Esther,

 

Yes, I do use the "belly balls" and I think they're great!  Thanks for the
other suggestions; I like the idea of the baby "calibrating" the milk supply
on the second day.  I usually tell the moms that the feeling of hunger that
the baby gets, which causes him to cluster feed, does NOT mean that she
doesn't have enough milk; it just serves to keep the baby ON the breast,
which in turn sets her up for a good milk supply.  Most do respond to that,
although there still are those that would rather believe that they just
don't have enough milk.  We've got some great staff nurses that are very
supportive of breastfeeding, but unfortunately, there are still those who
just hand out the bottles, instead of explaining to mom what is going on.
The staff actually has a few sets of belly balls of their own to use, and
everyone was very interested in using them when I first was showing them
off, but seem to have lost their enthusiasm.  Maybe a refresher is in order.


 

I do agree that it is better to get to the moms BEFORE birth to protect
against those night-time bottles, but I think when the baby starts to
cluster feed, even well-prepared moms can start to have doubts about their
supplies if the staff is not reassuring and supportive.  I understand that
the staff nurses, for the most part, are trying to help the mother get rest
and feel better when they offer a bottle, but one of my big pushes for staff
education is to teach them ways to support moms through cluster feeding
WITHOUT the bottle.  

 

I'm interested in what your "morning lecture" is.  Maybe I missed it on
previous posts.  Is this something for moms or staff or what?  I would love
to be able to get all the moms together to talk about breastfeeding as well
as seeing them one-on-one.  We used to do this in the past, and we still do
have prenatal breastfeeding classes, but it would be great to get them
together in the hospital.  Maybe I need to work on that idea!

 

Melinda Lueck, RN, IBCLC, LCCE

Toledo, Ohio, USA  


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