All About Breastfeeding
This was the topic of discussion for our childbirth class on Monday night. Other than the completely inappropriate video that showed women who are way too comfortable with their bodies, and having them filmed and touched by people, it was pretty informative.
I don't think Charles liked being there very much, as several times I looked at him and he was playing with his phone rather than listening :) But it was rather uncomfortable and awkward at points so I don't blame him. (I won't go into detail for your sake.)
They were very pro breastfeeding, which I was fine with because that's what I'm planning on doing anyways. And other than the technique and different ways to hold the baby and stuff, I would say the most important thing I learned was that it is really important to go for 3 or 4 weeks feeding very often and not using bottles or pacifiers in order for the baby to really learn what he is doing. Supposedly this is the reason alot of moms have such a hard time with breastfeeding. They introduce bottles and pacifiers too early and the baby has a hard time transitioning between those, and "the real thing". I'm not sure about all this. I know that alot of times they give babies pacifiers in the nursery at the hospital so it must not be that big of a deal, but according to our childbirth teacher, it is.
I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. If he seems to figure it out quickly, then great, and if it takes him a little longer then we may hold off on bottles ( Charles wants to be able to feed him too, and I'm fine with pumping some) and pacifiers.
And on the topic of pacifiers, I have for years thought, "why in the world would you rather your child suck their thumb than have a pacifier?" You can't take their thumb away when they get too old to do it anymore, but a pacifier you can. But in taking care of a newborn in the last few months, I've begun to understand. The baby I take care of MUST have her pacifier in order to go to sleep, and if she is falling asleep and her paci falls out of her mouth, you better get it back in really fast or she will wake up and cry. Also her mom has told me that at night, if she's not good and asleep when it falls out, she just cries until someone comes upstairs and puts it back in for her. A baby who sucks their thumb doesn't have these issues. Even when they are tiny they can get their thumb or finger into their mouth, so its not as big of a deal. But when they are 4 and still sucking their thumb you might have issues.
I'm going to have to do some thinking about this in the next few weeks. Does anyone have an opinion one way or another?
I don't think Charles liked being there very much, as several times I looked at him and he was playing with his phone rather than listening :) But it was rather uncomfortable and awkward at points so I don't blame him. (I won't go into detail for your sake.)
They were very pro breastfeeding, which I was fine with because that's what I'm planning on doing anyways. And other than the technique and different ways to hold the baby and stuff, I would say the most important thing I learned was that it is really important to go for 3 or 4 weeks feeding very often and not using bottles or pacifiers in order for the baby to really learn what he is doing. Supposedly this is the reason alot of moms have such a hard time with breastfeeding. They introduce bottles and pacifiers too early and the baby has a hard time transitioning between those, and "the real thing". I'm not sure about all this. I know that alot of times they give babies pacifiers in the nursery at the hospital so it must not be that big of a deal, but according to our childbirth teacher, it is.
I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. If he seems to figure it out quickly, then great, and if it takes him a little longer then we may hold off on bottles ( Charles wants to be able to feed him too, and I'm fine with pumping some) and pacifiers.
And on the topic of pacifiers, I have for years thought, "why in the world would you rather your child suck their thumb than have a pacifier?" You can't take their thumb away when they get too old to do it anymore, but a pacifier you can. But in taking care of a newborn in the last few months, I've begun to understand. The baby I take care of MUST have her pacifier in order to go to sleep, and if she is falling asleep and her paci falls out of her mouth, you better get it back in really fast or she will wake up and cry. Also her mom has told me that at night, if she's not good and asleep when it falls out, she just cries until someone comes upstairs and puts it back in for her. A baby who sucks their thumb doesn't have these issues. Even when they are tiny they can get their thumb or finger into their mouth, so its not as big of a deal. But when they are 4 and still sucking their thumb you might have issues.
I'm going to have to do some thinking about this in the next few weeks. Does anyone have an opinion one way or another?
1 Comments:
No sucking thumbs!!! You'd regret it I promise. I'd much rather deal with the annoyance of putting the pacifier back in while they are newborns than trying to break a child of a bad habit when they are older - it's much harder to do and a lot more annoying to deal with. Plus it's really bad for their teeth, ask any dentist!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home