I love breastfeeding. It just worked out so darn well for us! People acted like it had to be a battle, maybe you'd have the "gift" of milk, maybe not, so I was all ready to go to war. I took a breastfeeding class, had the number for lactation saved to my phone, joined the big breastfeeding community on livejournal to early-learn troubleshooting tips. All that stuff is a great idea, but I didn't need to be so worried, we had no issues.
Jo was a born nurser. The class I took helped a bit, because we'd watched videos of what a good latch looked like, so I remembered my teacher saying "Just make sure that baby opens her mouth open wide first! Open open open... now shove that nipple in, make sure she gets lots of it! If it's not right, use your finger to break the suction, latch off and try again. You make that baby relatch ten times if that's what it takes to get it right!"
The online communities were good too. I was afraid to post at first, because I felt sort of intimidated by all the moms who were, like, 14 months into nursing their third kid. Looking back that was silly, because breastfeeding communities love newborn questions, they're some of the most important ones we get because everyone knows those first few days and weeks can be intimidating.
Most of the moms I knew who armed themselves with a bit of knowledge first were able to breastfeed just fine. There were a few exceptions, sure... I had one friend whose baby was born very early, she struggled, I felt for her. I had another friend who saw four lactation consultants and no one could ever figure out how to get her supply up... I feel for her too! But those were the rare exceptions.
The important things to remember are just to resist supplementing with formula, nurse like crazy in the early days. And be patient after childbirth. It takes a few days for milk to come in, and that's fine because you're making colostrum and a newborn's marble-sized tummy can only a few drops of anything anyway.
Breastfeeding means you'll never be up in the middle of the night washing and fixing bottles. You'll never have to worry about what brand or type of formula your baby might be allergic too. Breastmilk is always the right temperature. You don't have to worry about overfeeding. And the best part is the nursing relationship you get with your baby. These days Jo's a crazy busy nine month old, crawling around everywhere, pulling up on the furniture, knocking down towers of blocks and cruising in laps around our coffee table. The only time she relaxes is when she's nursing... she goes from "must explore the WHOLE WORLD NOW" to "baby with my mommy" and it's just beautiful. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
This week's articles
Month Week Day Article 4 20W,0D 140 Colostrum 4 20W,1D 141 La Leche League International 4 20W,2D 142 Breast milk 4 20W,3D 143 Maternal bond 4 20W,4D 144 Ágnes Geréb 4 20W,5D 145 Viability (fetal) 4 20W,6D 146 Lunar month
| Month | Week | Day | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 20W,0D | 140 | Colostrum |
| 4 | 20W,1D | 141 | La Leche League International |
| 4 | 20W,2D | 142 | Breast milk |
| 4 | 20W,3D | 143 | Maternal bond |
| 4 | 20W,4D | 144 | Ágnes Geréb |
| 4 | 20W,5D | 145 | Viability (fetal) |
| 4 | 20W,6D | 146 | Lunar month |