The journey of breastfeeding.. we're made to feel like it's going to be a totally easy ride. Where we snuggle into our babies and they draw milk perfectly from our breasts at every occasion. Well let me tell you, I've been on two breastfeeding journeys now, and that has not been the case for me.
So you leave the hospital with this perfect bundle, thinking you already have the perfect latch, and that your baby is feeding from you like your already a pro. You may of even done the same as me, watched numerous YouTube videos on "how to" and looked at pictures on Google of the perfect technique. There are things that are left in the shade about feeding your baby though.
Sore nipples will be the Bain of your life for the first week, and you will begin wondering if that pain is actually worse than labour, but I promise that will get better. Smear nipple cream on after every single feed and feel it's magic. It maybe also worth mentioning this part.. When your milk comes in (the average is typically 3-5 days after birth) you'll feel like overnight somebody did secret surgery and applied two breast implants, they will buldge and feel tight, but this gets better too. The first time feeding in public might feel like your committing a crime, but remember that you aren't and your doing the most natural thing in the world.. but because of social media and a select few humans who think it's wrong that's just how you are made to feel. Be continuously on the lookout for my best old pal mastitis (blocked milk duct), having dealt with it 4 times now, twice with each baby my top tip is if you suspect that you do have it, then get to the Doctor as soon as possible, and get to your nearest supermarket and buy up a batch of cabbages to stuff in your brs. It really works!
Breastfeeding is a learning curve for anybody, but there is so much help out there, you've just got to seek it, whether it's a friend who's done it before or a consultant, if you are struggling then just ask. It took me 3 days of total hell before asking anybody to help, and once I did, I felt on top of the world. Although for the first two weeks, you'll be religiously after every feed thinking "is this worth it, is it worth the pain" - I promise it gets better, I know I keep saying that but it does. It's sometimes stressful but it does.
From your first appointment you are told that "breast is best" and okay.. it may well be, but the pressures of being told that certainly rub off, and you can feel like a failure if it isn't working out for you. So I'm here to tell you that you are not a failure, and whether your child is breastfed or bottle fed, remember that you carried that human, for 9 months - there is no such thing as a failure after you've done that.
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So you leave the hospital with this perfect bundle, thinking you already have the perfect latch, and that your baby is feeding from you like your already a pro. You may of even done the same as me, watched numerous YouTube videos on "how to" and looked at pictures on Google of the perfect technique. There are things that are left in the shade about feeding your baby though.
Sore nipples will be the Bain of your life for the first week, and you will begin wondering if that pain is actually worse than labour, but I promise that will get better. Smear nipple cream on after every single feed and feel it's magic. It maybe also worth mentioning this part.. When your milk comes in (the average is typically 3-5 days after birth) you'll feel like overnight somebody did secret surgery and applied two breast implants, they will buldge and feel tight, but this gets better too. The first time feeding in public might feel like your committing a crime, but remember that you aren't and your doing the most natural thing in the world.. but because of social media and a select few humans who think it's wrong that's just how you are made to feel. Be continuously on the lookout for my best old pal mastitis (blocked milk duct), having dealt with it 4 times now, twice with each baby my top tip is if you suspect that you do have it, then get to the Doctor as soon as possible, and get to your nearest supermarket and buy up a batch of cabbages to stuff in your brs. It really works!
Breastfeeding is a learning curve for anybody, but there is so much help out there, you've just got to seek it, whether it's a friend who's done it before or a consultant, if you are struggling then just ask. It took me 3 days of total hell before asking anybody to help, and once I did, I felt on top of the world. Although for the first two weeks, you'll be religiously after every feed thinking "is this worth it, is it worth the pain" - I promise it gets better, I know I keep saying that but it does. It's sometimes stressful but it does.
From your first appointment you are told that "breast is best" and okay.. it may well be, but the pressures of being told that certainly rub off, and you can feel like a failure if it isn't working out for you. So I'm here to tell you that you are not a failure, and whether your child is breastfed or bottle fed, remember that you carried that human, for 9 months - there is no such thing as a failure after you've done that.
X
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