An old friend just had a baby. I learnt on Facebook that she was keen on breastfeeding and so I offered her my help if she had any concerns or problems, or just wanted a listening ear. I didn't want to be too pushy because I wasn't sure whether she could take my hardcore breastfeeding persona.
The cry for help came when the baby was about 6 weeks old. She was sick of pumping, didn't know why the baby kept crying and was seriously comtemplating giving up. She wanted to know whether she would still be able to nurse the baby instead of expressing, because she really wanted to continue to give the baby the best. My greatest fear was that the baby had developed nipple confusion, but thankfully, I found she had a great latch and was definitely still interested in the breast.
I also learnt to my horror, that my friend's confinement nanny had told her not to feed the baby too often, but to try to stretch the interval between feedings to 3 hours (and the poor girl had obeyed). Good grief!! THAT explained why the baby seemed to be crying so much, and why the mother's breasts didn't seem full. She also wasn't very hungry (sure sign of not losing enough calories through breastfeeding, haha).
It was quite a shock to me because I didn't realise that the confinement nanny could be such an important factor in making or breaking the breastfeeding relationship. After all, I have quite a number of friends who had wonderful supportive nannies. My friend's mother-in-law told me she thinks that all confinement nannies should be certified before being allowed to practise, and I quite agree with her.
