Well, you know the part of your nipple that sticks out when you're cold? Babies try to latch onto just that part.. The problem is, they need to latch onto your entire nipple - as much of the colored part (areola) as they can fit into their mouth. That way, when they suck, their mouth is working the milk out of the ducts instead of just sucking on the nipple.

The baby doesn't know how to suck correctly though, because they're brand new. They have a sucking reflex, but that's it. So when they get a little bit of something into their mouth, they get excited and start sucking. You have to break the suction, get them to open their mouth as wide as you can, and put as much of your nipple into their mouth as possible. When they have a correct latch, it feels completely different than when they're just sucking on the tip of your nipple.

I hope that makes sense.

Geneva used to latch on with her bottom lip curled under the nipple. They should latch on with the nipple above the tongue, and their lips should form sort of a duck-bill shape. They should open wide and get the entire areola in their mouth before they form a suction seal. That was also hard for her she just kind slurped herself up onto the nipple. Seems reasoning is difficult with a new born.

lol reading this has made me nervous to ever have kids and try this, but i will.


women are strong to take pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding, and being the mother. gz.

Thought this might make you smile!

I have a feeling that I am going to be asking you guys allot of questions whenever I start to breastfeed Luke!

I didn't want to breastfeed until 2 weeks before Ava was born. I got a pump and decided to try it out. She latched on perfectly! Everything went well in the hospital, but when we got home things got complicated. She wanted to nurse every hour the first day/night home, my nipples were killing me, I couldn't get comfortable b/c of my c-section, so a few times she didn't latch on right and my nipples were on fire and started peeling. I did it for 2 weeks and started supplementing. For those two weeks my husband and I were both miserable. It was a stressful time with the c-section, new baby, and breastfeeding. A part of me wanted to stop b/c I was so stressed about it, but a part of me told me to keep going. I just realized that it wasn't for me and stopped at 2 weeks. It was so hard not to do it, but I knew we couldn't keep going like that. It just wasn't right for my comfort level and lifestyle. At 3 months I regretted stopping and wished I would have stuck it out.
With the next one I'll MAYBE do it in the hospital and for a week or two at home, but when it gets to the point where I'm thinking about stopping, I'll stop and not stress so much and beat myself up over wanting to stop.

I say that breastfeeding is the best, but formula is great too. It's a personal preference. I think that bottle feeding is just as much bonding as breastfeeding and it's just as convenient.

And yes, even with 2 weeks of breastmilk, Ava has been sick 3 times with a cold and 2 times with an ear infection.

Oh I just thought I would be helpful and add that squeezing out a bit of colostrum and rubbing it right into your beat up nipples does wonders. Even in a couple of minutes it will make a huge difference. I got the cream stuff, but it was nothing compared to the relief rubbing a bit of breast milk had for the nipple pain.

Breast milk is good for everything. I put some on Rowan's diaper rash and it was gone in literally less than an hour. It also helped with the little dots she got on her face. It helps cure ear infections if you squirt it into their ears... well basically it's like liquid gold and good for everything.

Oh Lord, don't get me started on husbands and boobs! My husband was fascinated with mine when I started breastfeeding. He kept bugging me over and over to let him try one, so I finally did to shut him up. Apparently breastmilk tastes sweet, to anyone who's curious. But ever since, he's always trying to play with them to express milk or suck on them. I keep slapping his hands away and saying "those are Alyvia's boobs!"

I thought it tasted like melon juice! Lol. Seriously though, kinda like honeydew melon.

I had a tiny taste when testing the temperature of a warmed (pumped breastmilk) bottle on my wrist.... didn't get it from the source.