The topic of breast feeding. Its an easy topic for some and then a rather rough emotional one for others. I am the rough emotional one and would like to share my experience with you and some tips that should make it easier for those who decide to try. A list will follow after the story
My Breastfeeding Story
Once I found out I was pregnant I knew right away that breastfeeding was what I wanted to do. I had breastfed my first daughter for 3 months and if it wasn't for the awful milk protein allergy I would have continued. I did not breastfeed with my second just because of my experience with my first, but I was determined to make it the third time around. Now I have had a breast lift in the past and had some sensitivity already and knew there was a chance my supply could be affected.
My daughter was born and right away after her birth we started breastfeeding. Yay.. I was super excited. Shortly though her latch was becoming super shallow. I'm guessing due to her tiny mouth but by the second day my nipples were cracked and I was crying at every feeding. Now on the second day babies start to cluster feed every 2 hours and they do not stop. She was on my breasts for over 22 hours non stop feeding. I had no sleep and was totally exhausted and was not ready for that at all, but I continued to push through.
On the fourth day we were at home and the pain just got worse. I tried ice packs, breast milk and lanolin, nothing helped. So I decided to start pumping and give my nipples a break. I pumped for about 3 days and would try and put her back on the breast but every time she would just latch so shallow and take in just the nipple. I couldn't take the pain anymore. So after only 1 week of breastfeeding I became an "exclusive pumper". This truly was upsetting for me. I felt like a failure and I cried for about a week. Not that the hormones didn't help the matter at all. I especially would cry when I would spill some milk. Hint the term " crying over spilled milk" I dropped one 6 ounce bottle on the floor and cried for an hour. Then the next day another 4 ounce bottle and cried another hour. My husband thought it was funny and then quickly realized it truly upset ted me, so he tried to console me. I became very upset with pumping, I truly hated it. Trying to bottle feed an infant for about 30 minutes, then burp them and change them every 2-3 hours and then pump for about 30 minutes on top of that became exhausting. So I decided to start dropping some sessions after my milk had come in. At the time I was over producing anyways. So I started with my midnight session then after a week I dropped my 6 am session.
Two weeks into exclusive pumping I had already had multiple clogged ducts and ended up getting mastitis at 3 weeks in. Boy was this pumping getting tough. I then decided to start dropping more sessions. Right around this time my baby started having mucus in her poo. So the doctor thought it was milk protein allergy and recommended a special formula. So we started introducing formulas. We had gone through 3 before we had very little mucus. At this point she had extremely horrible gerd and I then decided to go on a dairy soy free diet and continue to pump and give her half my milk and half formula each day. I was pumping at that point only 3x a day and my amount per session had dropped. I tried increasing my supply but due to her reflux and my crazy schedule just could not keep up with eating the right amount of food i'd need to make more milk. So I decided at 3 months in to just stop pumping all together.
Now through all of this chaos I learned a lot of things that had I had known prior would have helped me tremendously. So below I am going to share them with you. I am not a professional at all and these are just suggestions.
- Be prepared to pump: invest in a really good pump even if it cost you more. Most insurances cover a pump but you are limited on what they do cover. I went with the Medela but after seeing the Ameda would have chose that one instead because it was better for exclusive pumpers. If your little one only prefers one breast or doesn't fully empty your breast you will need to pump after so a pump is necessary. Get a portable pump if going to pump only. Because those darn tubes are really short and you will be confined to a small area if you get the mobile one you can at least move around while pumping.
- Make a designated pumping station: This I did do and it helped me a lot. Get a spot where you will be comfortable. Mine was in my bedroom and I used my nightstand to put the pump on.
- Make a pumping basket: I also did this and you will add to it as your needs go up. I started with my breast pads, extra sterilized storage bottles, hand sanitizer, napkins, tv remote and snacks.
- Go to a lactation meeting before due date: This was something I never got around to doing and thought because I had researched a lot of other blogs that I would be ok. But no, I suggest going and watch the other moms. How do they hold the babies what are their tricks to getting the baby to latch. How long do they nurse, etc. Because once baby is here it will be very difficult for you to get out of the house.
- Store up on food: This I did not do because my husband promised to go food shopping every week, but the amount of food I needed to eat once pumping was ridiculous it would have helped us financially if I had stored up on the foods a couple months before. Here is a list of foods I suggest: Oatmeal, crackers, granola bars, frozen meals, cereal, bagged almonds, etc. You need to eat at least 500 more calories a day so you need to eat and you need to drink a lot of water. I f you don't you will not make a lot of milk and can affect your supply tremendously. So eat and stock up on what you will like to eat.
- Hire a cleaning company: I highly suggest this and I did not invest in this until 2 months after my daughter was born and the dust was so bad that it was affecting her and I was going nuts trying to clean everyday and getting nothing done. We found a local company to dust, clean our bathrooms and floors all green cleaning as well for $60 a week. Its well worth it for me she even makes our beds and folds any clothes that are out..
- Get a designated daily helper: This is the biggest help and I know is the hardest to do.Make sure you have help the first 2 days in hospital even if its to just change diapers because you will be feeding that baby round the clock. My hubby had agreed to be mine, but after a week he ended up having more side jobs and not being here at all.Plus he first 2 nights in hospital he could not stay awake past midnight. Which I was paging my nurse every hour for water and snacks. She even had to feed me twice. lol Now the helper is not for the baby, but for you. My mom got mad at me because she came one day to help and wanted to take the baby, but I wanted to try and breastfeed her and needed her to help get me food and water while I was breastfeeding . Now if you are breastfeeding this is a must because you will be feeding the baby with no free hands and will need to be eating a lot especially while feeding the baby. So make sure your helper knows what they will be doing. I will never forget my hubby and daughter left one day while I was breastfeeding and he tried calling me and I could not reach my phone or my water. I did not want to taker her off because it was hard getting her to latch properly to begin with. Man was it stressful.This will be the key to you getting pass the first month. If my hubby had did what he promised I probably would still be breastfeeding or at least pumping. lol
- Get as much sleep as you can the last 3 weeks of your pregnancy: This is crucial and very necessary for breastfeeding success. I know those last weeks are full of anticipation which makes sleeping hard, but get sleep because if your going to breastfeed it is exhausting and taxing on you physically. I did not do this and my hubby was not much help in this department as he works a very physically exhausting job which leaves him exhausted by 10 pm and I was left alone to fend for myself while having had no sleep the week before I gave birth especially after giving birth. I gave birth totally natural and was exhausted after and did not get any sleep............
Thank you for visiting and I pray this helps you.....
God bless,
Lea
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