Throughout history, breastfeeding seems to cycle in and out of popularity. Presumably breastfeeding started with the first baby, and in ancient times was the only option a mother had for nourishing her baby. However, somewhere along the way breastfeeding came to be looked at as a practice for the lower classes. Instead, the wealthy often hired wet nurses to nurse their children. This practice lasted until the bottle was introduced in the early 20th century. When my mother was pregnant with me she was discouraged from breastfeeding by my father and many of those around her. My father was not too keen on me being tied to my mother’s breast. I guess that he thought this would hinder her (and maybe him) from having a full social life after baby. When I became pregnant, I felt that there was pressure on the other end of the spectrum. If you do not want to breastfeed, and are brave enough to say so out loud; you can often feel judged. I am a big believer that moms should support each other and should not be so quick to judge others. Motherhood is the hardest job, especially during the first few weeks and months of a baby’s life. Women need the support of others in their same situation, and not the judgement that they so often receive.
With that being said, this post is about why I chose to
breastfeed. I hope to outline to you my thought process when deciding to
breastfeed. I also hope to shed some light on what that first month of
breastfeeding is really like. I don’t want to scare anyone away, but I do want
to be honest.
Why I Chose to Breastfeed Baby P
1.
Bonding
When I was doing my research on
breastfeeding in the early stages of my pregnancy, I read a lot about how
breastfeeding helps you bond with your newborn baby. I remember feeling
slightly skeptical of how breastfeeding could really bond you closer to your
baby than motherhood in general. Is that to say that a mother who exclusively
formula feeds her baby will not be as bonded with her child? I think not. Does
it mean that her child will be less bonded with her? I also think not!
What I will say is that
breastfeeding does require an incredible amount of closeness with your baby on
a whole other level than bottle feeding. In the first days of your baby’s life
you will feed them on demand. It can seem around the clock. What I found, once
breastfeeding was well established, was that I yearned for that time with my
child. As good as it felt to sometimes get a break from Baby P (if only for my
nipple’s sake), I found myself counting the hours till it was time for her next
feeding. I fell in love with her scent, her warmth, and the sound of her sweet
wheezing as she nursed at my breast. Therefore, I am no longer so skeptical.
I have also read that babies who
have been exclusively breastfed will wake more throughout the night when their
mother is away from them during the day. They do this in order to get in that one on one
breast time. This seems like a good indicator that it creates a strong bond between
baby and Mom. I do not doubt that
breastfeeding leads to a strong bond between mother and child, but I do not
think that not breastfeeding will mean that the bond is any less strong.
2.
Immunities and overall health of the child
There are countless studies
confirming that breast milk can help reduce childhood illness. This is a fact,
and not something that should be overlooked. For me, this was the number one
reason that I wanted to breastfeed Baby P.
I was formula fed. I was also a
very sickly baby. I had multiple ear infections that resulted in two sets of
tubes. I still get ear infections. I also had gastrointestinal issues that have
followed me ever since. I am not saying
that the sole reason is because I was not breastfed. I am not even saying that
they are related. However, when I thought about my unborn child, I thought that
I would do anything to save her from the possibility of having these same
issues. If breastfeeding her for 3,6, 9, or even 12 months could prevent pain for her,
then I would certainly bite the bullet. It seems like a small price to pay for
the comfort of your child. This was my line of thinking.
3.
Benefits to the mother
Studies have shown benefits to the
mother when breastfeeding. Perhaps the most awesome benefit is that it helps
your uterus return to it’s pre-pregnancy size much quicker. This means that it
will also help you lose that pregnancy weight and get your sexy back! I should
mention that this is not a reason alone to breastfeed. I have heard many a
friend say that they wanted to breastfeed just to lose the weight. What they
don’t realize is that breastfeeding is really rough. If this is the only reason
you are doing it, then I fear that you will be setting yourself up for failure.
There is also evidence to suggest
that breastfeeding reduces the mother’s chances of getting breast cancer. I
think we can all agree that this is a win-win situation. If it lowers the risk,
then that is certainly a plus in my opinion.
Financial Reasons
I will never say that I chose to breastfeed Baby P because I wanted to save money, but this is the reason that my hubs got on board with the plan. He was not always so excited about the thought of me being tied down to the baby to the extent that breastfeeding requires. However, now he is all about it. When he saw how much cheaper this baby was then my stepson (formula fed), he was very supportive of my feeding plan.
Financial Reasons
I will never say that I chose to breastfeed Baby P because I wanted to save money, but this is the reason that my hubs got on board with the plan. He was not always so excited about the thought of me being tied down to the baby to the extent that breastfeeding requires. However, now he is all about it. When he saw how much cheaper this baby was then my stepson (formula fed), he was very supportive of my feeding plan.
The Truth About the First Month of Breastfeeding
Here is the
awful truth; Breastfeeding is HARD. I mean, it is really hard! It is especially
rough in the first few days. Here is why. You are exhausted after just giving
birth, you are inexperienced, your baby is inexperienced, and your milk has not
come in. All of these reasons are reasons that many mothers stop breastfeeding
before they even leave the hospital. Here are some things that you can expect
in the first few days and weeks of breastfeeding:
1.
You nipples will be sore, and I mean SORE.
They will get dry. They might
crack and even bleed. It will get to the point that the thought of letting your
newborn suck on them will bring a tear to your eye, and actually letting them
nurse will bring them streaming down your cheeks. Here is the good news, you
get used to it. Once your mature milk comes in, baby doesn’t have to suck so
hard to get their meal. Then, you start to feel some relief.
How do you bide the time until the
milk comes in? Buy some nipple cream and use ice packs or heating pads
depending on which feels better for you, Always remember that it is totally and
completely okay to cry.
2.
Your baby will lose weight.
This fact was very hard for me
while in the hospital. My nurse made a huge deal about how Baby P had lost 7%
of her birth weight (they like you to stay under 5%). Here is the scoop—all
babies lose weight while in the hospital. Also, since the baby weighs such a
small amount. Just an ounce could be the difference between 5 and 7%.
Therefore, I shouldn’t have been too worried. I was almost pressured to give
Baby P formula because of the nurse’s remarks, and for nothing. Within 7 days
of birth, P had regained all of her weight!
So what do you do? Stick to your
guns! Once you get home, start to watch your baby’s output—count their dirty
diapers. At four days old, your baby should have 3 to 4 dirty diapers and
around 5 wet diapers a day. This is after your milk has come in. If your milk
has not come in by 7 days postpartum, then you should contact your doctor and
consider some kind of supplementation for your baby. There are some women whose
milk just never really comes in.
3.
You will feel like you are nursing all the time
In truth, you kind of are! In the
first three weeks you should feed your baby when they are hungry. This does not
mean waiting until they are crying. Early signs of hunger include lip smacking,
rooting, and hands near and in the mouth. In my case, Baby P naturally wanted
to nurse about every 2 ½ to 3 hours. I knew that I wanted to get her on a
schedule pretty quickly, so this was perfect for me. Starting at week 4 I
worked on getting her to follow my schedule. I woke her in the morning at a
time I decided on, and she ate every 3 hours throughout the day.
So how many times will you feed a
day in the first few weeks? 8-12 feedings. Until your milk comes in, try to get
your baby to nurse 20 minutes on each side (BTW—this is hell, and why your
nipples will be so sore). Once your milk comes in, try to get them to nurse 10
to 15 minutes on each side. If you are doing the math that is about 160 to 360 minutes daily that you should be feeding your baby. I can never get Baby P to
nurse longer than 20 minutes total. This is because she is able to empty my
breasts fairly quickly. Every baby is different, so just do what works for you.
4.
Your baby will be very sleepy
Newborns are very sleepy, and this
causes a problem when you need them to eat. I have a hard time getting Baby P
to stay awake long enough to take a full 10 minutes at each breast. This is
very common for babies in the first weeks of life. However, if you are wanting
to establish a schedule, it is important that your baby takes full feedings.
There are several things that I have found to work with my babe.
1.
strip them down to only their diaper.
2.
Change diaper in between breasts
3.
Burp after each breast or if baby detaches
before taking their 10-15 minutes.
4.
Swivel or rotate baby’s head while nursing. This
rubs your nipple along the roof of their mouth and stimulates the sucking
reflex.
5.
Compress/massage the breast while nursing. This
squirts milk into baby’s mouth and stimulates sucking reflex.
You will be extremely hungry and thirsty
This is
because you are using extra fluid to produce your breastmilk. You are also
burning calories like crazy. You should drink about 8 ounces of water every
time you nurse. This will replenish what is being taken. Do not drink too much,
though, because that has been shown to reduce your milk supply.
Make sure
that you watch what you eat while breastfeeding. You should limit caffeine and
spicy foods. There are some foods that are linked to stomach issues in infants.
They include: milk products, peanut butter, peanuts, and onions. Try to limit
these things until you are sure they do not affect your baby.
6. Your baby may develop reflux
Reflux is
characterized by spitting up a good amount after each feeding, and painful
passing of gas and stools. Baby P would arch her back and be very fussy after
eating. Your doctor can prescribe medication for your baby, but may recommend
you cut out some of the above mentioned foods from your diet.
For those of you who are on the fence about breastfeeding, I
recommend that you do your research. The hospital where I delivered Baby P had
a free online breastfeeding course. I learned so much about holds, latching,
breast milk storage, and countless other things in this course. I also read
countless breastfeeding blogs and Pinterest articles. You really do not want to
go into breastfeeding unprepared. I know a girl that did not have any idea
about breast milk storage. She had absolutely no stockpile after three months
of breastfeeding. This made her very tied down to her little one. I also am a BIG fan of Mommy and Me groups. It is a huge comfort to talk to other Moms who are going trough the same things.
I hope that this post has shed some light on breastfeeding.
My goal is that you all use it to make an informed and educated decision for yourself
and your child.
Hugs,
I just read your post about breast feeding on Caitlin's page. Girl we are in the SAME boat right now! All the emotions you felt about not being able to bond with your little girl after bf is exactly what I'm going through. I've been debating to stop BF because I had mastitis and was so sore for the first few days that I just pumped but I missed nursing her. I realized she was doing better with bottles then nursing because for whatever reason she hasn't seemed to be getting full and grunts and strains for hours after I was done feeding her. I've felt like a failure the last few days as I've tried to keep nursing but realizing it may not be the best thing for her. I'm meeting with my LC on Monday to discuss what she thinks I should do to help her. Thanks for your post and making me realize I'm not alone going through this! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that my post helped you! That was the exact reason that I shared. Mastitis is the worst! I am so sorry that it has plagued you. I have come to terms with the bottle, but I still make P nurse once a day (first thing when she wakes up in the morning). I also try to offer it at her 8:00 feeding, but she usually cries the whole time :( . It is really hard! Hang in there, and always know that you are doing a great job!
Delete