we still had some issues to deal with. This time at least I already knew what I was doing. Heather gave me some great tips for using different nursing positions to avoid aggravating healing nipple spots that first week. Medela Breast Shells were also super helpful (You can get them here).
This baby also had some latch issues. After experiencing how much of an improvement we had after my first had her lip tie corrected, we decided to do the same with this one. She had a tongue tie and upper lip tie that we had corrected with The Breastfeeding Fixers who were AMAZING! I highly recommend them. They even include several free lactation appointments with the correction.
Breastfeeding Support
Breastfeeding can be hard but help is available. Find an IBCLC in your area or a support group. Many support groups are free and some insurance plans cover IBCLC appointments.
Mother to Mother Midwifery has a FREE breastfeeding support group I went to on maternity leave that meets Wednesdays 10am-12pm. I still go sometimes as my pump break and pump almost double in a room full of babies!
What was the hardest part of breastfeeding for you?
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Breastfeeding was much harder at first than I thought it was going to be. I had this idea that it was natural so it should be easy, or the baby and I would both just automatically know what to do. There is a definite learning curve and it takes some time to figure things out. This is why support is so important! #breastfeeding #newmom #breastfeedingsupport #ibclc
