5 Things I Wish I had Known about Breastfeeding
I’ll admit that I didn’t do a ton of research on breastfeeding when I was pregnant other than reading tiny snippets of “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding”. Part of me didn’t want to over complicate it or put too much pressure on myself. Breastfeeding is supposed to come “naturally”, right? (Ha! That’s funny.) After several months of successfully breastfeeding our son, here are the things I wish someone would have told me about beforehand.
5 Things I Wish I had Known about Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding on Demand
That means, if little man wants it, he gets it. We don’t have a concrete schedule that we stick to. Especially in the early days, it felt like I was always feeding my child. Our last day at the hospital, Weston spent the majority of his time attached to my boob. We were excited that he was eating so much and hopefully gaining some of his weight back. Then my nurse muttered two small words that would overshadow the next two weeks of my life. Cluster Feeding. What the hell is cluster feeding? This breastfeeding phenomena rocked my world so much that I devoted an entire blog post to it. You can read it here!
RELATED: Check Out my Favorite Breastfeeding Resources
Frequent Nursing Sessions
Compared to formula, breastmilk is digested very quickly. So when formula fed babies were eating every 3 to 4 hours, mine was eating every 2 (on good day). Comments like, “all he does is eat.” And, “he just ate, how could he be hungry again?” were not uncommon. But I promise people, this is totally normal and my eighteen pound 4 month old was hungry.
Related: Is your Baby Getting Enough Breast Milk?
Momma’s Milk is Precious
Everyone has heard the term liquid gold, and it’s true. At least for me it is. When friends see a bottle of pumped milk, they don’t understand why I use my breast and not that bottle. But, that bottle took time and energy and now I’m going to save it for the rare time that I want to leave the house baby free or, God forbid, have a drink. I found myself abnormally protective over my milk. I think I always had this fear that at some point, I wouldn’t produce enough. I eventually lightened up, but I still can’t be in charge of throwing old, leftover, milk down the drain.
Pretty much Everyone is going to see your Boob
I totally support women feeding their children anywhere and everywhere. In the last eight months, I’ve nursed in a restaurant, at the mall, at parties, and in front of more family members than I care to mention. Being a breastfeeding momma and supporter of feeding in public doesn’t make it any easier to whip out your boob in a crowd of people. I know, no one probably even notices that I’m doing it, but I still get that twinge of anxiety every time I have to free the nipple in front of friends, family, and strangers. So friends, just know that it’s more uncomfortable for me than it is for you.
Related: 6 Tips for Breastfeeding in Public
I Don’t Want it to End
I know that not having a schedule, feeding my child every two hours, pumping milk, freezing milk, and exposing my goodies in public doesn’t sound like fun, but I’m nowhere near ready for it to end. Breastfeeding has been one of the most positive experiences I’ve had as a mother so far. The peaceful bonding time, an excuse to take a break every few hours and relax on the couch, those big blue eyes staring up at me, and feeling like a have a freaking super power is absolutely amazing.
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Update: Since I started Coffee and Coos and really began digging into finding solutions for new moms (especially in the realm of breastfeeding), I’ve discovered Milkology. Milkology is an online video course that walks you through every phase of breastfeeding. It covers topics like milk supply, latching and positioning, and troubleshooting common breastfeeding issues (just to name a few). The entire course can be completed in 90 minutes, but you can go at your own pace and refer back to it whenever you like. I love this course and used it to brush up on all things breastfeeding before baby number two arrived. I highly recommend it for any expecting mom!
Related:
- 7 Lessons I Learned from My Lactation Consultant
- What to Expect in the First Two Weeks of Breastfeeding
- The Dream Feed – What It is and How It Can Get You More Sleep
What I Wish I had Known about Breastfeeding
DISCLOSURE: Coffee and Coos is not intended to replace the advice of a medical professional. Always consult your doctor for medical advice.
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