My background: I am eight years older than my only sibling; I remember my mother nursing him, going to La Lache League meetings and how great it was for them to have quite time together. I grew up thinking babies are breastfeed until they are ready to self wean (2-3 years old). I was shocked to find that most of my friends were not going to even try to breastfeed, and even ones that did might only do it for a few weeks. This breaks my heart. I think moms are missing out on something wonderful. It is awesome to be able to comfort your baby this way, help them sleep, provide the best nutrition for them, and do it while relaxing!
1) Postpartum:
We are creatures of hormones. All are logical, rationale thoughts still come down to connections in the brain that are controlled by hormones. Postpartum can be really tough, the hormones that help maintain pregnancy come to a screeching halt and we are not only dealing with lack of sleep, a new baby and a new way of life, but hormones. Breastfeeding helps to regulate these hormones. When you let down you get a big dose of Oxytocin (the love hormone). This helps you to bond with your baby and calms you down! It is one of the best ways to relax after a stressful day/night.
2) Some Pain:
My daughter latched on within an hour of her natural childbirth (yep no meds). She took to it like a fish to water. We never had any latch issues or concerns about her getting enough. Still my nipples were tender. It didn't hurt to nurse but the initial first 5 seconds - OUCH! I would grind my teeth, clench my jaw and brace for the pain. But really within a few seconds it would be over and I would then try to relax my jaw and body while she nursed. This only lasted a week or two and then once my nipples stretched out and toughened up there was no more pain. Once you get through the first few weeks, the hard part is over.
3) Let Down:
I remember when I started to feel the let downs - it was like ZING! Electric, kinda weird feeling, not bad but not good, sorta like a relief but if she wasn't nursing it's like I could feel my breasts swelling! So I started to have to wear nursing pads. I couldn't use the cloth ones, I'd soak them in minutes. I had to use the disposable ones, and I like Lansinoh the best. Some of the other ones had a smell to them. I get these on Amazon in a 4 pack. I still use them but not as often, I can use the cloth ones now, but it took me 9-10 months before I could.
4) Sleep:
I love to sleep. I love napping and getting up late! This was a big concern for me while I was pregnant. How on earth was I going to get sleep. Nighttime, can be really hard for new moms. Babies have to eat often (every 2-4 hours) and they don't know that nighttime is for sleeping. I really think nursing and co-sleeping helped me get through the first few months and I know I got lots more sleep than my non-co-sleeping and non-nursing friends. I often say that I can handle almost anything after some sleep! Well rested moms make much better moms!
When she would wake up at night to nurse, I was right there and I could get her nursing and we could both fall asleep while she drank. There were times in the night that my daughter would wake to nurse and my husband would put her on me and I didn't even wake up enough to notice. I used a puddle pad on the bed for several reasons: To catch any diaper leaks, spit ups, and me leaking. (Even now I have a puddle pad on the bed to catch my leaks - she doesn't spit up anymore and diaper leaks don't really happen.) There are even studies out now to show that co-sleeping is safer and better for babies!
Now there were some nights that she just didn't want to sleep. But she would swing with the hairdryer on! I could catch a few winks on the couch while she swang. Once she got her days and nights straight we could easily get a good solid 6-8 hours.
5) Lifestyle:
I remember asking my mom about breastfeeding and she would always say, "It's a mothering style." I didn't get it until I became a breastfeeding mother. It is a mothering style, and I think a much easier style than bottle-feeding. I have lots of girl friends that bottle feed and most of their complaints are about sleeping. I really don't have any issues sleeping. Naps are super easy, just nurse and then there is a magic 7-10 minute window where you can put them down without waking them up! When she was little I would just hold her and putting her down could be tricky, but as she got older (3-4 months) it got easier to put her down. Even now she is 11 months, and she just woke up 30 minutes into the nap, I went in and nursed her back to sleep. I don't know what you'd do if you weren't nursing. Guess it would just be a short nap.
I am an engineering, type A personality. I love schedules and routines, but with babies comes constant change! I am a much more relaxed mother because I breastfeed. Breastfeeding helps me go with the flow and to enjoy each moment and each phase (they change so quickly). I can be in the present because I’m not worrying about how to get her to nap, or how many ounces she had today or what she did or didn't eat..
Nursing is a way of life that I highly recommend. But it does have a price. I can't consume anything I feel like. Foods have not affected my daughter but what I drink sure does. I was on a lemonade kick drinking about 2-3 glasses for several days, until I noticed diaper rash. I stopped drinking the lemonade and the rash went way in a day. Opps! And almost any alcohol will get her fussy. I also can’t wear anything I want if we are going to be out all day.
6) Nursing Tanks:
I live in these. A girlfriend of mine gave me two, and I found them to be the most convenient for nursing, day or night. They hold the pads in place, I don’t have to lift my shirt, so my tummy stays covered up. I get them at Target and the cheapest I’ve seen them on sale is for $14.99, but they are worth every penny! The only issue I have was sleeping in them in the winter time, my shoulders would get cold, but I would wear my hoodies to bed or I had a light weight robe.
7) Loosing Weight:
Let me just put it out there. I gained 60 pounds. That is lots of weight! I really thought I was doing good only put on 5 pounds the first trimester and then by the third trimester I was packing on the pounds. I followed the Bradley Diet and was trying to get 80-100 grams of protein in a day. I was eating well, but maybe I had too much ice cream (next time around I’m going to lay-off the ice cream). Even with all that weight gain by 10 months I was back to within 5 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight. I wasn’t exercising or dieting like crazy, just eating healthy and running after my kid. So I’m here to tell you, the weight does come off and breastfeeding helps! You have to eat when breastfeeding, if you don’t your body will tell you. Weight-watchers recommends 500 more calories a day, and you get it by 2 servings of fruit and milk. But honestly during life change I CRAVE chocolate, so I did have my share of brownies, and the weight still came off.
8) Healthy:
This is a huge worry off my mind. I have girl friends that have sick kids all the time. I know that my baby is getting antibodies from nursing, and let me tell you, we just aren’t sick. We’ve gotten 2 colds in 11 months, and everyone in our house was sick at the same time.
9) Food:
Around 6 months I started to expose her to food. She was so not interested. The advise I’d get from LLL mothers, was she will let you know when she is interested. I kept giving her things we were eating, and she would just spit them out. She was still gaining weight and nursing well, so I wasn’t too worried. At 11 months (on the day!) she ate. I mean chowed down a quesadilla. Now I have to remember to pack a snack for her, but really nursing is still her main source of nourishment and it’s nice not having to worry about how much of what she is getting.
10) Teething:
Around three months she started to experiment. She was nipping at me when she wasn’t super hungry. So I stopped trying to nurse her if she wasn’t really ready to eat. At this time I found if I put my hand near her face (ready to detach at the first sign of biting) she was a more polite nurser. Luckily (like most things) this changed quickly and after a week or so the experimentation stopped. Then the real teething began for us at 7 months and she would bite because her gums hurt. I would firmly set her on the floor and tell her “no bite.” She would cry a little, and I would pick her up, but not nurse again for several minutes. Even at 11 months (and 6 teeth later) she will still sometimes nip at me, and I still set her down and tell her “no bite”, but this is a rare occurrence and is really not an issue.
11) Homeopathy:
This stuff works! Especially the teething tabs, they help calm the baby and take away some of the pain. I use it for everything. Check out the website: http://www.1-800homeopathy.com/ I also use the baby tabs for any tummy issues, and Arnica Montana for any bumps and falls. So far that hasn’t been anything nursing and arnica can’t fix!
12) Support Groups:
I go to La Lache League meetings. It's kind funny how much I don't have in common with the women at LLL except for how we raise our children. But I go to hear advise from other breastfeeding mothers. It’s so nice to feel like what you are doing isn’t crazy, that it is what the majority of mothers do around the world and it is best. Before I was a mother, I used to think it was weird how the mom’s would just whip out their boobs and kids would drink. Sexual is not the right word, but I can’t think of another besides weird. I think it’s our society and how they have sexualized breasts. But now that I am a nursing mother, I can tell you there is nothing weird about it. It is comforting, and closeness that can only be found through nursing. Because of this aspect of our relationship, I am more in tuned to my daughter and her needs.
