Breastfeeding

As I have previously stated, I was fairly deluded about the ease I would have with breastfeeding. Before I had her, I had done as much research as I could with out actually trying things out and I had little to no input from outsiders on the how to aspect of breastfeeding. My mother didn't do it and none of the people around me had been successful enough at it to be able to give me a hand.

When we were in the hospital, I figured she wouldn't latch because she was starving and I was barely* producing colostrum. Can't blame the kid. She was hungry. The hospital staff graciously gave us several cases of the 2oz bottles of formula. It was appreciated but what I really needed was a nurse to sit down with me and tell me what to do and what to expect. One of the biggest issues I had when I got home was engorgement. No one prepared me for the agony that is engorgement. I had NO CLUE how painful and hard my boobs would get. When people ask about my recovery from birth, I tell them it was nothing compared to engorgement. At Rylee's first appointment, I tearfully asked the nurse what to do about my G-sized, rock hard extremely painful boobs. When she poked one of them with her finger, J had to physically restrain my hand from punching her in the face. I was told five different ways of handling the situation from every person I spoke to that day. Every one contradictory to the next. In the end, only the use of a good electrical double breast pump could give me any relief. This is the second piece of advice I give to all moms-to-be: Read up on engorgement be prepared for it and the best gift is a great breast pump.

Bug and I didn't get the hang of breastfeeding for awhile after she was born. We spent weeks pumping and bottle feeding and formula feeding. Whenever I felt she was "comfort" eating I would latch her on. She would get bored easily or just fall asleep, leaving me to leak all over myself. It was really hard to stick with it, to keep trying. I had several people, including her doctors, tell me I had tried and that it was ok if it didn't work. While I appreciated their sentiment, that wasn't the answer for me. Eventually her comfort-feeds turned into real feeds and she began taking the bottle less and less. By the time she was six weeks, I had managed to get her to exclusively breastfeeding. By then she was refusing the bottle and only wanted my boob. I was so happy we made it to that point I didn't care. At four months old we had thrush. Ouch! I kept at it through that and when we were both over it and still breastfeeding, I decided I had won. I was successful at breastfeeding. Anything after was cake.

I had said all along I would breastfeed until she got teeth. My poor boobs had been through so much, the thought of sharp little teeth on them made me cringe. When she was six months we had three straight nights of her nursing all night long to soothe her itching gums. I'm not good without my sleep and its hard to sleep when there is a baby itching her gums on your boob. After the third night, enough was enough. I slowly started cutting out one feeding a day and slowly started to introduce baby foods. Luckily for us our kid is a chunk and quickly adjusted to the bottle and pureed food. Now she eats as much as J some nights.

I really think the best advice I got about breastfeeding was to keep trying. It's frustrating and heartbreaking when it doesn't come easy. It is hard to remember that neither one of you have ever done it before and it takes practice. For something that comes so naturally to some, it's annoying when it doesn't come naturally to you. But it is worth the pain and the frustration. I understand that not everyone can and it's not an option for everyone but if it is, Breastfeeding is the best thing you can do for your baby. Plus, there is nothing better than looking down at a milk-drunk-breastfeeding baby that is smiling back up at you.