I knew while I was pregnant that I wanted to at least try to breastfeed. I knew it wasn't for everyone or even some moms weren't capable of breastfeeding, but I at least told myself to give it a shot. Even reading on HOW to breastfeed and how the whole thing works I found it confusing. I felt like I read SO many different opinions on this and that! Can someone please just write out an exact HOW TO step by step!? Well little did I know, it's just not that easy.
Love: I've said this in a past post, but the moment I fell in love with breastfeeding was minutes after Harbor was born and when she latched for the first feed. Something inside of me felt at ease. I felt like my body knew what to do, my sweet baby girl knew what to do and in that very moment nothing else mattered.
Hate: Just hours after Harbor was born my nipples KILLED. This whole cluster feeding thing was confusing and oh so painful! I started to bleed and that was my first moment of, "I don't think I can do this." A nurse told me to try using a nipple shield to help with the pain and it made a huge difference! I definitely would recommend using one to new moms who are in a lot of pain while nursing, but make sure you start to feed without the nipple shield here and there to try and get back to eventually nursing without one.
Love: To be home with a newborn, taking in all of the snuggles and knowing you're giving your baby the nutrition he/she needs is simply amazing.
Hate: I absolutely loved taking the time out of everyday to nurse, but wow I had no idea just how much time would be spent doing it! Breastfeeding is time consuming and a commitment. A newborn feeds A LOT. I remember at some points I just felt like I couldn't get anything done! I admit it made me feel overwhelmed. I was nursing my newborn on demand, but at the same time was surviving off no sleep, needed to shower and felt like all I was doing was sitting with my breasts out nursing! I didn't read anything about this part.
Love: While nursing it is just such a rewarding feeling. One of my favorite things during it (besides the snuggles) is when Harbor would look up at me with her big blue eyes. It was our bonding moment and I felt grateful.
Hate: Pumping. Not a fan. The first time I got all hooked up to pump I just felt like a big cow. I pumped obviously when I needed to, but it's really not my thing. I give mad props to the ladies that exclusively pump! I don't think I would be able to do it.
THE WORST!
Love: Do you know how many calories breastfeeding burns?! On average 300-500 calories a day. I'll take all the help I can get!
Hate: Mastitis. A horrible horrible thing. I ended up getting mastitis 4 times and it was so painful! Listen to your body and make sure you go in to see your doctor.
We did supplement with formula (to help Harbor gain weight), but I am so glad I stuck with it and kept breastfeeding through the ups and downs. I did set a "goal" for myself to nurse Harbor until her first birthday. I do feel like setting this "goal" helped me push through it. The last time I got mastitis was when she was about 9 months old and I had to tell myself, "3 more months. You can do this!"
When Harbor was 11 months old we needed to buy more bottles so we purchased a new fast flow type and of course Harbor loved them! Well, to my surprise she loved her bottles so much that she did NOT want to breastfeed. It turned into me pretty much forcing her and it was awful.
One day instead of latching Harbor bit me and she bit me hard! Soon each feed turned into just biting and I absolutely couldn't handle that. Just like that, Harbor was done breastfeeding. I was kind of shocked! I had to pump a couple times to relieve my boobs a bit, but then about 3 days later I wasn't in pain anymore and that was that!
It's funny because I admit I had so many moments of being like, "Okay, this is it. I think I'm ready to stop breastfeeding," but once I went a full 24 hours of not nursing it was weird! I was kind of sad. That was the last time I would ever nurse my baby Harbor. It's just kind of funny how you go through different emotions!
Even though I nursed Harbor for 11 months and was just shy of reaching my 12 month "goal" I felt proud of myself. I am so glad I gave breastfeeding a chance, for sticking through it after multiple times of getting mastitis, for sometimes feeling like I had no clue if I was doing it all right and for remembering I was blessed to be able to breastfeed and to enjoy it. It was an amazing journey!
We did supplement with formula (to help Harbor gain weight), but I am so glad I stuck with it and kept breastfeeding through the ups and downs. I did set a "goal" for myself to nurse Harbor until her first birthday. I do feel like setting this "goal" helped me push through it. The last time I got mastitis was when she was about 9 months old and I had to tell myself, "3 more months. You can do this!"
When Harbor was 11 months old we needed to buy more bottles so we purchased a new fast flow type and of course Harbor loved them! Well, to my surprise she loved her bottles so much that she did NOT want to breastfeed. It turned into me pretty much forcing her and it was awful.
One day instead of latching Harbor bit me and she bit me hard! Soon each feed turned into just biting and I absolutely couldn't handle that. Just like that, Harbor was done breastfeeding. I was kind of shocked! I had to pump a couple times to relieve my boobs a bit, but then about 3 days later I wasn't in pain anymore and that was that!
It's funny because I admit I had so many moments of being like, "Okay, this is it. I think I'm ready to stop breastfeeding," but once I went a full 24 hours of not nursing it was weird! I was kind of sad. That was the last time I would ever nurse my baby Harbor. It's just kind of funny how you go through different emotions!
Even though I nursed Harbor for 11 months and was just shy of reaching my 12 month "goal" I felt proud of myself. I am so glad I gave breastfeeding a chance, for sticking through it after multiple times of getting mastitis, for sometimes feeling like I had no clue if I was doing it all right and for remembering I was blessed to be able to breastfeed and to enjoy it. It was an amazing journey!
No comments:
Post a Comment