The Real Deal about Breastfeeding

I never knew how demanding and hard breastfeeding would be and if you read my previous post about breastfeeding you know that I was shocked to find out how demanding, frustrating and time consuming it can be. However, I was and still am determined to keep at it. But it is not easy and is a serious commitment and lots of things can happen along the way.

Let me start at the beginning. Caden latched on from the get go however, he latched on incorrectly I didn’t know any better and the lactation consultants were gone. It didn’t hurt but then again I just went through labor so a little pinch wasn’t going to bother me. Well, it turns out he hurt both my nips. So, the nurses recommended a nipple shield.

This nipple shield was great, it made him have a perfect latch and it protected my nips. The first couple weeks are rough trying to get use to breastfeeding,  At first I found out that I wasn’t feeding Caden enough. No one ever told me that I had to offer both breasts so I was just offering one and thought it was fine. He was super fussy the first couple of days, until we found out that your baby is full when he is alert, relaxed with his arms down and has a milk drunk face going on. Who knew, no one told me that.  He was a completely different baby after that. I also found out that my milk supply was low.

So we rented a hospital pump and I got some milk production supplements. For the next month I was either attached to the baby or the pump, it was a full time job. Not to mention he was the slowest eater. One night I literally sat there and fed him for 3 hours. The first and last time I ever did that, it drained me completely. But easily an hour to feed which sucks when your feeding every 2-3 hours. Right when you are done feeding, you have to start feeding again because you time it by the start of one feed to the start of another.  It’s draining to say the least I remember having a station set up on my couch with water, remotes, snacks, burp cloth, boppy pillow and would sit there on hours end feeding him. So technically it’s more then a full time job because at least with a job it ends. Breastfeeding is round the clock .. no weekend breaks and no vacations (until later when you can introduce bottles).

I continued with the nipple shield offering both breasts and about when he was 2 weeks old I went back to the lactation consultant. He was gaining weight great but because of the nipple shield Caden would have trouble latching on without it because he was searching for the extended plastic nipple. The lactation consultant told me don’t worry about it, he’s getting plenty of food and working great with the shield so continue to use it and when he gets older he’ll have no problem latching on. I was concerned because I read in many places to wean them off of the shield within the first 2 weeks. (Apparently before the shield was a lot thicker and they were worried about the babies not stimulating the breast enough for milk production, now a days the plastic is so thin this isn’t a problem) I thought well if it’s working, he’s getting enough and gaining weight why ruin a good thing .. plus it protects me; hell to the ya. So, I plan on just using it till the end.

Every thing was going great and then when he was about 5 weeks old my boobs started itching like crazy when he would fed, my nipples were bright red and itchy. It was awful, I goggled my symptoms  and I came across thrush which is basically a yeast infection in both babies and mom. It can be passed back and forth from mom to child. Yeast thrives in dark, moist, sugary places which is perfect for a babies mouth. (Great I thought).

I thought maybe it would just clear up on it’s own, so I went ahead and continued nursing and it just got worse my nipples started getting really tender and sore and nursing became down right painful. So I called my doctor and they told me to pick up some cream at the drug store and actually prescribed me for antibiotics for a mastitis. They didn’t want it to turn into one over the weekend and advised me if I got a fever or flu like symptoms to go to urgent care. Little did I know that mastitis are awful and people end up being hospitalized for it. It can become really serious. I am so glad they did, on that Saturday I was feeling fine and then come afternoon my right boob was hard as a rock which I thought just needed to be emptied it got worse as the evening went on to the point where it hurt to move. It hurt to pick up Caden it even hurt to put my arm over my head. I massaged, soaked and let Caden nurse all night and it was still not better. My whole body ached .. it sucked real bad. I just did not feel good at all. I continued to let him nurse that breast all night and by morning it was 100 times better, I don’t know if the antibiotics kicked in or what but it was so painful and I thought if this continues to happen I don’t know if I can continue.

I had no idea all this stuff could happen when you breastfeed nor did I read this in any of the books. And again I now see why people don’t breastfeed. So another bump in the road but we over came it and we’re still rocking the boob milk. I’ve gone this far and gotten over so many bumps that I’m not giving up now. Some people have asked how long I plan on breastfeeding and as of now I’m thinking about 6 months depending on when he starts eating solids. But who knows I’m going to play it by ear and see what happens.

I will say this that in the beginning I was sooo anti- formula and I hated giving him formula to supplement in the beginning when I was building my milk supply. I don’t know why, formula isn’t the devil and lots of babies thrive on it. But for some reason I just felt like I wasn’t doing my job or almost inadequate that I had to give him formula. Now my whole perspective has changed and realized I was being so silly. Formula is perfectly fine for babies and honestly it’s what works best for you and your baby. I stressed over all this stuff and just wanted to make sure I could give him breast milk however, in the end the only thing that matters is that your baby is eating and gaining weight. I now have an attitude of whatever happens happens. I’m not any less of a parent if I can’t or don’t want to go the whole 6 months. I still think breast milk is best and there are so many benefits that outweigh the bad. But it’s not the end of the world if you can’t or don’t want to. There are so many things that can go wrong and it’s not a walk in the park.

My advice for anyone planning on breastfeeding is go into it knowing that you’ll have some challenges and that the first couple weeks are going to be rough. If you keep that in mind you’ll do great and won’t be blind-sided like me. Remember this, that it does get better and easier, to a point of enjoyment believe it or not. It is a great bonding time for mother and child and it’s an amazing feeling knowing that your the one making your little one grow and thrive. And to see their big eyes looking up at you, will melt your heart

Check out this other post on her views about breastfeeding. The Truth about Breastfeeding

Do you plan on breastfeeding?

What problems have you had breastfeeding your child?