First off yes I'm a believer in breast milk and all of the natural health benefits it gives but I'm a bigger believer in figuring out what works for you and your baby because let's be real keeping a new baby alive is stressful and exhausting no matter how they are fed.
I was recently chatting with a new mom that was taking the plunge at the breast feeding journey. Like me when I was attempting this with Carson she realized how hard, time consuming, yet rewarding it was. She couldn't believe that it wasn't anything like she expected, I mean it's a natural part of life, shouldn't she and baby just get it? I felt the same way and until you're in it you have zero idea how it feels and what positions work and don't work. I wanted to share some tips and advice I have encountered over my journey and I would LOVE your feedback if you have advice for new mom's.
My breastfeeding journey with Carson lasted 8 weeks and then I went straight to pumping. I couldn't get my nipples to heal and I was concerned I wasn't producing enough because I felt like I was always feeding him. Apparently that's just cluster feeding.... Who knew. ;) With Piper I breastfed a full year.
Here are my breastfeeding/pumping tips and advice that I learned along the way.
1. Set small goals. It gets easier!! You just need to take it one day at a time and set shorter goals. With Piper I had a goal to make it 4 weeks and after that I set a new goal. I seriously never believed I would make it a full year. I even tried to quite when she was 9 Months old by stopping pumping but magically my supply kept up when she wanted milk. The body is amazing.
2. Cluster feeding is a thing. You think all is going well and you have a "schedule" and then all of a sudden you spend all day with a baby attached to your boob. Get some snacks and a good movie or book, I know that's easier said than done but it only lasts a day or two.
3. Pumping is time consuming. I hear ya, it's the worst!! My pump talked to me and it wasn't very nice "F$$$K Y$$" "F$$$K Y$$" "F$$$K Y$$". Imagine the pump noise singing that to you for 20 minutes 3-6 times a day. ;) I put my kids baby book by my pump at home so I could fill out their day. You can tell when the pumping stopped... I might have a blank baby book the last half of their first year.
4. Getting up at night is all on you. No matter which route I went the night thing is always my thing. Reed sleeps through all of it and if I tried to get him up I would be wide awake anyways so I figured I might as well not worry about other options. But, if you do need to catch up on sleep don't feel bad for skipping a shift and baby gets pumped milk. Sometimes all you need is 5-6 straight hours to get a little sanity back. :)
5. My nipples hurt. I hear ya and as long as baby is latching right those should heal in 4-6 weeks. Nipple cream was in every room of my house. If anyone has any better tips please share in the comments.
6. Cleaning all the pumping parts. Best tip I got from a friend was to put them all in a zip lock bag and throw it in the fridge after your pumping sessions. You just need to clean them once a week. HUGE time saver and wish I would have known that for Carson!!
7. I feel like all I do is feed my baby! I promise the months fly by and before you know it they're filling up on table food and your feedings lesson. Plus babies get way faster at eating. It would only take about 15 minutes to feed Piper once she 6-8 Months old.
8. I don't want to feed out in public. That is a personal choice and I totally get it. I wasn't good at going out in public but didn't mind running to the car or to a dressing room. It does get stressful scheduling your whole life around babies feedings. I started Piper on Real food by 6 months and taught her how to use sippy cups so we could get back to civilization.
9. Don't worry about what other people. 99% of my close friends and family were supportive of my choice to breastfeed but I did encounter a few that would make comments. Not necessarily that I shouldn't be doing it but comments of "oh I didn't do that", "this is how I did it", "are you still feeding her like that". They didn't necessarily mean harm but it's already a hard choice and big commitment and you really have to block out other people's comments. Luckily I had a supportive husband and when I would ask him his opinion after listening to others he said to keep plugging away. :)
10. I just need some time away but I'm breastfeeding. Great! take it! If you leave your baby with a loving family member or friend and a bottle they will survive. Do you need to take your pump with, most likely yes if it's more than 3 hours. But if it's going to help you be a better mom than take a day or weekend, or heck a week. :) Parenting a baby is hard and if you have a good support system and are able to get away your baby won't forget who you are when you return. :) I should have left Carson more, I might have been a bit crazy ;)
Whichever route you choose to feed your baby is the best route these are just some tips I wish I had known when I had Carson. If you have any tips or advice please share in the comments. Momming is hard and we need to stick together and help each other out.
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