Breastfeeding Awareness

In honor of breastfeeding awareness month I thought I would share our breastfeeding journey. The good, the bad, and the ouch!

First things first. My sweet hunter was only about 30 minutes old (due to the c-section) when he and I nursed for the first time. My husband was in the room, and my best friend who is also hunters godmother. I was holding him when he cried, really cried and for a second I was in shock. Holy cow, this kid is mine and it's my job to figure out why he is crying and take care of it! So the nurse looked at me and asked me if I was nursing.

*sidenote* It was always my plan to breastfeed. I am not La Leche, I don't knock formula. In fact, as you'll read later I implemented it as well. It was my thinking though that I would try because it was the only natural thing to do and we would see how it went. If I could, and hunter would we would nurse. If not I wouldn't beat myself up and we would give formula. And c'mon, it's free!!

Back to the nurse, she asked me if I was nursing and I said yes, but the bewildered look on my face must have told her that I had no clue what I was doing. She gave me hunter, placed him and let me try to figure it out and amazingly, I did!!! I was doing it! I was a mom of a beautiful baby boy and I was feeding him. It was such a special moment!

For the 72 hours I was in the hospital we continued to nurse, never opting for formula because my little piggy was always eating and my milk came in fast. We did have a latch problem though. Hunter was severely tounge tied and his pediatrician said he needed it clipped, but we kept on trying. Another problem was that every single nurse that came in my room had their own opinions. And bless their hearts, they had no problem getting right in there! && by that I mean hands on, no permission, getting in there! Which was good & bad. The consensus was that we were doing fantastic so I was proud. So on our 3rd day post csection they sent us home & no one and no reading material prepared us for that.

Hunter was an eating machine. Every hour, sometimes twice in the hour. I wasn't sleeping. Brock wasn't sleeping. To top it off I was experiencing pain like I had never felt before. With the bad latch it was even worse. The breast feeding consultants said it had to be clipped and also said I had over active letdown, so I was basically drowning hunter. Around week two I was about to give up, Brock wanted me to keep going but it was one of those moments I wanted to kill him! He just had no idea. But it was him saying that and my stubbornness that kept me going. I kept saying, just make it to four weeks and you can stop. But slowly it got easier. Hunter was finally getting on schedule and was sleeping more. We also started the bottle so that others could feed him and that helped tremendously.

Long story short we added formula as well because hunter was always so hungry and my milk just didn't have the substance he needed to stay full and satisfied. I kept nursing thinking some a day was better than none. Here we are at four months and we nurse sometimes at night, sometimes early in the morning and sometimes none at all. There is so much I would say I loved. It was such a special thing that only I could do. That was the best. Then there was the added knowledge that I was giving my son the best possible form of food. It didn't cost a thing and did (as promised) become second nature, I would even say easy. But there were downfalls. I was a prisoner to my sons hunger. Although I had no problem nursing if covered in public, it wasnt always that easy. When an infant wants a meal, they want it NOW!! It hurts, more than almost anything you'll ever feel. It is time and energy consuming.

All of those things aside I will try with all subsequent children and pray it works. If it doesn't, I'll grab some formula and do whatever it takes to keep my children full, and happy. That to me is the most important part anyways. So although I advocate breastfeeding I don't push it! I am a get it done kind of momma, no matter what that may entail!