Well, it's been a year since Hannah's birth, and that means it's been an entire year of breastfeeding. I apologize if this post is TMI for some people, but I know a lot of people who have recently become moms or will in the next couple of months. This post is for you.
Things I never knew about breastfeeding:
1. The breastfeeding books don't know everything. For example, your baby may not be interested in taking both breasts, and that is OKAY. Hannah was always a one-sider (which kind of stinks, because I was therefore always lopsided). You need to learn what works for you and your baby.
2. Beware of outdated information, from books, from well-meaning church ladies, from your mom, from anywhere! When it doubt, ask your doctor. Someone told me that I needed to prepare my breasts for breastfeeding by "sanding" them with a rough bath towel. Not only is that not true (you don't need to do anything in advance), you can actually make things worse.
3. For the first 8-12 weeks, your breasts will control (and occasionally ruin) your life. I was unprepared for how often and how much I would leak. Get a mattress protector or put a towel on your bed. Stock up on breast pads (I prefer Medela) and don't use the washable ones for now (save those for later).
4. Along the same line as #3, after 8-12 weeks, your milk supply will adjust. I was unprepared for this and panicked. I thought my milk supply was suddenly drying up. But after this, washable breast pads (I liked Gerber) will work just fine (and save you tons of money).
5. Beware of various breast infections. I am thankful I knew about mastitis so I was able to get a doctor's appointment right away when my clogged duct became infected. (Hint: Don't wear tight bras or tank tops and pump if you are away from Baby for a long time.) I was also able to diagnose thrush in a friend and her baby (which sounded terribly painful).
6. Breastfeeding is truly a pain at times. That doesn't make you a bad mom if you hate it from time to time. Invest in a good pump. Sometimes you need to have a little flexibility to get away from breastfeeding. But it's worth it.
7. Not everyone will be supportive of your decision to breastfeed. Find a good coach or coaches. (Feel free to message me any time!)
8. If breastfeeding doesn't work out for you, THAT IS OKAY. You are not a bad mom!!
Overall, I'm proud that I made it to a year. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Any others moms want to add anything?
Comments (29)
Great post! My daughter is also a one-sider :)
Both of my daughters were just one siders.... The doctors would ask me if she would nurse for twenty minutes on each side. There's no way! Both of my babies are chunks...so I never had to worry about them getting enough.
Also, I totally agree, nursing is a HUGE pain at times. Alot of the time it's because people can get offended by breastfeeding. I nursed publicly in a zoo and I got the weirdest looks! That was the only time I have ever breastfed in public.
I totally agree with you on #3. I think I leaked on everything! My son is 5 months old and when he's nursing on one side, the other
side will leak... and sometimes start shooting out if not covered.
I never knew that breastmilk adapts to your baby's nutritional needs. I thought that was pretty cool.
My addition: there is no "right" amount of time the baby has to nurse!! This totally ruined me with my first baby...I was convinced there was something wrong with my milk supply because she would never nurse longer than 12 minutes. So I supplemented...and then lost my milk supply. Every woman is different and based on your let-down and other factors, the baby may not need to nurse for more than a few minutes. I found out the second time around that I have a very strong let-down and the baby can get 4 ounces in a matter of 6 to 8 minutes. So don't worry if your baby becomes disinterested quickly...he or she may have already had their fill!
@averyswife@xanga - I had the same "problem". If my first hadn't grown so much, so quickly, I would thought something was wrong too, because he nursed about 5 minutes on each side, and that was all he ever needed. The nurses at the hospital told me he should be nursing 10-15 minutes on each side, and the pediatrician was saying the same thing. But obviously, he was growing well, so, I knew it wasn't a big problem.
I would add two things:
--- Just because your breasts don't feel full/you don't feel a let down, that doesn't mean your supply is going away! --- How much a woman can pump (or can't pump) is a poor indicator of how much milk there actually is. A baby's latch is way more efficient than ANY pump. :D
Good list!
i'm not a mom, but good list for those who are!
i think i would like to breastfeed my kids, but i'm really scared of pain. =/
@soyeahthatswhathappened@xanga - It's really not that painful, just weird-feeling in the beginning. Eventually you get a little sore, but usually there are ways to work through that. It's definitely worth trying though!
@averyswife@xanga - thank you! :) being a mom is a long ways off for me, but breastfeeding is something i intend on trying. definitely want the best for my babies :)
If you need more milk, nurse more often. More will come. Don't supplement unless your baby is losing weight or not making wet diapers.
I don't really have anything to add. Everyone said the things I would have added. The sanding thing actually made me laugh out loud.
thanks for the tips!
Excellent post! I would add: "your baby knows what to do".
They have a natural innate ability to locate the breast and feed ....it's called survival.
Also, that colostrum can be looked at as your baby's very first vaccination. So many people still downplay the colostrum because it's not mature milk --- don't kid yourself! That stuff is liquid gold for your baby!
I agree with most of these, except number 2. Most of the doctors I know have never breastfed a child and basically are just telling you what they have learned from moms they came across or from books. When I had my first child they sent me a lactation consultant and she had not only never breastfed, but had never even had a child. For me the old ladies from church were the only thing that kept me from giving up on the whole breastfeeding idea. Breastfeeding doesn't change with time. You breastfeed your child just like it has always been done from the beginning of time which means any mom who has done it well makes a good advisor. I agree that women need to find someone who is or has breastfed and had a good experience with it and keep in close contact with them. You sound like you have done your research and are having a good experience. It's sweet that you are mentoring other moms.
@storyofmylife87@xanga - @furyyes@xanga - I think a lot of babies are one-siders, but the books never mention it! It took me a long time before I learned that my daughter knows what she needs (or doesn't need), no matter what the books say! And don't even get me started about breastfeeding in public!
@Luv2BMama@xanga - @averyswife@xanga - Not only was my daughter a one-sider, she did it in record breaking time! I felt like I was doing something wrong that she didn't want to keep eating! Once I started pumping, I realized that I had one HECK of a milk supply and let down. Of course she didn't eat more! She was stuffed!
@soyeahthatswhathappened@xanga - @averyswife@xanga - I second that. Breastfeeding, if you are doing it correctly, really isn't painful (although it can be a pain in the butt). Some things are just awkward at first, and there is occasionally some soreness. Breast infections can be painful though, but like I said in number 5, if you know what you look for, you can catch them early and spare yourself days of unnecessary pain.
@tsh44@xanga - You're right. Doctors don't know it all either. I've been blessed because my doctor has a baby just a few months younger than my daughter, so we were pregnant together. Basically, my point is to do your homework and not believe everything you are told. My mom breastfed all three of her children, and is a registered nurse, but she still gave me some really bad nursing advice.
Thanks, everyone!
My best place to get info was my lactation consultant from the hospital, even more so than my pediatrician. My OB was useless. LC's are a great source of knowledge if you have access to one. That's all they do. Help women with BF issues. Don't know what I'd do without mine!
Sometimes breastfeeding can hurt. I'm sorry ladies, but I almost gave up on BF because of the pain with my first born. He was latching correctly, we weren't doing anything wrong, my nipples were just not incredibly sensitive and it hurt. (That's the one that gets me, "If it hurts, you're doing it wrong.) The only thing that kept me going was that I had had to give up on the natural labor I had wanted, so I was not going to give up this too. Besides, I am frugal and I knew BF was free and I am not fond of cleaning dishes and this requires no bottles.
@susanvwoods - My first one was entirely pain free aside from a few days of initial soreness as was my second but with my first born son I had severe pain. He sucked so hard that I actually bled every time he nursed. One of the older ladies at my church told me that sometimes boys suck really hard and that if I could hang in there things would get easier as my nipples toughened up. I did hang in there, though for a while I cried while he nursed and it did get better. But during the time I was bleeding, I noticed his urine changed color and asked the pediatrician about it. She just laughed and said, "Oh don't worry darlin' the blood won't hurt him".
Both my boys were 'vampires' but apparently it didn't do any long term damage to me or to them.
My four month old was stictly breast fed. At 2 months the doctor told me the baby wasnt gainging enough weight so i started him on formula...thats where my problems began i was breast feeding for 20 minutes like the doctor said and after each feeding, he go a bottle of formula. Now it seems my son doesnt really want to breast feed, he crys,screams,kicks and pinches untill i give him formula. I want to give my son breast milk because it is better for him but i am losing milk because he rarely breast feeds.
awesome post. my son is also a one sider, and once I just realized that was OK it took away a lot of stress that I had. My one caveat with what you wrote- it's true that there's a lot of misinformation, but in my experience some of that comes from doctors! docs and nurses aren't breast feeding experts, and they may have a different bottom line (ex- they may insist on formula supplementing a newborn with jaundice, which is often both unnessesary and harmful to the new mom's milk supply). The BEST place to turn is La Leche League or a lactation consultant.
@susanvwoods - that's awesome that you could stick with it. for the first few weeks with my son he was latching correctly but it was definitely painful for me, especially on the right side. Sometimes I'd start sobbing when he nursed, I didn't think I'd make it. But after two months it was like second nature and now we're approaching 11 months with no end in sight. I think it's important for new moms to know that there CAN be pain involved, especially at the beginning, but often it improves and is worth it in the end. Also, it's really important to have other people (especially other women who have been there) to support you, right? I mean, there were times when my own mom just sat next to me at the beginning and reminded me of all the reasons that I had wanted to breast feed. that helped a ton.
@vlinder_farfalla@xanga - I totally agree. I bawled to my mother-in-law and she encouraged me so much. And I had some women from my church who reassured me that it had hurt for them as well, but that the pain would go away in time. If it hadn't been for all of those wonderful women, I would have given up, because I, too would cry when he nursed. I was emotional from the hormones and this thing that I had had such rosy visions of I found to be so painful instead. BUT, it was totally worth it and in just a few weeks we were old pros. He nursed for most of his first year. And it was so much easier with my second son even though he was born five years later. Now I look forward to nursing this next little one in a few months.
Great post, I love number 8 :)
@vlinder_farfalla@xanga - You're probably right about doctors. I guess I didn't realize, because my doctor was pregnant at the same time as I was, so she gave great advice.
@tsh44@xanga - @susanvwoods - I'm sorry to hear about the pain! I guess I believed the books that said it shouldn't be painful if the baby is latched correctly. My first had no trouble nursing so I never had any pain until I got a breast infection. Thank you for sharing this! I think I'll be better prepared in case my second baby doesn't nurse quite the same way.
Thanks for this, actually. Hubby and I just found out not too long ago that we are pregnant, and I have always known that I want to breastfeed. If I can avoid formula all together, I'll be happy. At the same time, I know sometimes things happen where you don't have much choice in the matter. One thing I have definitely noticed already, and am really hoping will lighten up a bit as time goes on, is that my nips are ALWAYS sore now. We're only around 5 weeks in, so I'm hoping it lessens. :P