What Nobody Told Me About Breastfeeding
>22 August 2009
(Here’s a re-post from my old blog. I wrote it when I was still nursing Titus. Just thought I’d share it here as well!)
When it came to breastfeeding, nobody told me…
- That the day my milk came in I would wake up with my shirt completely soaked, and for several days afterwards.
- That I would go from a size B to a D, and back down again in a matter of hours.
- That the first two weeks of nursing would be extremely painful, even though I know my technique was right.
- That I would get so cracked and sore that my curious 3 yr. old would ask me if the baby was drinking blood!
- That these two products would save me tons on agony: Lanolin and Soothies . They are WONDERFUL! I gave them both to my sister when she had her baby.
- That I needed the baby to nurse, just as much as he needed me! Can you spell ENGORGEMENT!
- That there aren’t many public places that will accommodate a nursing mother. Try nursing your baby in a public restroom with no chair to sit in. Fun!
- That at first, trying to pump milk was like trying to get juice from a banana! You’re lucky if you get a few drops.
- That my entire day would revolve around this one person’s hunger.
- That I would be able to sleep nurse successfully!
- That I would learn to twist my body into uncomfortable positions at times in order to nurse my baby in cramped spaces (try an airplane seat!).
- That my long hair would come in handy to cover embarrassing leakage in public. I suggest you keep nursing pads close by!
*By the way, as I was typing this discovered that nursing pads also make great coasters!
- But most importantly: That I would never feel such a fulfilling, rewarding joy as knowing that I was able to personally sustain and nourish my beautiful child. I wouldn’t trade it for all the formula in the world!!
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I know that you’ve gotten much more experience since this article was written, but nursing in public was always a big concern until I purchase some tops from Motherwear.com. I highly recommend these tops and have nursed in public situations numerous times.
One of my friends, who was super-sensitive to public nursing, commented that I’d need to go to the car to nurse one evening when we were dining together. I told her that the baby was already nursing, she just about fell over. She said that if he was already nursing, I didn’t need to go anywhere and she wanted to see that top later.
Add this one:
That nursing each child is always different. You learn a little as you go but each one surprises you with something new.
Nobody told me the painful part either! I was not sucessful in breastfeeding until my third child. Even though I know! my technique was right and was also told so by an observing lactation consultant! The nurses left the room after the birth of my first child and said looks like you know what you are doing! Ouch it hurt for three months no joke. We did get through it and I ended up nursing him until approx 15 months old. The thing I did to get through it was just say to my I am nursing you this time and I did not worry about tomorrow I just faced it one nursing at a time (and kicked the coffee table when he would latch on) I knew it was best for him and me in so many ways and it did turn out to be a wonderful thing. I wish someone had told me how difficult it can be just so I would have known. Even with really rough starts, I would whole heartidly recomend breast feeding!
Blessings to you and your family.
Something the lactation consultant in the hospital told me to do was put on a warm (wet) tea bag after nursing. Something about the tanins in tea help healing. check with your health care professional about this, but it did wonders for me. I did not hear about it until my third child.
My #1 thing I didn’t know was also that it hurt – no one ever says that and I never thought it would!
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