For all you breastfeeder's

 I am hoping that I can breastfeed Bella. I have read all the books but non of the books have gastric bypass. So advice??? How many calories? Water? any advice? When did your milk come in? Were you able to feed your baby at the hospital? 
Thank you
Jessica

Breast feeding has been going great for us so far. I was told to keep about 500 extra calories still so I eat like I did when I was pregnant. I drink all day about 5-7 bottled waters. My milk came in on day 2. I breastfed the whole time so far and Hayvann seems happy so far. Even sleeps 5-6 hours at night a few times. So must be good. :)

 Thank you!! How is baby Hayvann doing?? 
Jessica

Doing well and sleeping quite a bit at night. About 5 hours. Love it!!!

drink drink drink, I aim for 70-100 oz a day especially in the beginning, nurse as often as possible in the beginning too, I think my milk came in on day 3,  I had a c-section and was lucky enough to start nursing in  the recovery room.
Just remember the first few weeks are hard I won't lie but if you can make it through it is so worth it!!
Best of Luck!
Beth

 Thanks Beth! I have been uping my water now so I am used to drinking non-stop. I know it's going to be hard and prolly painful at first but I really hope everything works out. 
Thank you
Jessica

I breastfed in recovery (from c-section) and he did great, then he couldn't latch b/c I got an infection in my nipple. My milk came in on day 3ish (maybe 4) but It wasn't very much and then I got the swine flu and Tamaflu dried me out.

My advice: don't get sick, drink lots of water, eat the same as when you were preggers (if you pigged out, ok a little less) and don't give up

I was told "eat to hunger and drink to thirst".  That has worked fine for me.  I am still bf-ing no problem.  There should be no difference between you and someone that hasn't had WLS.  I have been more successful bf-ing then my friends that are "normal". 

Most important general tips I can offer:
-breast feeding is supply and demand, put your baby to the breast as much as you can especially in the first few weeks while you are working on establishing a supply.
-make sure you have a proper latch, a good deep latch can make all the difference in the world.
-see a good lactation consultant if you can. Some LC are too breast feeding crazy, make sure you see someone you agree with.  The LC at the hospital was nuts, the one at my pediatrician's office was more realistic.  (ie. I am a working mother and I have never been a great pumper, so my DD gets formula when I am not with her and that's my reality, don't make me feel bad because I don't have a years worth of my milk in the freezer...sorry rant over).
-try not to put too much pressure on yourself.  Yes, breast feeding seems like it should be so natural and a "motherly" thing to do, but the truth is it is freaking hard!  Give yourself a break if it is not this beautiful experience and you hate it.  Formula doesn't kill.
-I strongly disagree with the statement, "if you are doing it [breast feeding] properly it doesn't hurt", that is a bunch of crap, I did it correctly and in the beginning it hurts!  Sorry to say that, it does get better though.  A proper latch does help, but it is still going to be uncomfortable at first.  For me it was about a week then the nips toughened up and I was all set. 
-BEWARE MESSAGE BOARDS.  Most people are idiots, except for the wonderful women on this message board.  LOL  If you read breast feeding message boards you will think you baby has _____ fill in the blank: Nipple Confusion, Tongue Tie, Thrush,...whatever the dysfunction De Jour is.  Or you will think you have Mastitis or some other "I am sucky mother disease".
-enjoy your baby! 

Oh yeah, I breast fed my DD about 10 minutes after she was born.  Funny story, the nurse helped me get her latched on and I made this face like "oh my God my soul is being sucked out through my nipple" and I said to the nurse, "how do I know if I am doing it right" she said "When you make that face, you are doing it right".  LOL!
:sigh: I want another baby!
Good luck!

I didn't have RNY, but I thought I would chime in.

Check with your hospital to see if they offer a breastfeeding class, often times the lactation consultant that you will see after birth will be the one running it, and its nice to meet them for the first time with all your clothes on LOL I wasn't able to nurse Matty until four days after he was  born (he was in special care), but I made sure that everyone knew NO BOTTLES, NO PACIFIER! I even made a little sign with a picture of Peter Rabbits mother nursing him that said "It was good enough for Peter, it's good enough for me, only the breast please!" and hung it in his bassinet so every nurse on every shift would know without me having to say it.

If they do not have breastfeeding classes, call them and find out about how to get an LC in your room right after birth so that you can latch on ASAP, and make sure it is correct from the get go. Bad habits are learned quickly and hard to break. Also, if you think there might be a chance that you will supplement or give bottles along with nursing at the hospital, bring your own bottles. The bottles that they use are given to them by the formula companies, and often times they are the complete opposite of what you want a nursing baby to use.

Also, make sure you have the number for a local LLL leader, and maybe even try to go to a meeting before hand to get to know someone in your area with breastfeeding experience that you can call once you are home, for support or help.

here is their website with all the information -

http://www.llli.org/resources.html

Also, do not accept your doctors (or the nurses) word as law on breastfeeding, many of them still give archaic advice about what to do and how to do it when it comes to the breastfed infant, go to the LC with your questions.

Also, familiarize yourself with the MYTHS of breastfeeding, and what you should do in situations such as jaundice. The best advocate you will have is YOURSELF, so make sure you know the information BEFORE you get there, so you can say "no" if you feel you are getting bad advice.

Here is a good article on that -

http://www.llli.org/NB/LVAprMay98p21NB.html

Good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to email or PM me.