Large breasts and LCs

Ok, if it weren't for glassboobs rambling aobut being unable
to breastfeeding because hers were so large, this probably
wouldn't have occured to me. OK, it probably would have
occured to me about an hour after birth, instead of at 25
weeks.

I've got really big breasts. My current guess is that a
well fitting bra for me would have about G-H cups (English).
My nipples and areolas are also pretty darn large. Since I'm
short, my breasts extend beyond the crook of my elbow. Should
I be expecting to have problems, and start looking for solutions
now? I think I've found an IBCLC (recommendation from the IBCLC
I work with) but I haven't gotten around to calling or emailing
her yet.

When during pregnancy is it useful/best to contact a LC, LLL
or take a prenatal breastfeeding class anyway?

Elaine

Elaine wrote:

When during pregnancy is it useful/best to contact a LC, LLL
or take a prenatal breastfeeding class anyway?

I took a breastfeeding class through my hospital around 7 months I
think.
I went to one LLL meeting when I was 8 months pregnant - which turned
out to be the best thing, because two of the new mom's had trouble in
the beginning and recommended the same LC. When we ran into trouble
when DD was 1 week old, we first saw the LLL leader and when her
advice didn't help much, we contacted this LC. She was fabulous.

Mary

"Elaine" wrote in message
...
I've got really big breasts. My current guess is that a
well fitting bra for me would have about G-H cups (English).
My nipples and areolas are also pretty darn large. Since I'm
short, my breasts extend beyond the crook of my elbow. Should
I be expecting to have problems, and start looking for solutions
now? I think I've found an IBCLC (recommendation from the IBCLC
I work with) but I haven't gotten around to calling or emailing
her yet.

Mine are about the same size as yours, with areolas about 4" diameter
(guessing), and I never had any problems nursing. At first, I would either
hold the breast in a C-hold (fingers under the breast, thumb on top but not
pushing in) or put a rolled-up washcloth under the breast to keep it at a
good level for the baby's head. As the baby got stronger, I didn't have to
do that anymore. It does make it a bit more challenging to nurse in public
without showing some flesh, but I've found nursing shirts with vertical
overlays to be extremely helpful. I've been out nursing with baby in the
sling, and people have no idea she's nursing until they get really, really
close (and that's happened all of twice). I never found the "lift your
shirt" method to work for me in public, though I gather it's fine for some.

One thing to beware of is the people/references that insist the baby must
take the entire areola into his/her mouth -- that works fine if you have 2"
diameter areolas, but not so much for ours As long as they're getting 2"
or so of areola, that's fine. You just don't want them sucking on the
nipple itself without any areola.

When during pregnancy is it useful/best to contact a LC, LLL
or take a prenatal breastfeeding class anyway?

I would start going to LLL meetings in the last trimester; if you are
birthing in a hospital, they will probably have a bf class you can sign up
for. I had homebirths, so am not sure of protocol/policy in hospitals, but
I would imagine they recommend it around 30 weeks?

Best,
Jan
--
Mum to Stephen, 22 May 2000
and Sophia, 2 October 2003
My personal page: http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/
Baby-related crafts: http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/crafts.html

In article , Jan Andrea wrote:
"Elaine" wrote in message
...
Mine are about the same size as yours, with areolas about 4" diameter
(guessing), and I never had any problems nursing. At first, I would either
hold the breast in a C-hold (fingers under the breast, thumb on top but not
pushing in) or put a rolled-up washcloth under the breast to keep it at a
good level for the baby's head. As the baby got stronger, I didn't have to
do that anymore.

Ah, that's helpful, thanks.

When during pregnancy is it useful/best to contact a LC, LLL
or take a prenatal breastfeeding class anyway?

I would start going to LLL meetings in the last trimester; if you are
birthing in a hospital, they will probably have a bf class you can sign up
for. I had homebirths, so am not sure of protocol/policy in hospitals, but
I would imagine they recommend it around 30 weeks?

Yeah, Cilia is delivering my baby too. If I were giving birth in a
hospital, someone would tell me all of the things I needed to do and
when to do them. There would be none of this "informed" business to
have to worry about.

Since there are 4 local LLL groups, I'll probably try to visit
each of them once sometime after new year's, and not worry too
much about taking a class at the local hospital. My suspicion is
that I'd get more from a good book and watching my sister nurse
than the hospital classes.


Elaine

"Elaine" wrote:
Yeah, Cilia is delivering my baby too. If I were giving birth in a
hospital, someone would tell me all of the things I needed to do and
when to do them. There would be none of this "informed" business to
have to worry about.

Hey, that's great (re. Cilia)! I've been very happy with both my homebirths
with her -- wouldn't change a thing.

Since there are 4 local LLL groups, I'll probably try to visit
each of them once sometime after new year's, and not worry too
much about taking a class at the local hospital. My suspicion is
that I'd get more from a good book and watching my sister nurse
than the hospital classes.

Or... want to get together sometime? It looks like you're in the area, and
I'd love to meet and just chat, if you're interested. Sophia's still
technically a newborn (I think) so I could even demonstrate what we do
And would be happy to help out in person once your baby arrives. (I hope
that doesn't sound stalker-ish -- it's just very rare to have someone so
close by posting on Usenet!)

Jan
--
Mum to Stephen, 22 May 2000
and Sophia, 2 October 2003
My personal page: http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/
Baby-related crafts: http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/crafts.html

"Jan Andrea" wrote in message news:FPHDb.29 One
thing to beware of is the people/references that insist the baby must
take the entire areola into his/her mouth -- that works fine if you have
2"
diameter areolas, but not so much for ours As long as they're getting
2"
or so of areola, that's fine. You just don't want them sucking on the
nipple itself without any areola.


Ahh exactly! I don't have extremely big boobs, just big, but large aerola's,
and my SO joked she's be 16 by the time she could get it all in her mouth!
What lame advice that is, I found the 5cm (2inch) "rule" much more fitting
: )

I reckon reading as many trusted varied sources as possible is the best bet,
and having contacts ready to rock'n'roll if required is a good plan. I see
you're having a homebirth - otherwise I was going to suggest taking a "cheat
sheet" into hosp to jog your memory about ways to latch and positions
because it's such a daze and you can't bring in all your books. But you'll
be at home with your resources (and the net I guess?) close by, so that's
excellent.

Noone reminded me about the footy hold, but I remembered myself about a day
and a half in and that's how we did it until she was about 4 months old.
Many of my big boobed friends report the same. It's just easier to clear
the boob so bub isn't always getting smooshed, and I found latching better -
the heaviness of the boob isn't dragging the nipple out of bub's mouth
sideways, bub keeps boob in better : )

Cheers,

Leah


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On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 18:05:25 GMT, "Jan Andrea"
wrote:
snipped some very good advice from Jan - which I second

One thing to beware of is the people/references that insist the baby must
take the entire areola into his/her mouth -- that works fine if you have 2"
diameter areolas, but not so much for ours

Ah I wondered what size that was in reference to..The comment I was
given and have followed is to make sure the baby has a good mouthful
of nipple and areola, more areola behind the nipple than in front, but
some areola from all around. DD has never been able to get all of my
areola in her mouth (even now at 20 months).

Di

Di wrote:

On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 18:05:25 GMT, "Jan Andrea"
wrote:
snipped some very good advice from Jan - which I second

One thing to beware of is the people/references that insist the baby must
take the entire areola into his/her mouth -- that works fine if you have 2"
diameter areolas, but not so much for ours


Ah I wondered what size that was in reference to..The comment I was
given and have followed is to make sure the baby has a good mouthful
of nipple and areola, more areola behind the nipple than in front

*g*
I have no areola in front of my nipples....

I read that twice..I presume you mean more into lower lip than into
upper lip area?

Dawn

"Elaine" wrote in message
...
Ok, if it weren't for glassboobs rambling aobut being unable
to breastfeeding because hers were so large, this probably
wouldn't have occured to me. OK, it probably would have
occured to me about an hour after birth, instead of at 25
weeks.

I've got really big breasts. My current guess is that a
well fitting bra for me would have about G-H cups (English).
My nipples and areolas are also pretty darn large. Since I'm
short, my breasts extend beyond the crook of my elbow. Should
I be expecting to have problems, and start looking for solutions
now? I think I've found an IBCLC (recommendation from the IBCLC
I work with) but I haven't gotten around to calling or emailing
her yet.

I'm that size, larger when nursing. I nursed my daughter for 6 years. The
first week was hell, the rest was fine.

With large boobs, you really have to pay attention to latch, and the usual
admonitions don't necessarily work.. For example...

I cannot just support my breast with a "C" shaped hand. I must use an "L"
shape to get the nipple pointing in the right direction. This error caused
us a week of pain, blistered nipples, etc. The pain went away instantly. The
"C" hold had my nipple rubbing the roof of her mouth. The "L" hold pointed
the nippled down and made it "flatter" relative to her mouth.

The usual positions may or may not work well for you. I can now nurse a baby
in any position, including hanging the child from its feet...but at first, I
needed to use a football hold or side-lying, because nothing else made sense
to me. Cuddle/cradle holds came later, after we got the hang of things.

When you're coping with a big boob and a little baby, tiny baby hands can be
very frustrating! Two strategies...
1. Tuck at least one baby hand under the boob and let the weight of your
boob hold the hand out of the way.
2. Catwrap the baby. That is, swaddle the baby tightly, with arms down
inside the wrap.

Many women with very large boobs have very tiny nipples and HUGE areolae.
The advice to "get the whole areola in baby's mouth" is patently absurd when
the baby's HEAD is smaller then the areola. (Word of advice to nurses who
advise this... I couldn't get my whole areola in an adult's mouth, let alone
a baby's!) Just make sure baby opens up wide, the nipple points to the back
of baby's head rather than the top of baby's head and get as much in there
as baby will comfortably take.

Even though your boobs may hang fairly low, a pillow to support everything
(or a sling if you're so inclined) can reduce the number of hands you need
to coordinate things to a manageable two.

Jenrose

I have quite large breasts too. I just realized after your post that
mine
extend past my elbows too.

I took a bf class in the second trimester. I was shocked to find out
I had flat nipples. I never even heard of flat nipples yet then, so I
think that class is good. You can pick up some info. If you do have
flat nipples, something I found called the nipplette worked wonders on
it and I did it in the third trimester, which they don't advise, with
no ill effects.

Besides the flat nipples the challenges I had with large breasts and
large nipples we

1) my first baby had a hard time getting enough areola because she had
a little rosebud mouth. Every expert who looked said she had to grow
for us to get a good latch and handed me nipple shields.

2) with my second baby we were able to get a good latch right away,
but with me holding the breast in a C hold the entire feeding. That
really got to hurt my upper back, and it was months before I could get
a good latch without holding the breast.

3) I never mastered nursing on the move. I did use a sling and a
carrier to do it a little bit at home which was a godsend because she
was latched on so much, but it was precarious and not something I
would ever dream of trying in public. I just sat down for NIP.

Also, I was initially using a boppy and doing the football hold and a
cradle hold. After awhile I discovered that with my large breasts it
was easier to do a cradle hold with no nursing pillow since my breasts
naturally hung lower. And later I found my favorite position nursing
side by side that we use 100% unless we are out without a place to lay
down, so try different positions.

KC


Elaine wrote in message ...
Ok, if it weren't for glassboobs rambling aobut being unable
to breastfeeding because hers were so large, this probably
wouldn't have occured to me. OK, it probably would have
occured to me about an hour after birth, instead of at 25
weeks.

I've got really big breasts. My current guess is that a
well fitting bra for me would have about G-H cups (English).
My nipples and areolas are also pretty darn large. Since I'm
short, my breasts extend beyond the crook of my elbow. Should
I be expecting to have problems, and start looking for solutions
now? I think I've found an IBCLC (recommendation from the IBCLC
I work with) but I haven't gotten around to calling or emailing
her yet.

When during pregnancy is it useful/best to contact a LC, LLL
or take a prenatal breastfeeding class anyway?

Elaine