So…breastfeeding…ummm, how to say this nicely…SUCKS (to
start)! And I feel like it is the one
thing that no one talks about when you are pregnant. You hear all about delivery stories, pregnant
stories, baby stories, but no breastfeeding stories.
The first two days were okay because I was in the hospital
and had help. I saw a lactation lady
(please do this if you have the chance), and she said my little guy did
great. I got this, no problem, this is a
piece of cake. Then, I got home, and Mac
decided to not sleep all day like he did in the hospital. The first two weeks were miserable. Not only was I one big raging hormone, I
basically felt like I had to nurse 24 hours a day…read that again…24 hours a
day! That is exactly what it felt like.
I didn’t use a pacifier for the first two weeks because of
nipple confusion, so I was the pacifier.
He cried (I would cry), then to the boob. He was hungry, to the boob. Basically any other reason, to the boob. I felt like I was tied down. I was never going to be able to leave the
house again! I was nursing every two
hours, but he took almost an hour to eat because of all the falling asleep, so
I started nursing, an hour later finished nursing, then in about 45 minutes to
an hour later, I started nursing again.
Not horrible right, but then came the evenings and cluster feeding. Then it really was constant. He would probably be off for about twenty
minutes, then crying, and back on again.
And I am supposed to start building my supply by pumping…when exactly!?!
I thought I had supply issues, I thought he had latching
issues, I thought everything. Then I
called the lactation consultants at Northside (these women are wonderful!!), and she told me everything I was
experiencing was normal. Really? Normal
In order to keep myself from going crazy, I started giving
myself goals. I will solely breast feed
until 4 weeks…4 weeks came, and it was easier.
I will solely breastfeed until 8 weeks…8 weeks came and went. Now, we have reached 16 weeks, and I am still
doing it. And guess what, I LOVE
it. No joke, love it J It is our quiet time together. A time when I have him all to myself. When he looks up at me while he is eating,
with those big beautiful eyes, I just melt. If he is ever crying and I can't get him to settle down (like he was after his four month shots...nothing worked, the pacifier, rocking him, waking him, nothing) I just nurse him and within seconds he is calm and quiet. I have never been unable to console my baby, and that is a good feeling. We had a horrible case of the stomach bug in our house, and while me and
Jonathan were laid up in bed for 24 hours (on different days), the little man
never even showed the first sign (I continued to feed him through my sickness),
and I think this is just another good thing about sticking with
breastfeeding. He was getting the
antibodies in the milk, and his body was building the defense before he even
had the chance to catch the bug. When it
came to being out and about, I stopped stressing about how I was going to feed
him, and now, if it is time to eat, I feed him no matter where or when. I pull out my nursing cover, and we do what
we need to do. No heating
necessary! And, since I have stopped
worrying about it, it has only gotten easier and more enjoyable. Also, did I mention the ridiculous amounts of money that it has saved me. I have only purchased two of the smallest cans of formula in four months, and my second can is still over half full. Some people would have to buy two of those cans per week!! So, I will have only spent about $30 on formula in probably 20-22 weeks! You can't beat free food :)
I now pump at work three times a day to try and keep him
just on my milk, but, here in the near future, he will probably be on one
formula bottle a day as I can’t keep up with him (he has quite the appetite)…and that is okay because he will still nurse or get breast milk in a bottle at every other feeding. Now, I actually dread the day that I am all
dried up. Talk about a change of
heart…from complete anxiety to no problem at all! For me, the pros far outweighed the cons, and it is easier for much longer than it is difficult. If you can get through the first month of
breastfeeding, you can get through anything and will be so glad you did!
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