A year ago, I sat in a breastfeeding class, learning all that I
needed to know before my baby came.
Just Kidding.
A year ago, I sat in a breastfeeding class, learning about the
benefits of breastfeeding, which would hopefully be enough to motivate me to
stick with it for at least a year.
Because breastfeeding is hard.
I believe that each mom has the right to
make the best decision for her and her baby- whether that is breastfeeding or
formula feeding. However, this post is for those moms who want to continue
breastfeeding, but are facing difficulties. So for the first-time-nursing mom,
here are some obstacles you can expect.
Expect
a Learning Curve.As I watched other moms breastfeed I thought
it would be easy. But instead it turned out to be incredibly awkward--I was
trying to use my breasts in a way that I had never done before. I spent the
first month wearing just a nursing bra on top because it was too hard for me to
coordinate nursing with a shirt on. It took several more months after that to
be confident enough to nurse outside of my home.In addition, my baby initially couldn’t latch
because of my inverted/flat nipples. I ended up having to use a nipple shieldto trigger his sucking reflex and also to
soften my overactive letdown reflex.
Expect
Engorgement.Expect to be extremely engorged when your milk “comes in” during the first week. You also might experience engorgement as your baby adjusts to eating solids, sleeps more at
night, or goes on a nursing strike (my baby goes on nursing strikes when teething- I found this article extremely helpful). What has helped me most with
engorgement is being able to pump either by using my manual hand pump or by renting a hospital grade one.
Expect
to Get Wet. This will
happen not only when your milk first comes in and you are leaking all over
the place, but also whenever you have a letdown reflex (which could be
triggered by a baby’s cry) or when your nursing baby pulls off unexpectedly.
These cloth nursing padshave worked the best for me, although I
have tried disposable nursing pads as well. With disposables, I found that they
were too small and would move around too much even if they had an adhesive to
help them stick my nursing bra.
Expect
Sore Nipples.I'm very
grateful that my doctor prescribed a medicated nipple cream for me to use. Of course my nipples were very sore at the
beginning because they weren’t accustomed to being used that often! My baby
also happened to suck extremely hard, which I had to adjust to. Throughout
the year I have used the cream sporadically due to soreness from growth spurts
and latching/unlatching issues.
Expect
to Worry About Your Milk Supply. At three months, my baby
was not gaining weight appropriately and the doctor recommended supplementing
with formula. We were confused by this because it seemed like my baby was
nursing all the time—an average of three to four hours a day! After meeting
with a lactation consultant, we realized that my baby was a lazy nurser. He was
so used to nursing all the time that he didn’t bother to drink effectively.
After two weeks of training, my baby learned to nurse in half the time and was
gaining more weight. All of this goes to show that sometimes the issue may not
be your milk supply, but rather how your baby is nursing. Additionally, by
meeting with alactation consultant you can learn the
ways in which to boost your milk supply. Lastly, for those women who feel like
they aren’t producing enough milk because their baby nurses frequently, I would
recommend readingthis article.
Expect
to Bottle Feed. There will
probably come a time where someone will have to bottle feed breastmilk to your
baby. It may be because you go back to work, attend school, or you have a
medical emergency.The latter two
examples were true in my case. I was in my last semester of school when my baby
was born, and I had to have an emergency surgery a month after he was born. I
was lucky enough to have pumped enough breastmilk to sustain my baby during
these times (even if that meant pumping at the hospital). Part of what helped me do this were these breast milk storage bags.
Expect
to Compare.There will be
times when you will observe or talk with other mothers who breastfeed and
wonder to yourself whether you were the only one who’s having a hard time. You
aren’t! Hopefully this article lets you know that not only should you expect
issues to arise, but that these issues are normal, and you can handle them.
Breastfeeding doesn’t always have to be hard--as you and your baby adjust,
there will be times when it will be easy and enjoyable. Issues may arise along
the way (as they have for me over the course of a year) but they will be
separated by stretches of good nursing experiences.
Expect
to Sacrifice. You will
have to worry about what you eat, drink, and what medicine you take, as all of
this could negatively affect your baby. Breastmilk digests more quickly so you
will have to feed your baby more often than a formula fed baby. This means you
may lose more sleep at night, since you will be the one to get up and feed your
baby. You may have to arrange your schedule around your baby’s feeds. You may
not be able to travel without your baby.
So what makes it worth the sacrifice?
Besides the medical benefits to mother and baby,
breastfeeding has been worth the sacrifice because of the bond I have been able
to create with my baby. It’s the comfort of knowing that when he is sick I’m
providing antibodies so he can get better quicker. It’s the security of knowing
that if I ever get locked out of the house with him, he can still eat. It’s
looking at his chubby thighs and thinking, “my milk did that.”
It seems like each month is a new adventure! This month we tackled sleep training, worked through a brief nursing strike, and speculated whether you were going through a growth spurt or teething or both. Turns out it was both. You sprouted a new tooth on the top and bottom left side, which means you have two more that will be coming in pretty soon.
you have the weirdest sleeping positions
you love making messes!
and exploring new things
you love chasing the vaccuum
k
and you resemble someone famous...
dennis the menace!
complete with hair bump
you're officially in the double digits!
despite being sick, you've been in a great mood today
I recently came across a youtube channel of "fixed fairytales" for kids. I really loved their creativity and thought it would be fun to do a series of blog posts where I could fix a few fairytales or nursery rhymes! Here are a few quick fix fairytales:
Sleeping Beauty
The scene opens in the king's courtroom. The queen is largely pregnant and is constantly moving in her throne, trying to get into a comfortable position. The king bends forward to better concentrate on the servant who is going over the final details for the baby's coronation.
Servant: "And lastly, we will invite all of the fairies so that the princess can get amazing magical gifts."
Queen: "Just a moment! How will you know that you have invited all of the fairies?"
Servant: "Why, by consulting with the most up-to-date fairy directory."
King: "Check it twice! It would be awful if we forgot anyone."
Servant checks the directory.
Servant: "Oh dear! We missed Maleficent! I guess we were distracted by Meriweather's name. We'd better get that invitation off right away!"
The scene changes to Maleficent in her nightgown, going out to check the mail.
Maleficent: "Every other fairy has received her invitation! If I don't get one by today, I'm going to...oh! my invitation arrived!! I guess I won't curse that little girl after all."
So Maleficent came to the coronation and she gave Aurora the gift of invincibility, so that she would never be cut or bruised by anything.
The End.
The moral- always check your guest list twice.
Rapunzel
The scene opens with a man and a woman in their small kitchen. The woman is largely pregnant and crying.
Man: "What ails you, dear wife?"
Woman: "If I do not get some rapunzel from the garden behind our house, I shall die!" *sobs*
Man: "Well if it's really that bad I suppose I could go steal some..."
Woman: "Don't be ridiculous! A witch owns that garden! She'll curse us if she catches you stealing! You have to pay for it!"
The man then walks to the witch's door and knocks. The witch pokes her head out.
Man: "Parden me, ma'am, but my wife is pregnant and craving rapunzel. Would I be able to buy some from you?"
Witch: "Well, I've never had anyone offer to buy my herbs before- they usually just steal them, the cowards. Of course you may have some!"
So the woman ate rapunzel for a week and then her craving went away. When the child was born, they named her Rapunzel.
The End.
The moral- buy, don't steal.
