Before Julia was born, I had already decided that I was going to exclusively breastfeed. I had read all the advice, talked to friends and family who had been through it, and decided that it was best for me and my baby. But I had been given some misinformation before and after Julia's birth.
When Julia was born, she fed successfully straight away, but the two days after her birth were hit or miss on her feedings. In retrospect, I realise that Julia was not very hungry because: A) Newborns are born with a full tummy, so may not be overly hungry in the days following birth and B) Julia was on antibiotics for the first two days following her birth because my water broke before contractions and she was born more than 24 hours after the breakage. (Prolonged labour after your water breaks can increase the chance of infection, so they give baby and momma antibiotics just in case) When a baby is on antibiotics, they can be sleepy and not want to feed as well.
In the hospital, the midwife kept trying to help Julia feed, but she was just not interested. I was worried sick. I was going to have to formula feed [I thought]. Once Julia was cleared to go home, I was ecstatic as I knew I would feel more comfortable at home and feeding might be more successful. As I was packing up to go home, the midwife suggested I stay as I was having trouble breastfeeding. i understood her concern, but at the same time, I wanted to go home as I didn't feel that the midwife was very helpful in learning to breastfeed as every time Julia refused to eat, she suggested that I express instead. I didn't want to dance around the problem by always expressing. I was determined to make it work.
The biggest misconception that is advised to new moms is that breastfeeding should not hurt. Initially, it does. I feel a lot of new moms might give up breastfeeding too soon as they think it shouldn't hurt.
Ladies, for about the first 2 weeks, breastfeeding hurts. Your body is changing and adapting. Pain is a way for your body to naturally adjust to what's happening. I'm so glad I stuck with it because my body did adapt and adjust. Now, feeding Julia is a breeze!
Another misconception is that if your nipples crack and/or bleed, sometime is wrong. Again, your body is adapting and adjusting to what is happening. Julia always latched on beautifully, but my body still had to go through this change. Just because you are having some unpleasant things happen to a very sensitive part of your body doesn't mean that your baby isn't feeding properly. Get yourself some Lasinoh Nipple Cream and use it like it's your job! That stuff made the transition a lot easer.
Every website that I've read about breastfeeding say that breastfeeding shouldn't hurt. I agree with that statement to a certain extent. If the pain does not lesson and persists for a very prolonged period (example, your baby is no longer a newborn), then maybe something isn't right. But, if you have a newborn and you are learning how to breastfeed then at first there will be some pain.
Stick with it. For me, the pain subsided after 2 weeks.
Were you told some of the above information? Did it affect your take on breastfeeding? What was your experience?
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