I am all about TMI (too much information) who doesn’t enjoy it?
Honestly? Anyways, as I had mentioned in an earlier post, breast
feeding was one of my biggest stresses and fears prior to having Nolyn.
I knew in my mind that it was something that I wanted to at least give a
shot, but didn’t set high expectations for myself because I was afraid
of failing. What was I so worried about you may be wondering?
-Not latching on
-Not having milk
-Not having the “bond” feeling that mom’s talk about
If I could have gone back I probably would have taken a breast feeding class to boost my confidence a little bit because I only used the internet as my resource. P.S. YouTube has breast feeding videos that you can watch and are actually kind of helpful once you get passed the fact that you are watching another woman breast feed on YouTube.
So there I was in the hospital and Nolyn was fresh out of the womb and had just been cleaned off and in my arms and they asked me if I wanted to try feeding her. Naturally I said yes, but in my mind I was freaking out!!! All of my fears I listed above came back haunting me. So I replayed the YouTube videos in my head and went for it…. sure enough she didn’t latch on and of course I already felt like a failure on day one as a new mom.
The nurses assured me that this is normal and that I just need to give it a little time and that I could meet with the lactation consultant in a few hours who could assist me. I tried not to stress too much and just enjoy my new bundle of joy. Then the time had passed and the lactation consultant came in to help out. I still struggled for a day or two getting her to latch on which was extremely frustrating, but eventually we got it down.
There are a few things I wasn’t prepped for with nursing a baby:
1) How massive your boobies will get when your milk first comes in. You can look in the mirror and feel like Pamela Anderson on Baywatch.
2)How terrible your nipples will crack the first 2 weeks of breast feeding. I’m not going to lie it is pretty painful. If you purchase the nipple ointment and put it on after each time you nurse it will really make a difference I promise! It’s also pretty painful when they first latch on. I would always count to 10 and then the pain would go away. A friend had told me that 2 weeks after nursing the pain will start to go away and you nipples will start to heal up and sure enough she was right!
3)How challenging it is to wake your new born up to feed. I don’t know about yall, but Nolyn was impossible to wake up! We would even put ice on her feet to wake her up and feed her. It’s a little stressful because everyone emphasizes how important it is to feel your newborn, but no one talks about how hard it is to wake them and keep them awake.
4)You milk supply can randomly go down. I had no idea that this could happen. I thought that once my milk came in I was going to be able to provide an unlimited amount of milk until I was ready to finish nursing. I would say about 3 weeks after Nolyn was born I had to start using a natural supplement called Fenugreek which actually helps your supply come back. I also drank Mother’s Milk tea which you can get pretty much at any grocery store. WARNING: It makes you smell especially under your armpits.
Well, nine months later I am still at it and it really has been an incredible experience. Prior to having Nolyn I really didn’t understand the whole bonding thing with breast feeding and my perspective has totally changed. It’s not something you can really explain, but I would say if you are able to to it don’t beat it until you try it. I’d say Nolyn is pretty happy and healthy!
-Not latching on
-Not having milk
-Not having the “bond” feeling that mom’s talk about
If I could have gone back I probably would have taken a breast feeding class to boost my confidence a little bit because I only used the internet as my resource. P.S. YouTube has breast feeding videos that you can watch and are actually kind of helpful once you get passed the fact that you are watching another woman breast feed on YouTube.
So there I was in the hospital and Nolyn was fresh out of the womb and had just been cleaned off and in my arms and they asked me if I wanted to try feeding her. Naturally I said yes, but in my mind I was freaking out!!! All of my fears I listed above came back haunting me. So I replayed the YouTube videos in my head and went for it…. sure enough she didn’t latch on and of course I already felt like a failure on day one as a new mom.
The nurses assured me that this is normal and that I just need to give it a little time and that I could meet with the lactation consultant in a few hours who could assist me. I tried not to stress too much and just enjoy my new bundle of joy. Then the time had passed and the lactation consultant came in to help out. I still struggled for a day or two getting her to latch on which was extremely frustrating, but eventually we got it down.
There are a few things I wasn’t prepped for with nursing a baby:
1) How massive your boobies will get when your milk first comes in. You can look in the mirror and feel like Pamela Anderson on Baywatch.
2)How terrible your nipples will crack the first 2 weeks of breast feeding. I’m not going to lie it is pretty painful. If you purchase the nipple ointment and put it on after each time you nurse it will really make a difference I promise! It’s also pretty painful when they first latch on. I would always count to 10 and then the pain would go away. A friend had told me that 2 weeks after nursing the pain will start to go away and you nipples will start to heal up and sure enough she was right!
3)How challenging it is to wake your new born up to feed. I don’t know about yall, but Nolyn was impossible to wake up! We would even put ice on her feet to wake her up and feed her. It’s a little stressful because everyone emphasizes how important it is to feel your newborn, but no one talks about how hard it is to wake them and keep them awake.
4)You milk supply can randomly go down. I had no idea that this could happen. I thought that once my milk came in I was going to be able to provide an unlimited amount of milk until I was ready to finish nursing. I would say about 3 weeks after Nolyn was born I had to start using a natural supplement called Fenugreek which actually helps your supply come back. I also drank Mother’s Milk tea which you can get pretty much at any grocery store. WARNING: It makes you smell especially under your armpits.
Well, nine months later I am still at it and it really has been an incredible experience. Prior to having Nolyn I really didn’t understand the whole bonding thing with breast feeding and my perspective has totally changed. It’s not something you can really explain, but I would say if you are able to to it don’t beat it until you try it. I’d say Nolyn is pretty happy and healthy!
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