3 Things No One Told Me About Breastfeeding

3 Things No One Told Me About Breastfeeding

• 1.10.2017

NOTE :: breastfeeding isn't something I feel comfortable sharing on any social media. that time is an intimate bonding time with my son and I'd like to keep it that way, so I will not be posting a picture of myself breastfeeding. thank you for understanding! 

Before I had my baby, I kept hearing that "breast is best" from everyone I knew. I opted to breastfeed before I had my baby and when the time finally came, I was in for a few surprises.

Here are three things I learned on my own because no one told me: 

1. Don't be discouraged if your milk doesn't come in right away. I think this is probably the most important thing for new moms to know. When I had my baby, I breastfed right away, and I was left feeling hopeless when my milk didn't come in. At the hospital, the nurses wouldn't give me formula or a pacifier because they didn't want my child to suffer from "nipple confusion," so I was left in a room with a starved induced screaming baby and I had no way to soothe him. I felt awful. When I got home, the first thing I did was feed him formula and a pacifier, but part of me was still determined to breastfeed my son. From that point out, I utilized a pump very often to stimulate milk, but the results weren't coming fast enough. I'd pump about an ounce of breastmilk in 15 minutes if I was lucky. I would breastfeed, and pump, breastfeed, and pump.. and it took two full weeks for my milk to come in to the point where my babe was satisfied after a feeding. There were a few times where I wanted to give up and no one told me to keep going. Not having enough milk to satisfying your baby is just so depressing. I was just hoping and praying that one day my situation would change and eventually it did! Milk will come, but you may have to wait a bit longer than you initially anticipated. 
2. It hurts -- a lot. Everyone describes breastfeeding as this magical experience where you get to feed your baby with out the hassle of warming up formula and washing bottles. Everyone raves about the ability to bond with your baby in such a natural way.. it sounds like a new mother's dream right? Wrong. Now before everyone comes at me with pitchforks and torches, hear me out. Breastfeeding is magical. There truly is no better feeling than looking into the eyes of your little one as they nurse and cling to your shirt. It is pure bliss -- at least in that moment, nothing else matters. BUT, it does hurts or at least, it does for me. That doesn't mean I think women shouldn't breastfeed or that I hate doing it, I just wish someone would have told me about the pain that came with it. When I asked the doctors about it, they kept referring me to a lactation specialist who was no help at all because after I talked to her and followed her advice I was still sore! It just hurts sometimes and that's that. There is good news though -- it doesn't hurt all the time and it s
3. It's messy. I mean let's be real: when you first go to purchase nursing pads, you don't expect to soak right through them -- at least I didn't. I thought maybe I'll leak here and there, but never thought I'd actually soak through a pad. Then, one night I woke up with a puddle of milk in my bra! Waking up at 3 am to change my clothes because I was wet and cold was probably the grossest I've felt since giving birth and waiting for the nurses to give me the okay to shower. The leaking can also result to your breasts smelling like plain yogurt. I opted not to take a shower that night and just quickly change, but I woke up smelling like yogurt -- which may or may not be an issue for you. I just wasn't expecting it. 

Sooooo.. Those are three things about breastfeeding I learned all by my lonesome. To be honest, I was never really crazy about the idea of breastfeeding in the first place, but I wanted the experience .. and knowing that breastmilk is more nutritional than formula made me want to give it a try. Do I regret breastfeeding? absolutely not. It was the right choice for me and Felix. I am extremely happy to have gotten the chance to do it daily.