15 Things No One Told Me About Breastfeeding

Being a mama of 5 kids, all born within the last 8 years, I have spent an unimaginable amount of hours nursing babies in the last few years.  I have nursed babies in too many locations to count - from the most comfortable of rocking chairs, to the back seat of my car, to a public bathroom (not proud of that one).  It has made me laugh and cry.  It has been the most wonderful experience ever…and also the hardest and one of the most painful.  One thing that breastfeeding does is that it gives you time to THINK - and here are some of my thoughts on what I have learned about breastfeeding.

#1:  It's hard.

I know.  You were expecting me to say how awesome it is, huh? I mean, you mostly only see those pictures of women happily rocking and breastfeeding these tiny, sweet bundles who had perfect latches as soon as they were born.  But I learned quickly with the birth of baby #1 that it can require some serious hard work and dedication.   

When my first baby, Cody, was born, there were some complications and he was a teeny, tiny 4 lb 5 oz. little guy.   As soon as he came, they whisked him away and attached him to countless tubes and monitors.  I didn't get to see him for several hours, and, despite the fact that I had told everyone in the hospital that I intended to breastfeed, they didn't allow me to nurse him until late in the afternoon the day after he was born.  By that time, of course, they had given him several bottles, so he wanted absolutely nothing to do with this working-so-hard-to-eat thing.  We were in the hospital for 8 days, and it took every hour of those 8 days to get him to latch on and actually nurse properly.  That doesn't sound too bad, does it?  Only 8 days?

Oh. My. Gosh.  It was so hard.  Of course, him being my first I was totally clueless about every aspect of it, but I am telling you, sleep deprivation and hormones coupled with a baby who won't eat and doctors telling you that they HAVE TO EAT NOW makes for one of the hardest things I have ever done.  This leads me to #2.

#2:  It hurts.

I actually heard someone say once that as long as your baby has a good latch, it should never hurt.

They lied.

Ladies, there is no way that this is not going to hurt in the beginning.  It just does.  I am talking toe-curling, can't talk to you right now, does this baby have a full set of teeth, PAIN.  And for me, with all 5 babies, it lasted about 3 weeks.  Then, all of a sudden you realize. 

Hey.  I love this.   And then….

 #3:  Despite all the hard parts, you're hooked.

Before Cody was born, I remember saying, "I am just going to see what happens.  I would like to breastfeed, but if I can't for some reason, I'm not going to worry about it."  But, friends, after just one time of getting to snuggle up to that sweet little guy and feed him, knowing that I had the best nourishment that he needed right there, I was hooked.  There was no way I was giving this up.  I was determined to make it work.   This leads me to #4….

 #4:  Lactation consultants are actually angels.

Ok, well, maybe not ACTUAL angels, but pretty darn close.  I would never have been able to nurse my first baby without the help of lactation consultants.  Those blessed ladies were right there at every feeding - tossing him around to wake him up, telling me what to do, how to hold him, what to try, how to pump, and answering about 500 million questions that I had.  And it didn't stop after the first baby.  Every. Single. Baby I have had I pestered those poor ladies with my phone calls and questions.  You wouldn't think one could come up with that many questions by baby #5, but trust me…you can.   Every baby is different and so is nursing them!   All that to say, lactation consultants are just plain amazing.


#5:  You suddenly feel like Superwoman when you set your baby on a scale.

There is just something about knowing that every ounce your baby gained came from YOU.  All of that hard work, the 23 out of the 24 hours of the day you spent nursing (ok slight exaggeration here, but I am telling you some days it seemed pretty close) - it all pays off when you see that chubby little baby smiling up at you from that scale.  You just think…."Wow.  I did that." 

#6:    God makes us sit down for a reason.

I cannot count how many times I have been super busy and thought, "Gosh, it would be so much easier if someone else could feed him/her a bottle right now"….and then I sit down.  And I realize….I needed this.  I needed to sit.  I needed to rest.  I needed to snuggle my baby.  I needed to relax.   I needed to SLOW DOWN.   I really think that God designed it this way because moms DO need to rest - especially at the beginning, newborn, crazy-tired stage.    He knows we have a million things to do - the list never ends - and if we weren't MADE to sit down - we would probably just keep on going and never take time to rest and just enjoy this precious gift.  God knew we needed time to love and snuggle that baby as much as that baby needs that time to be loved and snuggled by Mama.  There have been so many times I have just felt so thankful that I am the ONE who can feed my sweet baby - because I just love that time with him/her.

#7:  You look in your fridge/freezer several times a day just to peek at your milk supply because it is just SO. COOL.

This especially applies to working mamas.  I worked outside the home full-time while nursing my first two babies, and I remember coming home and whipping out this bag of milk to show JD (my husband), saying, "Look at this!!!  I got ___ oz. today!!  Isn't that so cool?"  While he never got nearly as excited as I did, he knew it was my way of taking care of our babies even while I had to be away from them.  My breaks and lunches filled with fun conversations with co-workers had been exchanged for sitting alone in my classroom (I was a teacher) listening to the whoosh-whoosh of my pump.  And for all that hard work I was so proud of every ounce.   I have heard breastmilk called liquid gold, and I can tell you, that is honestly how I felt about it.

 

#8.  Plugged ducts and mastitis stink.  Need I say more?

This one has been a constant plague for me.  As it turns out I am one of those lucky moms who tends to get this really often.   With my 6-month-old that I am currently nursing, I was getting a plugged duct about 1-2 times a week until I discovered Sunflower Lecithin (recommended by my awesome lactation consultant, of course) a few weeks ago.   That has helped TREMENDOUSLY.  Read more about what I have done that has helped with this here.  

I do want to add, though, that even through the pain of mastitis and plugged ducts over and over (and it really is miserable), I have never thought of quitting nursing before my year mark that I personally go for.  I only say that to help you see how truly wonderful it is if you are reading this and just considering breastfeeding.  It is too awesome to give up - totally worth the occasional pain that these problems can cause.    

#9:  Nursing covers are a pain.

Ok.  Seriously.  Picture a 90 degree day.  Now snuggle a sweaty, squirmy little baby up to you.  Now throw a BLANKET over the top.  Ugh.  Who wants to eat with a blanket over their head anyway????  I have tried some of the fancy, cute nursing covers and have hated every one of them.   But I also know that when in public, I personally need to be covered while nursing.  With baby #4, a friend introduced me to some swaddle blankets that are PERFECT for nursing covers.  They are super soft and lightweight and I absolutely love them.  My favorite brand is SwaddleDesigns, and I got them at Target.  Can't say enough about them.  Wish I had 20 of them.  Use them as burp rags, blankets for covers, etc.  A great size for covering babies while nursing as they are 46"x46". 

This is a picture of little Paul on his SwaddleDesigns Blanket.  There is always one near!

#10:  Tinted Car Windows Are Sometimes See-Through.

Just want to throw this one out there…in some lights apparently it is super easy to see into a back seat.  So when you park somewhere to hop into the back seat to feed a screaming infant and you are in a hurry, make sure there is not a handful of youngsters in the car next to you before you yank your shirt up/down.  The sun might just let them see more than what you had anticipated.  Whoops.

#11:  Your style may change.

Suddenly, when you get dressed in the morning you are not so much worried about what looks cute as much as what is easiest to nurse in.  Comfort and ease, folks.  That is my motto.

#12: Breastfeeding can sometimes feel like a workout.    

Enjoy the snuggly newborn nursing, ladies, because pretty soon that sweet little bundle is going to be throwing punches.  Always for me it happens around 5 months - they suddenly feel like they have to see the world - while still latched on.  They discover your hair.  They punch you…HARD.  They take 2 swallows and then turn to giggle at siblings.   And best yet…they get TEETH and want to try those out.  Fun times.

But these "workout" sessions can also be some of the sweetest.  You get to watch them discover new things and look up at you and smile.  Seriously - that is just the best thing ever.

 #13:  Knowing how great breastfeeding is for baby is such a stress reducer.

I feel so much better knowing that my baby is as well protected health-wise as he/she could possibly be because I am nursing.  For me, it just takes away so much of the stress when it comes to cold and flu season, etc.  I know I am doing all that I can, and that just makes me feel so much better. 

 #14:  Trying to avoid on-demand feeding is too demanding.

Anyone who knows me can tell you - I am not a "scheduley" person.   I don't have set times for pretty much anything, and I am quite frequently late.  That being said, none of my babies have been on "feeding schedules".   I tried it.  I listened to someone who told me that babies should not eat more frequently than every 2 hours.  And so, often, with baby #1, I held him screaming for an hour until I was allowed to feed him again.  Then I realized. 

This is dumb.   And it is so much more stressful for both of us.

I know that I am sometimes hungry and thirsty at various intervals throughout the day - not set times - and I think that my baby is, too.   I don’t want to "hold him off" if he is thirsty or hungry.  So - what works best for me - is to just go with the flow, especially in the early, tiny days.  Eventually we get to the point where we are on a schedule   - it just happens that way as they grow.  But until then - we just breastfeed wherever baby is hungry and whenever he needs to.  It just works for us.

 

#15:  You become so comfortable with nursing it seems weird when others are uncomfortable.

I could nurse anywhere, anytime.  It doesn’t really faze me anymore.  Walking through a grocery store, at someone else's house…I would even nurse in the church pew if I thought it wouldn’t offend people.  The thing is - when I breastfeed I am not exposed for the world to see.  As a matter of fact, I am so covered when I am nursing that people see LESS of me when I am nursing than when I am not.  But some people are just really uncomfortable with it - even when you are under a blanket.  It's like they can't handle what they know is going on UNDER the blanket.  *Gasp*  They do that thing where they look anywhere but at you.  Even when they are talking to you.  It is so weird.   There was a lady who had about half a shirt on in the mall one day who even did that.  I wanted to scream, "I SEE MORE OF YOU THAN YOU COULD POSSIBLY SEE OF ME!!!" 

Oh, well. 

 

I knew so little about nursing when I started out, and I hope this list helps encourage some other new moms that read this.  Know that the beginning is hard - but so worth it, so hang in there.  Mastitis and plugged ducts can be discouraging, but there are things you can do that help.  For every hard part about breastfeeding, there are a 10 other wonderful things about it that make it worth every second.  Most importantly, it is a way that we can selflessly give our baby the thing he/she needs most to be healthy and thrive and get off to a great start - just how God designed it.  I marvel at His wonderful design!

Tips For Dealing With Recurrent Plugged Ducts and Mastitis

*I am not a doctor, and I don't even play one on TV.  These are just things that were recommended by my lactation consultants that have helped me!

1. Get rid of tight-fitting bras or bras with underwire.

2. Get as much sleep as possible.  (I always find this one funny, and quite impossible with a new baby).

3.  Drink lots of water.

4.  When your breast gets that familiar bruised/painful/or hard/blocked feeling, try these things:

             -Soak in a hot bath, or apply moist heat to the affected area.

-Immediately nurse baby, and then pump just to make sure that he emptied the breast       completely.

-While nursing/pumping, massage affected area to try to release any blockages.

5.  Use Sunflower Lecithin to resolve issues and help prevent this from happening again.  I take this kind  and I take 1 - 1200 mg capsule 3x a day.   This has helped me so much.

Hope these things help!  Feel free to email me if you have more questions - I don't know if I can answer them, but I can try!