Before having Adalyn, I read lots of material on breastfeeding. My favorite book was The Breastfeeding Book by Dr. Sears, but nothing could have
really prepared me for how difficult breastfeeding my infant would have been. I could not have foreseen the amount of pain that I would endure to feed her. Nope, not at all. I have about 32,953 pregnant friends - just a rough estimate - so I thought I should blog my own personal breastfeeding tips. Just in case anyone wanted some tips.
-As soon as your baby is born, try to breastfeed. The hospital will probably initiate it, but still. Those first hours are crucial.
-Don't let those nurses talk you into "supplementing" with a bottle of formula. Don't.Let.Them.Do.It. It will only make things more difficult when your baby tries to go back to the breast. Colostrum is all (s)he needs. God is amazing like that and designed it best.
-Try the football hold if your newborn is having latch issues. It is the only way we nursed for about two weeks. I have rather.. largeish (understatement) breasts, and my newborn could not deal with a regular hold. She just couldn't latch that way until she was a few weeks old!
-It hurts like
heck. I would like to describe it as... a pair of pliers twisting your nipple to shreds? Yes. Definite pain. But you can stick through it. My personal remedy was to count to ten in my head and hold my breath. Once she latched and the milk was flowing, the pain was no more.
-Adalyn had a shallow latch, which gave me "lipstick nipple." Yes, that is a real term! I had NO idea that this even existed! It resulted in extreme pain when she latched for the first 6-ish weeks. I remember nearly crying in Moe's to Mark and suggesting that we just go with formula. He helped me stick it out. But anyway - the point is that you have to make sure your baby's latch is good. There are instincts, but your baby really has no idea what they're doing, to an extent.. they've never nursed before! So you gotta help them.
Drunk on milk.
-Nurse on demand. Don't try to set a strict schedule. I think I nursed my newborn every 2 hours when she was fresh and new. It will help your milk come in, but it's extremely exhausting.
-Bedshare if you can. I never knew this before, but night nursing keeps up your supply! Something about nursing at night makes your hormones go crazy (in a good way!) and makes you make a lotta milk. Plus, night nursing is one of the factors that keeps you from having a period. I'm 7 months PP and still without a period, and I guess I contribute it to night nursing? Who knows!
Milk Coma II
-Bedshare if you can, Part II. Nursing at night is so easy, it's unreal! I'm able to get a full night's rest, even thought Adalyn doesn't technically STTN. I'm not quite sure how many times she wakes at night, but I just roll over and hook her up, and I go right back to sleep. It's a beautiful thing. Think what you wish, but this single (present) mama is getting good rest at night ;)
-Don't pump and feed your baby from a bottle for the first 6 weeks. I didn't know this until I read it from the La Leche League, but it's one of the things you definitely should not do! A baby extracts more milk than a pump does, and your baby will prefer the bottle. It'll just slow things down and make it more difficult in the long run. On the flip side, though, it means that no one, including your husband, can help you feed! So you're up alone feeding the baby in the wee hours of the morning. It made me pretty tired, but Facebook on my iPhone kept me entertained through those nights :)
-The La Leche League also teaches to not give pacifiers for the first 6-ish weeks. I offered one to Adalyn, but she wouldn't take one. My midwife says that breastfed babies won't take artificial nipples because they want the real thing. It was true in Adalyn's case. But I know a
ton of breastfed babies who take them, so who knows?? She will take one now to go down for a nap, though.. and boy, I LOVE the pacifier over here!!
Milk Coma III
-Make sure your husband is educated on bfeeding so he can be there to help support and encourage you. Mark was my cheerleader, and I'm so thankful for him during those first few weeks when I didn't have any strength left!
So here we are - Adalyn is 7 months old, and she's never drank from a bottle. I just never bought a pump. I thought it was silly to buy one when
I would be the one feeding her every day, so why on earth would I pump!? I'll never forget those first weeks when I wanted to give up so badly, but I'm glad I did. But I wish I had someone tell me just how difficult it would be, so I could be a little more prepared.
You can do it, guys! :)
