When my breast started leaking colostrum at 28 week into pregnancy I took that as a sign and believed wholeheartedly that meant breastfeeding would come naturally to me.
I still went ahead and signed up to not one but two breastfeeding classes in my third trimester. After that I thought I had heard everything there was to hear about breastfeeding and felt confident that I was as prepared as I could be.
It didn’t take long after the birth of my baby for all that confident to turn into disappointment when things didn’t work out. From painful breasts, sore nipples, nipple thrush to worrying whether the baby was getting enough milk, I was hit with one challenge after another. Having survived the early days I have in this post shared the things that I wish I known about breastfeeding.
I don’t think knowing the uncensored truth earlier would have put me off from starting to breastfeed. The benefits do far outweighs any discomfort. But I believe learning about the challenges earlier would have helped me better cope with the early days and get the help I needed sooner.
Here is what I wish I had known.
It hurts – Breastfeeding does hurt in the beginning and it is not always because you are doing something wrong. Sore nipples, scratches from baby’s fingernail and the feeling of your breasts filling up with milk are some of the things that can cause discomfort and pain. It takes a while for your nipples to get used to the latch and being sucked on. I wish someone would have told me that earlier and saved me many tears thinking the pain was something I could do something about. It wasn’t until a friend reassured me that everybody hurts and that it does get better that I stopped looking for solutions and relaxed. She was right, it did get better with time (in my case it took around 3-4 weeks).
It is messy – I am amazed by the amount of milk that can come out from the breasts. While I was still pregnant I bought 6 pack of reusable breast pads and a box of disposable breast pads thinking I would only use them when I would be out and about. Needless to say that was not enough. I am changing breast pads between each feed and I am only using disposable breast pads for the moment. The reusable pads I had bought turned out to be an absolute flop for me, despite washing them a few times before using them, my breasts were left with bits of fuzz that ended in my baby’s mouth. Disposable breast pads are working better for me at the moment. I get mine from poundland (UK) for 99 p for a pack of 30. (If anyone out there has recommendations for good reusable breast pads please feel free to share with me in the comments.)
You can get something called Nipple thrush – Yep there is a thing called nipple thrush that the breastfeeding mother can catch from the baby or develop on her own. To treat nipple thrush both the mother and baby will need treatment. This was not covered in any of the two classes I went to and so it was not something I knew much about. To make the matter worse my GP despite knowing that I was breastfeeding only prescribed medication for the baby and advised me to use natural remedies to cure any thrush I might have on my nipples. I tried coconut oil, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar solutions after feeds for days before going to another GP who prescribed me a cream that cleared the thrush within days.
The baby needs to learn as much as you – breast feeding is new for both mum and baby. Babies are born with the instinct to suck but just like the mum they also need to get used to everything else that comes with breastfeeding. It would be helpful if hospital staff could reassure mums of that and empower them to lead that learning.
On demand means on demand – I thought I would be feeding every two hours for 30 minutes each time. So far every day has been different and what I’ve learnt is that it is better to just let your baby decide and don’t put pressure on yourself to do anything else time consuming during the early days. Make breastfeeding your main priority and make sure you have the support you need from partner or family to feed you.
(Update) You can get your period back despite breastfeeding exclusively – One of the ‘perks’ with breastfeeding often mentioned is that you won’t get your period back while you are breastfeeding exclusively. However, what I found through experience is that you can actually get your period back. Although rare it does happen!
It took me a good few weeks to get used to breastfeeding. It is not something I can now claim to enjoy but it is no longer painful. I have got used to it and I want to continue for as long as needed for the baby’s development.
What are your thoughts on breastfeeding?