As a good friend told me while I was pregnant, breastfeeding just isn't natural. It may be what Nature intended, but that does NOT mean that it is easy or intuitive or painless. To emphasize, or painless.
I felt committed to breastfeeding from the start and feel lucky that it has gone so well. I understand that it isn't the right decision for everyone and that it may not work for everyone. I also think that even one day of breastfeeding is better than no days of breastfeeding, so it is probably worth a shot!
I took a breastfeeding class in my 3rd trimester that was helpful in becoming familiar with the lingo and such, but you can't really learn until that baby is in your arms. I also bought my pump (the Medela Freestyle), but didn't open it until we were home about a week. Pumps are expensive and non-returnable if opened, so I wanted to make sure that I would be breastfeeding.
I didn't read any books on breastfeeding, but I still find the La Leche League website and the Kelly Mom website to be very helpful if I have questions. And I do.
Some Lactation Consultants are better than others and I feel fortunate that I had a good experience with 2 out of 3 while in the hospital. And our mother-baby nurses were also very helpful. They gave me a feeding log which I still use to this day (remember people, I'm OCD). At first your memory really sucks and you need to write down numbers of wet and dirty diapers, how long baby fed and which side to start on, and when you took your pain meds. Now I also use it to write down naptimes. Always searching for patterns, you know ... (don't confuse me with the guy from A Beautiful Mind).
Ask for help if you need it. I was fortunate that I had lots of friends with experience. Also just trust that if you feel strongly about breastfeeding, something really does click at 3-4 weeks and it becomes easy and painless. Give it a chance.
3 comments:
Hi Molly-
I try to keep up with all the McKnight blogs, so I was excited to see this new one from you! If you're looking for a faithful follower, rest assured you've found her. My husband jokes that I've developed OCD with preparing for our baby, so I can completely relate to googling every topic under the sun regarding babies. My current search -- how many bottles do you need if you plan to breastfeed? Any insight on that? Speaking of breastfeeding, we took our class last night, and I really appreciated it! I was the nerd student taking as many notes as possible. So, keep up the blogging! I'll be reading, hoping to gain some insight into what will be happening when baby arrives in about 6 weeks (give or take). -Jen Christensen (Eisenbrandt)
Oooh - that baby will be here SOON! I do have some posts on bottles, so stay tuned. You will need more bottles than you would think. I had a few kinds initially to see what she would like. I quickly went from the 4 that came with my pump, to 6 more of those, to about 20 now that I am back to work. These are all the little ones, too, so soon enough I'll need big bottles! (The shopping never ends ...)
FENUGREEK!!!
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