What was your breastfeeding experience in the hospital?

The nurses didn't help at all, I asked for help, one came in and shoved my boob in my sons help and said that's how it's done. I think they were feeding him formula since they kept taking him away :( My LC was shy, she wouldn't even come near me, she'd stand by the door and tell me what to do, she never watched it or anything. I called her after she was discharged, she just dropped a nipple shield off and told me I needed to pump, so I did that as long as I could. After that, she never returned my calls. Months later a pediatrician looked at his mouth and said his top lip is really attached to his gums, it's hard to explain but you can kinda see in my pic, it doesn't really move so he didn't get a good latch. He also had reflux that was never diagnosed when he was a newborn. I wish someone would have told me all that before my milk dried up (I could not keep up). Next time I'm going to look into hiring an LC before the birth and contact LLL, I'm arming myself with info and help!

With my first baby the nurses were "too helpful". They kept coming in and watching me nurse which made me uncomfortable and they kept telling me how easy and good it was without ever telling me about the not so pleasant parts. When I got sore I thought it was because something was wrong, when my baby went through her growth spurt between 2-3 weeks and started nursing more I thought something was wrong.... After that with babies #2,3 and 4 the nurses considered me to be an experienced mom and offered no advice or acted like I was an idiot for asking questions. Then with baby #5 the normal cramping was so bad, worse than the labor had been, but instead of offering anything to help they kept suggesting formula instead. I finally gave in because I couldn't take it anymore...and they acted like they expected me to give up. I wouldn't have it wasn't for the horrible cramping that they wouldn't even give me tylenol for. With #6 though they were wonderful. They did whatever I needed to be comfortable, knocked politely so as not to disturb me and encouraged me the whole time. Even when I asked questions or expressed concerns they were helpful and not condescending. Almost 6 months later, my son has yet to have a single bottle! One thing that always bothered me though that I doubt you could single-handedly change is the hospital gowns. They are not easy to nurse in since the shoulder snaps have to be completely undone and so the mom is almost completely exposed on top. I always changed into something of my own as soon as they would let me but those first attempts all had to be done in those gowns. With #5 I had a tank underneath my gown throughout my labor so it was alright but with #6 they took it off just minutes before I delivered. So that's one thing I think would help new moms...either gowns that were designed differently to allow for nursing or to be allowed to change into a different top immediately after birth if they want to nurse.

When I had my first baby I had a pretty bad experience. The Lactation Consultant, who I had met with several times before the birth was away and the nurse I had wasn't very nice. The day after the baby was born she kept telling me that if the baby didn't get more to eat soon she was going to have to give her a bottle. At this point in time my milk had not even come in yet. She wouldn't leave me alone and kept busting into the room, it was very frustrating. I was glad when the LC came back.

I had my first baby 14 years ago. The nurses then were less than helpful. They got aggravated when I asked them for milk so I wouldn't take my tylenol on an empty stomach. Not one nurse offered to show me how to nurse my baby. I had her at 2:00 in the afternoon and I didn't feed her until about 7:00 at night when a friend visited and she helped me figure out how to get my baby to latch on. The only time the nurses were helpful was when the baby wouldn't STOP nursing. My nipples became sore and I was awake almost all night. They finally told me to feed her some water. The baby didn't like that so she stopped begging to be nursed. She was a good baby. She lay in her bassinet with her eyes wide open all day just staring at me, never crying. But I can't believe the nurses never helped me figure out how to nurse my baby. 10 years ago my husband's sister gave birth to her first baby. When we visited her in the hospital she was having trouble nursing her baby. I said to her, "Cradle the baby in your arms like you do when you hold him. Then turn him on his side towards you." He latched on right away and she was so happy, thanked me immensely for helping her. I don't know what kind of help the nurses were offering. I think they tried to get her to use the football hold (which, personally, I think is ridiculous and looks totally uncomfortable). I am glad I stuck to it because I loved nursing my baby. The bonding experience alone was wonderful.

Thats great of you, well done. But I must say that the nurses were more than helpful to me, they just couldnt do enough to help me. It was a wonderful experience and I thanked them greatly.

I liked my LC. She was very helpful and gave me all the information I needed. She even made sure my baby was attached correctly and answered all the questions I had. She made me want to keep trying no matter how much it would hurt.