Y'all... Yesterday was Monday. And I forgot to post. In my defense, things have been a bit hectic here at home. We've had a bunch of orders come in for our Peaceful Birthbox and I am also prepping some to be ready for shipping for next week so that my husband can ship them out as needed while I am at the lake with my family (he's joining us part way through :-) ). We're also in the process of re-homing our dog and looking for a new one. Super emotional (and sometimes exciting process). Our current dog is lovely with adults and older kiddos, but not too keen on toddlers and we need to make a change before our son winds up with a scar. Still it's hard because he was my 'baby' before I had a human baby... ANYway, in honor of National Breastfeeding Week (which was a week ago... opps), here is my experience with breastfeeding. Mommas who have 'been there,' please share and comment below to share with mommas-to-be!! I had prepped. I had read (some of) La Leche League’s “Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.” I had watched those videos on youtube. You know the ones I am talking about (or maybe you don’t. I am pretty weird). The ‘Birth Crawl’ videos. Did you know, babies are *born* with the instinct to find your nipples and just go to town? You just make sure to do skin to skin as soon as possible after birth and give your little one some time to do the scoot. However, after my labor, which was average for a first birth but long for me, I was exhausted and weak. I hadn’t been able to eat anything during the labor and I was dehydrated. I had trouble lifting my 10lb 5 oz baby. I was afraid. If I couldn’t lift him, how could I hold him the right way to get the perfect latch so he could tell my body to start making milk? Also, one thing they don’t tell you, but I think you should know: If you tear at all during labor, you will be getting stitches immediately after birth. I am not trying to scare you, that’s just how it is and I wish someone had told me. So, here I was with my newborn son on my bare chest, legs spread in stirrups, sucking nitrous from a mask to deal with my discomfort, trying to get him to latch. I was so scared it wasn’t going to work if I didn’t keep trying *right then.* Looking back, I think I probably could (should!) have given myself a few minutes. Let my husband do some skin to skin. Let the midwife do her thing (stitches). Let the nurses weigh him and check his vitals. And then hold my son and float away to boobie town. I’ll know for next time. Anyway, within an hour of Mark being born, we had a check-in visit from the hospital’s lactation consultant and she said everything looked great. She gave us a bunch of fliers and a booklet to read over ‘when we go the chance’ and then was out the door. Another thing I wish someone had told me was how much time is spent with this little one attached to you those early days (weeks!!). I’d say 75% of our time in the hospital, he was sucking away. Maybe I was overly generous in offering (again, very anxious to ‘make it work’), but that’s how it was for us. Our first night home, he started screaming whenever he wasn’t attached. I was afraid I wasn’t making anything (hadn’t felt engorged yet and it was night Three!!). I turned to Dr. Google and *thankfully* stumbled upon KellyMom.com’s article on cluster feeding (MUST READ). Very simply: Cluster-feeding happens in conjunction with growth spurts. Babies typically have their first growth spurt between 3-6 days and when this happens, they want to nurse. All. The. Time. This is to tell your body to make more milk to meet the needs of your growing child. This knowledge was a huge relief for me. Finally: The soreness. La Leche League says that if you are ‘doing it right’, nursing shouldn’t ‘hurt.’ For me, with a baby with no lip or tongue tie and what I’d consider ‘average’ nipples, nursing *was* uncomfortable for the first week or so on and off. Even with a proper latch. It’s kind of like learning to play the guitar. Your fingers will hurt until callouses form. One thing that helped during those cluster feeding sessions was switching back and forth from side to side as often as I needed to to stay comfortable. I also avoided letting the shower stream hit me directly on my nipples (so sensitive!!!) and I used coconut oil as a moisturizer as often as needed(some babies develop a rash from this so keep an eye out!). Things did get better. With teething, there was some discomfort each time a new pair came it, but only for a week or so. Nursing in those early days is difficult. And frankly, kind of ‘thankless.’ But eventually, your baby starts to look at you while eating. And then, sometimes, they smile and milk spills out their mouth. Maybe, one day, they will even laugh so hard while nursing that milk comes out their nose (this happened to me!!). Stick with it and you will enjoy the bond that comes from this intimacy. Some parting tips:
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September 2019
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