From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to breast feed. I wanted to be able to give that "gift" to my baby. I imagined myself sitting on the bench in the park breast feeding, making it look easy. No one informed me that one of the first things you worry about when breast feeding is, "how do you know if the baby is getting enough?" I was told to go to the store and get a kitchen scale. A scale to weigh a dry diaper on and then a wet one to make sure the babies were taking enough. OK, that seemed easy enough.
Then you add in the logistics of it... how to position the baby is just the beginning. Once you get that, you need to get the baby to attach to your breast, which is another feat in itself. And no matter how many times you hear, "if the baby is on right, it won't hurt" they are lying... it hurts, it's weird, but thankfully, you do get used to it.
"Breast feeding is unnatural. It can tear you to shreds."--Jen, mom of 2
The next hurdle is to decide when the baby is done, sometimes they fall asleep at the breast - does that mean they are done? or does it mean they are just tired? The question looms, did the baby get enough?
The next dilemma is which breast do you put the baby on? Do you empty one breast then do the other side? Do you go halfsies on each breast? Is there a right answer? Thankfully, my first baby was babies, so not much of a dilemma for me. I did one on each breast and rotated with each feed. I even got to wear a hair tie around the bra strap that Baby A was going to feed on next.
More fun.... leaking! You leak breast milk all the time; you leak if you sleep on your belly (and after 9 months of not being able to sleep on your belly, you want to sleep on your belly). You leak when you see your baby, you leak when you hear them cry and you leak when you are weaning. To help with this there are circle maxi pads you get to put in your bra! Why didn't anyone tell me this?
And, if you aren't overwhelmed already, you get to deal with chaffed nipples and if you are truly lucky, mastitis! And the best medicine for mastitis is nursing your baby!
"I wish someone told me that nursing a monster boobie baby would make my cracked, bleeding nipples hurt more than my C-section."--Jenna, mom of 2
Honestly, I was proud of myself for sticking with breast feeding.
"Don't give up breastfeeding easily."--Holly, mom of 3
"Breastfeeding is amazing, but it's not easier [than bottle feeding]! Every single mother who had breast fed told me how easy it would be and easier than bottle feeding. They lied. It is worth the work, but not easier."--Cheryl, mom of 1
"Breast feeding is not always the best, and no one should pressure a mother into doing it."--Carrie, mom of 2
I am glad I did it, but it was far from the vision of the mom calmly sitting on the bench in the park, making it all look easy.
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