5 Things I Learned From Breastfeeding
I breast-fed each of my children for 20 months.
I did not plan for it, it just happened.
Before I had children I thought the maximum I would ever breastfeed a child would be a year.
In fact during my first pregnancy we went to visit a friend who told us that she was still breastfeeding her nearly two year old daughter and that she was not sure how to wean her off.
I was outwardly sympathetic but thought to myself 'This won't happen to me'.
As it turns out it did happen to me and it did not feel like a burden either.
My main reason for breastfeeding is laziness.
Don't get me wrong, I do like the idea that it is the best start I can give my children but if it wasn't so convenient I am sure I could have as easily rationalised a different way of feeding my babies, especially as I was brought up on formula myself.
Anyway, during the 40 months of breastfeeding I discovered a few things I would like to share with you: 1.
Breastfeeding is a skill I thought mothers possessed instinctive natural breastfeeding skills.
I soon discovered that this is not the case.
It takes practice and skill to latch the baby on in a way that it does not hurt, the baby gets milk, and can still breathe.
I found the guidance from my doula invaluable, and practice and patience really paid off.
It just got easier and easier the longer I kept going.
2.
Breastfeeding your baby for the first 6 months gets you lots of sympathy Breastfeeding your baby for the first six months of his life is great because it eliminates a lot of pressure from midwives, health visitors and GPs.
I really feel for the mothers who choose to bottle feed.
It is hard enough adjusting to motherhood; added pressure is the last thing you need.
3.
Breastfeeding for longer than six months doesn't get you sympathy If you were one of the bottle feeding mothers who had to deal with all the criticism at the beginning rest assured that life is fair.
Once your baby is older than six months and still breastfed sympathies fade.
My son was 9 months old when a pediatrician asked me about his diet.
I listed everything including the night feed.
She assumed it was a bottle so when I clarified that I breastfed her reaction was: "Why would you still do that?".
I had similar reactions from other health care providers and in the end stuck with one GP who is pro-breastfeeding to not expose myself unnecessarily to criticism.
My experience is by no means unique.
Many of the mothers I work with have similar experiences and find it stressful.
4.
Milk has to be ordered and takes a few days to arrive There just is no milk after birth.
It has to be ordered by the baby, produced in the body and will be delivered around day 3.
I had been to the NCT ante-natal class, I knew all about the biological process of milk production, was all set up for on demand feeding to get the milk going.
My daughter on the other hand was oblivious to all of it and wanted milk now.
She was hungry and used all her voice to let me know about it.
If you have been following this newsletter for a while you know that my daughter has enough lung capacity to frighten even experienced midwives.
So we had a couple of very hungry, loud and unhappy days.
Thankfully, my milk came in after two days and things got calmer.
I am still glad I did not supplement formula at the beginning as the following 20 months' milk production met demand and we never looked back.
5.
If you have breast-fed for a while be prepared for a hormonal shock when you stop I have fond memories of stopping breastfeeding with my son.
He was fine with it, I was fine with it, my body was fine with it.
I felt great and expected nothing less when it came to stop breastfeeding with my daughter.
She was fine, I was fine and my body was absolutely not fine.
My hormones were all over the place and I felt awful for about six weeks after which things got slowly better.
The small but as it turns out important detail that I did not take into account was that I was three months pregnant when I stopped breastfeeding the first time.
Second time round my body was not pregnant, breastfeeding or both for the first time in over 4 years and trust me it did not like it.
I have heard since that other mothers had similar experiences.
In hindsight I wished I had been better prepared for it and had started to take herbal remedies to help me feel better immediately.
Some things you are just unaware of until they happen...
I did not plan for it, it just happened.
Before I had children I thought the maximum I would ever breastfeed a child would be a year.
In fact during my first pregnancy we went to visit a friend who told us that she was still breastfeeding her nearly two year old daughter and that she was not sure how to wean her off.
I was outwardly sympathetic but thought to myself 'This won't happen to me'.
As it turns out it did happen to me and it did not feel like a burden either.
My main reason for breastfeeding is laziness.
Don't get me wrong, I do like the idea that it is the best start I can give my children but if it wasn't so convenient I am sure I could have as easily rationalised a different way of feeding my babies, especially as I was brought up on formula myself.
Anyway, during the 40 months of breastfeeding I discovered a few things I would like to share with you: 1.
Breastfeeding is a skill I thought mothers possessed instinctive natural breastfeeding skills.
I soon discovered that this is not the case.
It takes practice and skill to latch the baby on in a way that it does not hurt, the baby gets milk, and can still breathe.
I found the guidance from my doula invaluable, and practice and patience really paid off.
It just got easier and easier the longer I kept going.
2.
Breastfeeding your baby for the first 6 months gets you lots of sympathy Breastfeeding your baby for the first six months of his life is great because it eliminates a lot of pressure from midwives, health visitors and GPs.
I really feel for the mothers who choose to bottle feed.
It is hard enough adjusting to motherhood; added pressure is the last thing you need.
3.
Breastfeeding for longer than six months doesn't get you sympathy If you were one of the bottle feeding mothers who had to deal with all the criticism at the beginning rest assured that life is fair.
Once your baby is older than six months and still breastfed sympathies fade.
My son was 9 months old when a pediatrician asked me about his diet.
I listed everything including the night feed.
She assumed it was a bottle so when I clarified that I breastfed her reaction was: "Why would you still do that?".
I had similar reactions from other health care providers and in the end stuck with one GP who is pro-breastfeeding to not expose myself unnecessarily to criticism.
My experience is by no means unique.
Many of the mothers I work with have similar experiences and find it stressful.
4.
Milk has to be ordered and takes a few days to arrive There just is no milk after birth.
It has to be ordered by the baby, produced in the body and will be delivered around day 3.
I had been to the NCT ante-natal class, I knew all about the biological process of milk production, was all set up for on demand feeding to get the milk going.
My daughter on the other hand was oblivious to all of it and wanted milk now.
She was hungry and used all her voice to let me know about it.
If you have been following this newsletter for a while you know that my daughter has enough lung capacity to frighten even experienced midwives.
So we had a couple of very hungry, loud and unhappy days.
Thankfully, my milk came in after two days and things got calmer.
I am still glad I did not supplement formula at the beginning as the following 20 months' milk production met demand and we never looked back.
5.
If you have breast-fed for a while be prepared for a hormonal shock when you stop I have fond memories of stopping breastfeeding with my son.
He was fine with it, I was fine with it, my body was fine with it.
I felt great and expected nothing less when it came to stop breastfeeding with my daughter.
She was fine, I was fine and my body was absolutely not fine.
My hormones were all over the place and I felt awful for about six weeks after which things got slowly better.
The small but as it turns out important detail that I did not take into account was that I was three months pregnant when I stopped breastfeeding the first time.
Second time round my body was not pregnant, breastfeeding or both for the first time in over 4 years and trust me it did not like it.
I have heard since that other mothers had similar experiences.
In hindsight I wished I had been better prepared for it and had started to take herbal remedies to help me feel better immediately.
Some things you are just unaware of until they happen...
Source...