On Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a challenge. I should have written this back when we were learning because every single day was hard back then – actually it still is now – just not quite as hard. But, the key word here, I think, is LEARNING. Breastfeeding is a learning process, just like parenting. Just because you have the equipment does not mean you know how to use it, much less properly!

My Tips for new moms on breastfeeding:

• Use the nipple cream. I know it hurts at first, but the pain does go away, I promise!
• Drink lots of water
• Don’t forget to feed yourself – I usually prepped something for myself to eat while I was nursing – it’s hard to find time to eat so use your time wisely! 
•  Mothers Milk Tea is awesome 
•  Lactation cookies work too 
•  Speak to a lactation consultant at the hospital and once you get home too if you have questions 
•  Don’t be afraid to ask questions

How to feed – at the beginning I fed my daughter on both breasts during each feeding, burping in the middle. Now that she’s more efficient, I feed her on one at a time, and then just switch at the next feeding session. One tip that a friend told me was that the first breast is the “meal”, and if they are still hungry offer the second as “dessert.” It is very important to make sure that you are emptying your breast when they eat for a number of reasons – 1. The “hind” milk or the milk at the bottom of the barrel has all the fatty goodness for baby and 2. You don’t want clogged ducts, etc. One suggestion or method that I know works for a lot is to pump after each feeding – this is especially helpful to increase your milk supply and to get the hind milk for your baby to eat if you are worried about how much your baby is getting or if she is gaining enough weight.

One of the hardest things for me at the beginning was knowing if she was getting enough milk. If I could go back in time I would tell my new-mom self not to worry about that. Let her eat as long as she wants to, when she wants to: that’s how you know she’s getting enough. Eventually, they will learn how to suck more efficiently and you won’t be stuck on the couch for half an hour or more! Every hour or two; you may still feel like a nursing cow because you’re going to be either nursing or pumping for a while – but it gets easier. Also, you won’t need that baby app forever. At the beginning, it was a life saver – being able to track feedings, diapers, naps, etc. but after a while, you will have a semblance of a memory and won’t need to feed every hour or two so you won’t be logging forever!

Babies get gas. Burping is great, you should burp your baby often – take a break during feedings to burp them and definitely burp when you’re done. Another thing that I didn’t think of as a new mom were gas drops. Sometimes what you eat upsets their stomach and they get gas that doesn’t come out with a burp – it just hurts their little tummies. This happened frequently when she was very little and gas drops are magical. Get some gas drops. 

How long will you breastfeed? Before I had my daughter, I had grand ideas of the type of mom i was going to be…if you haven’t noticed I haven’t lived up to my own expectations! One thing I thought would be so easy was breastfeeding and I would obviously breastfeed until she was at least 1. Well, let me tell you, in the beginning, just getting through one day was an accomplishment. My advice, take it one day at a time. Set small goals for yourself. If it’s to make it to the end of the day, great, make it to the end of the day and then try again tomorrow, if you want! If it’s to make it to six weeks, great, make it then set a new goal. Right now, we’re at 5 months and doing pretty well – my goal is to get to six months and then readdress and see if I want to keep going. 

I will tell you that now that we know how to do it, it is very nice to be able to feed her whenever and wherever if she needs it. If we were on formula and out and about and I forgot to pack enough or we ran out and were out longer than we planned I would be out of luck, but with breastfeeding, we’ve always got what we need in an emergency. 

The best advice I ever got about breastfeeding came from my best friend’s sister. As an experienced Mom of two I really value her opinions and she is always completely honest about things. She said “I hated breastfeeding at first. I thought it was supposed to be this loving, bonding relationship where we look into each others eyes and smile blah blah blah. Then I felt like I dreaded every feeding and resented the fact that I was the one stuck feeding him constantly. I wanted to smother my husband with a pillow when he was snoozing away when I was up for the 9^th time in 8 hours.” She also said: “Don’t quit on a bad day. You don’t want your last memories of breastfeeding to be negative – so if you want to quit, wait until you have a great day of breastfeeding then stop. But, also know that if you switch to formula that you’re still #1 mom! Do whatever works. (Her oldest son) was formula fed and he’s like 90% normal.” Ha! See how honest and funny she is. I am so grateful to her for those words of advice in the early days. Her tips were so helpful and the camaraderie she provided was priceless.