I am a mother of four children and I chose to breastfeed each one of them. I knew that breastmilk had amazing benefits and it was free! I am all for free food! There is nothing wrong with formula feeding and we all know that fed is best. I did believe that breastfeeding was the best for my babies and so that is what I chose to do. I didn't do much research about breastfeeding because, how hard could it be? You just put your baby to your breast and the baby knows what to do right? Well, I was very sorely mistaken. Nobody told me that it is actually not very easy, some babies are easier than others, and there are a lot of challenges. As a mom of four, I have jumped through almost every hurdle that breastfeeding has to throw at me and so I would love to share what I have learned with my fellow moms. Hopefully, this will provide some help!
- Nursing Pads: Nursing pads are essential, especially if you produce a lot. I have heard some women who don't have to wear any but I certainly do! I produce so much which is a blessing and a curse. I have to wear nursing pads all the time because I never know when I am going to let down. I let down when I even think about letting down. I didn't even know nursing pads were a thing for a few weeks with my first and I was wondering why I never saw women walking around with wet boobs. Well, if I didn't have nursing pads I would be staining clothes left and right!
- Good Pump: I had a cheap pump that I got from Goodwill. It was new but it was terrible. I bought it for $40! We were poor and we didn't want to splurge on an expensive pump. Well, that pump wasn't powerful and it wouldn't get out any of my back milk. I was constantly in pain! I finally switched to a Medela and it was a complete game changer!
- Tongue Tie is a real thing: I didn't know much about tongue-tied before my first child. He came out and it was as he could suck. I kept on asking the nurse why it didn't feel like he was sucking and she said, "breastfeeding is a learned skill." I asked for a lactation consultant and asked if he could be tongue-tied and she said, "most babies can nurse even being tongue-tied." They tried to teach me all of the different "tricks" to get the baby to latch and he wouldn't. He would try to latch but then he would end up screaming. He was so hungry. I was trying to self express but Colostrum is not easy and so not a lot would come out. I knew he was hungry. He was 10lbs at birth. Two days after birth and he was just crying and crying we went to another lactation consultant. He was 9lbs! He had dropped a whole pound! I once again asked about the tongue tie because I felt like he could suck on anything. He would suck on our fingers or any pacifier. He couldn't stick out his tongue. The lactation consultant said, "anytime a new mother can't nurse she thinks the baby is tongue-tied." The lady gave my son a bottle of formula and he downed 8oz! I still have mom guilt for starving my baby. I cry whenever I even think about that moment when I realize how hungry he really was. The consultant then stopped trying to teach me how to breastfeed and told me to just pump and then she went on to eat her yogurt (she really was the worst). So that is what I did, I pumped. It was miserable and we had to use fast flow nipples because he couldn't drink from the slow flow. When my son was four years old our dentist informed us that he had a lot of cavities and then said, "did you know that your child has a SEVERE tongue tie. I am pretty sure that is the root cause of his cavities." I was livid. My third had a tongue tie too and I was able to breastfeed him but it was just a minor tongue tie and so I didn't even fix that.
- Boppy Pillows for the Win: I have very large babies and nursing them is quite the task. My first three babies were all over 9lbs and all had huge heads. They were very hard to hold and get in the right position to nurse. A boppy pillow was amazing because I just got to focus on getting a good latch. My youngest baby was only 7lbs 2oz and I didn't need the boppy because she was just so small and had a normal-sized head so I was able to just walk around while breastfeeding her.
- Express in the Shower: When you are in the shower you should make hand expression part of your daily routine. Make your breasts have a let-down and then massage your breasts even if you don't think that there are any lumps. Lumps can get infected very quickly and turn into mastitis
- No Bras when Milk comes in: When your milk comes in you will not fit into your old bras and that is okay. Do not wear a bra when your milk comes in. Many women will make the claim that their breasts are so big that they have to wear a bra. Hey there, I am almost a DDD when I am NOT nursing, so when I am nursing my breasts are off the charts. I just wear a camisole that is just a little bit tighter. That way they aren't just flying around and I have a place to put my nursing pads. Just don't go off and buy a bra to fit your new breasts. Your breasts will go down once your breast milk regulates. After about 3 weeks postpartum you will have a more accurate idea of how your new breastfeeding breasts will be like.
- A nice bra is a must: Speaking of bras, a nice bra is essential. If you pick the wrong one then it can put you in a world of hurt! I got mastitis 5 times when I was breastfeeding my first child! I finally just gave up wearing a bra altogether because nothing ever worked and I refused to buy another bra that would give me mastitis! Avoid underwire bras at all costs! Don't even give them a try! If you are actually looking for an amazing bra then I would head on over to Cadenshae! I finally found them when I was nursing my fourth child and I was so mad that I hadn't found them sooner! They are comfortable, supporting, and nursing friendly.
- Nursing clothes are necessary but helpful: I have nursed my children a lot when I don't have nursing clothes. I have nursed at home and even in public while just have normal bras and normal shirts. Although you can totally nurse without having nursing-friendly attire, it is so much more convenient to have clothing that is nursing friendly! I don't like wearing covers but breastfeeding clothes are really great because I am able to cover everything up and still nurse my babe. I get most of my nursing clothes from Cadenshae and love their activewear and the company!
- Massage while nursing: In the first couple of weeks of nursing it might be tempting to playing on your phone while you are nursing but it is important to use your freehand and massage your breast while your baby is eating. You can massage your breast and make sure that there are no lumps in your breast. This will allow you to avoid having back milk and reduce your chance of getting an infection.
- Pumping is okay for engorgement: Many women will tell you that you should not pump when your milk comes in no matter how uncomfortable. Moms will tell you that if you pump during engorgement it will make matters worse because it will tell your body that you need more milk. I am here to tell you, ignore the haters. It is absolutely okay to pump when your milk comes in. It is just important that you pump to get relief and not pump to empty. When you are feeling engorged in the first couple of days you will want to empty your breasts but they will not feel empty for a few days. Your breasts will feel like rocks! You can absolutely pump for a couple of minutes in order to not feel so much discomfort.
When you start breastfeeding you will learn some tricks of your own. Just remember that breastfeeding really isn't easy and it is okay to ask for help. There are a lot of different support groups for moms to help them learn how to breastfeed their sweet little babies!