So for all those new and expecting mother's out there wondering whether or not to breastfeed or maybe you are struggling to begin or keep going, I will retell my woes and success with the whole ordeal.
First, I will say that I was extremely dedicated to the idea of breastfeeding. I read a book, spoke to many people about their experiences and went into it with as much information as possible.
Breastfeeding was not that difficult at the hospital, I had great supporting nurses (a key). But after I got home, things went horribly wrong. I went home on the third day, which is usually when your milk comes in! I was very engorged, more than normally so, and had no real clue on how to fix it. I also had a baby that was not properly latching himself because i was so engorged, which caused cracking and rawness which made breastfeeding very painful.
I was surrounded by my mother and grandmother, neither had breastfed, and it was difficult to maintain my positive attitude, finally at the end of the first week I broke down and called a lactation consultant. Two hours later and $80 poorer, all my problems started to get fixed.
After that trying, painful, and emotional first week I never had problems again, and found that breastfeeding was convenient, cheap, and an amazing bonding experience with my child.
I loved that I never had to worry about carrying bottles or formula or baby water. I loved that at night time i could just pick up my baby and put him in bed with me and feed him while I slept. I loved all the money we saved during those many early months were the babies drink so much milk. I loved that I never had to worry about finding the "right" milk for my baby.
Now breastfeeding is not for everyone, but I think it could be for most people if you give it a chance. I learned to do many things while holding and feeding my baby, including shopping, laundry, eating, and even paying bills.
I will say that I was very successful up and until I went back to work. I have a stressful and busy job so I had to commit myself to pumping at very specific times no matter what. I found that not everyone supports or respects a mother's decision to breastfeed. As an attorney, there were times were female judges were less understanding than male judges about giving me an opportunity to take a 15 minute break to pump during trials or where attorneys complained about my unavailability for depositions because of my need to pump, but there were others who were very understanding.
I suggest that you speak to you boss or job about your needs for breastfeeding. I opted for buying a pump machine (medela pump in style) instead of renting one, but I think that had I rented one it would not have been much of a difference.
But due to the stress and the craziness my milk production went down, and eventually I had to come to terms that I was not producing enough milk to feed my now 5 month old, so I transitioned him into formula as slow as possible.
This is how I did it: I begun doing half pumped milk/ half formula during the time I was away from him during the weekday. I did that for about two weeks. Then I started giving him only one bottle of half pumped milk/half formula while i was at work (for about a week). And then the last week I was giving him only formula while I was at work. Then I did a week of nothing but formula (except during night feedings). And lastly, I excluded all breast milk.
I was sad and depressed the last 2-3 weeks of the transition, even though I had breastfed up to the first 6 months of his life, which had been my original goal, I felt like I lost something and perhaps a bit of a failure that I had not been able to continue something my child seemed to enjoy so much. But in the end I realized that I was lucky to have done it as long as I had and that my child had gotten a great benefit.
Here are my tips for having a successful experience:
1. Decide that you will and can do it, and repeat it like a mantra!!
2. Buy, a Nursing Mother's Companion book!! (great information)
3. Bookmark as a favorite on you computer, kellymom.com (breastfeeding website)
4. Don't be afraid to go to a lactation consultant, they can be pricey but mine was worth every penny!!
5. Don't give up, like every thing in life, it will get better, millions of women over the centuries have done it, so can you!! Your baby and you were built for this activity, trust that it will happen.
6. save milk early, especially during engorgement period to help extend feeding if your production goes down for any reason.
7. Have a supporting pediatrician!! (nothing worse than a doc who doesn't get it)
Tips for cracking, soreness, and engorgement:
1. gel pads will heal all soreness and cracking
2. cream for cracking and soreness, the lamb stuff is the best
3. do not soap you nipples, it will dry them up and make it worst.
4. cabbage leaves chilled in the fridge were great for engorgement (cut out holes for you nipples)
5. squeezing breast milk and rubbing around nipple and areola and letting air dry (can't tell you the amount of times my husband came home to a topless wife)
6. try different feeding positions, often times that will help drain and ease the soreness
7. take a two baby diapers soak them in water, one to be place in the freezer and the other in your microwave. 15 min before feeding put in microwave for 10-15 seconds and place warm on you breast to help drain, and after feeding place the frozen diaper on your breast to easy swelling/engorgement.
Tips for picking a good lactation consultant:
1. ask around (best resources are friends, doulas, hospital, etc)
2. ask them their experience (my had been the head of la leche league for over 10 years and had her own practice for a few, took courses and etc.)
3. a good one will tell you to bring your baby, watch you feed and help you address issues, will give you precise instructions on how to deal with your issues as well as check your baby's mouth to eliminate issues there! (mine even followed up with a call the next day)
4. make sure their philosophy and style fits yours.
If anyone has any questions please post them and I will be glad to answer. I will say that I had friends who tried and quit after a few months and others that even after a year are still going strong. I was lucky to not have had a milk production situation until the very end, or infections nor did I have a c-section all which can make it more difficult to feed or keep going. But I can say that I have a friend who has been breastfeeding who had a c-section, who is still feeding after going back to work at my same job, who fed even after an infection, so it's possible!!!
Stay strong mamas, it's all about attitude, fortitude and determination!!!
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