Week Two: days 14-20
This can be the week when you can hit the wall so be gentle with yourselves and call on any offers of help. But the help you need isn’t someone to sit holding the baby while you do housework and make them a cup of tea! So be selective about who you invite into your space and say no when you need to.
Feeding
If you are still experiencing nipple pain or discomfort then it is time to investigate further causes. Improved positioning and attachment makes a big difference and grazed or cracked nipples should heal quickly once your baby is feeding better. If not then assessment and treatment for thrush and/or bacterial infections of the nipple, tongue tie in the baby or other issues needs to be done by an experienced IBCLC lactation consultant or other skilled medical practitioner. Pain is a sign something is not right.
Breastfeeding support is not always what it should be. It is hard to know how up to date your doctor or nurse is with current best practice but if advice sounds dubious or isn’t aligned with what else you have learned, get a second (or third, or fourth) opinion. Reliable information and support are available. The Australian Breastfeeding Association Breastfeeding Helpline is a valuable resource you can call as often as you need. If you are looking to fact check advice about breastfeeding and medications you are prescribed, services like the one provided by Senior Pharmacist Rodney Whyte at Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne are recognised experts in this field.
Crying and Fussiness
You will probably begin seeing more unsettled periods when your baby is fussy and needs extra support to fall asleep.
It is very important to understand that how settled your baby is and how long they sleep for is not a direct result of how much milk you have or how satisfied they are by a feed. While most babies will be settled after most breastfeeds, they will also have times when they cry, fuss or grizzle after a satisfying feed and have trouble falling asleep. This applies equally to formula fed babies.
Babies are unsettled for all sorts of reasons and you can’t always identify the why. The most important role of the adults is to support the baby during these periods while the cause resolves itself. Soothing and settling techniques include movement, babywearing, relaxation bathing, baby massage, sucking for comfort, white noise and skin-to-skin contact can all help calm your baby so they can release whatever has them distressed.
It helps to know that most infant distress is normal and not a sign something is wrong. Predictable periods of crying with a recognisable pattern are often described as colic but no actual cause has been identified and there is nothing to cure. Colic appears to be typical behaviour in healthy babies in the first months of life and we don’t know why it starts or why it stops! But it does.
