I’m not writing this post with the intention of shouting, “Breast is best!!” I’m more of the mindset that “FED is best!” I’m sharing our story because when I was reading about breastfeeding, there weren’t a lot of posts that said that it could actually be a pleasant experience. Everything I read warned me about cracked and bleeding nipples, and super intense pain all the time. But our breastfeeding class said it should not be painful. Huh? I was getting mixed signals to say the least! (Side note, if you have the opportunity to take a class on breastfeeding, I highly recommend it!)
We’ve been breastfeeding since Lily was born. It definitely has not been an easy thing to do, because it truly is a commitment. The biggest motivating factor for my decision to do this was cost. I knew that with leaving my job, our finances were going to look drastically different and I knew that we would not be able to afford formula every week. It’s not cheap, and it totally adds up. So, we started breastfeeding right after she was born.
The first month was the hardest. Sure, I was sore, but not during the actual act of nursing. I was sore in between, because let’s face it, your breasts just aren’t used that kind of action. I remember Steven would ask “do you want to nurse her now?” and sometimes my first answer would be “no. I don’t. But I’m going to.” It was exhausting both physically and emotionally to be nursing every 1-3 hours for the first few months! I’m grateful that Lily is very efficient with nursing because we weren’t sitting for 45 minute sessions. But still, it makes you tired!
Also, no one warned me about how HUNGRY nursing would make me! Seriously, I felt like I just could not get enough food in my body some days, so be sure to have healthy snacks in your home and LOTS of water!!
Lily turns one very soon, and that’s when we will be ending breastfeeding. I’m looking forward to having my body back, though I am a little sad to be done with this phase of her life!
Overall, here are the biggest lessons I’ve learned from breastfeeding:
- You will probably get mastitis. THAT really is painful. I had it three times, and the first two were the worst! The pain in your breast is pretty bad, and you feel sick as a dog, but it eventually will pass. Just call your doctor as soon as you have the symptoms so they can treat it with medication!
- If you are worried about getting a clogged duct or something because you can’t nurse, PUMP! Pump if you can’t nurse for some reason, because then your breasts will stay on that schedule and you’ll be much more comfortable! Clogged ducts are also a common experience! When your milk comes in, you’ll probably be very engorged, and your baby won’t be able to relieve all of it, so don’t be afraid to pump to relieve the discomfort! But, if you don’t want to increase your supply, just pump until you feel relief and then stop. Breastfeeding is very much a supply and demand situation!
- Pumping in general is very unique to your situation. In the beginning I was pumping like crazy. I built up a really great freezer stash to make sure Lily had enough milk while I was shooting weddings, but I didn’t need to be pumping as frequently as I was because I was home with her most of the time. My milk supply was pretty sufficient, so I didn’t need to pump to create more of a demand. For the first few months I was pumping probably 2-3 times a day. Once she started nursing 4 times I day, I eventually slowed down and started pumping just once a day before bedtime, so that I wouldn’t wake up engorged. On the other hand, though, I do wish I had continued those nightly pumping sessions for two more weeks. This is because we dropped one of her nursing sessions around 9 months and started giving her the pumped milk in the freezer so it wouldn’t go to waste. Well, we ended up running out about a week ago. So, now we are supplementing with formula, because I do still nurse before bedtime and when she wakes up.
- Formula is fine! I mean, how incredible is it that there is something out there to give to babies to nourish them when breast milk isn’t an option? It doesn’t matter which route a mom takes, as long as that baby is getting the nutrition it needs and it is loved, that’s all it needs! Formula is incredibly powerful. When I bought it (after doing a ton of research on it), I was so annoyed when it said on the back “breast milk is best for babies!” Seriously?! What about those moms who had surrogates? Or those who are undergoing treatments for cancer? Or those who just don’t want to? It’s an extremely personal choice that a woman makes, and it doesn’t matter what it is! The subtle and not-so-subtle shaming needs to stop!!
- Use your lactation consultants! What an incredible resource! I saw them 3-4 times during Lily’s first month, and then again when she was 7 months old. I never had cracked or bleeding nipples. After the first few weeks, the soreness went away also, but I was never in any constant pain. At least, not until she was 7 months. The actual act of nursing was so incredibly painful that I would be in tears, and I couldn’t even let Lily finish on that side. Thankfully it was just one side, but the skin was starting to become damaged. I tried everything I could think of but nothing worked. So, I called and made an appointment. I knew it was an issue with her latch, but I couldn’t do it on my own. Within the first few minutes, they showed me a new position to nurse with and the pain was immediately so much better. It still hurt a little because of the broken skin, but it was already a huge improvement! Lily has had teeth since she was three months old, but it was never an issue until she got her top teeth. Even though she wasn’t biting me, the teeth would just graze the skin (I never even noticed it was happening) and that’s what caused the damage. Changing my position changed her latch so that it wasn’t as shallow and we’ve never had an issue since then!
Again, I firmly believe fed is best. I just wanted to share our journey in case it could be helpful to other moms who are considering breastfeeding!
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Lol @ “sick as a dog” I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that.