Boobies.
The Wee man is napping so I thought I'd hop online and do a quick post about breastfeeding.
I planned on breast feeding our little one, the first thing I went out and bought when I found out we were expecting was a breast pump (random). This being because I wanted to breast feed so badly but because of my previous surgery I was unsure how I would get on, so thought I could express breastmilk so that Mr O could feed the baby and bond with him. My god I even had dreams about breastfeeding, I wanted to do it so badly.
The NHS force breastfeeding down your throats from the minute you have the baby - and I breastfed for the first 3 days, and it wasn't easy, in fact it hurt like hell. I had every midwife in the community grab my boobs and help William to 'latch on' properly. Once he was on, he was on for hours - comfort sucking mostly. Ouch. My nipples got into such a bad state that I had to get Mr O to get the baby off me before the pain made me want to swat the poor baby away! The littlen had all my first milk (colostrum) but as my proper milk hadn't come in yet he was starving hungry and feeding constantly. When he wasn't feeding he was screaming and rooting around for food because he was starving. I had a meltdown and spent hours sobbing that I had failed as a Mother because I couldn't fill my baby up. Mr O basically told me to give him formula and not to beat myself up. I persisted even longer with the breast feeding, had an even bigger melt down and after no sleep for 3 days I gave him some formula (which I had to figure out on my own how to do because you get no help from the hospital if you choose to formula feed).
Best decision I ever made.
Happy full (quiet!) baby who slept for 3 hours and gave me a much needed rest so I could recharge and be a better mummy.
I expressed as much milk as I could, but really I wasn't expressing enough times throughout the day so my milk supply was very very low. So I have stopped expressing now and he is exclusively on Aptamil First.
I felt like I had failed for a while. But he was full, gaining weight, content, and sleeping well. I was getting rest, my boobs were recovering, and i felt better about everything.
I really think that although they force breastfeeding down your neck and frown upon formula, a happy mummy means a happy baby. I'm a happy mummy now we have established a feeding routine, and baby is happy.
So those of you who don't manage to breast feed, don't beat yourselves up, it really isn't worth it. Some women take to giving the boob like riding a bike, others have to persist to get there, and some of us just don't manage it at all. That's just the way it goes - I now have a very expensive breast pump and a new wardrobe of breast feeding clothes that I am going to ebay, and spend the money on an evening out with some girl friends!
I planned on breast feeding our little one, the first thing I went out and bought when I found out we were expecting was a breast pump (random). This being because I wanted to breast feed so badly but because of my previous surgery I was unsure how I would get on, so thought I could express breastmilk so that Mr O could feed the baby and bond with him. My god I even had dreams about breastfeeding, I wanted to do it so badly.
The NHS force breastfeeding down your throats from the minute you have the baby - and I breastfed for the first 3 days, and it wasn't easy, in fact it hurt like hell. I had every midwife in the community grab my boobs and help William to 'latch on' properly. Once he was on, he was on for hours - comfort sucking mostly. Ouch. My nipples got into such a bad state that I had to get Mr O to get the baby off me before the pain made me want to swat the poor baby away! The littlen had all my first milk (colostrum) but as my proper milk hadn't come in yet he was starving hungry and feeding constantly. When he wasn't feeding he was screaming and rooting around for food because he was starving. I had a meltdown and spent hours sobbing that I had failed as a Mother because I couldn't fill my baby up. Mr O basically told me to give him formula and not to beat myself up. I persisted even longer with the breast feeding, had an even bigger melt down and after no sleep for 3 days I gave him some formula (which I had to figure out on my own how to do because you get no help from the hospital if you choose to formula feed).
Best decision I ever made.
Happy full (quiet!) baby who slept for 3 hours and gave me a much needed rest so I could recharge and be a better mummy.
I expressed as much milk as I could, but really I wasn't expressing enough times throughout the day so my milk supply was very very low. So I have stopped expressing now and he is exclusively on Aptamil First.
I felt like I had failed for a while. But he was full, gaining weight, content, and sleeping well. I was getting rest, my boobs were recovering, and i felt better about everything.
I really think that although they force breastfeeding down your neck and frown upon formula, a happy mummy means a happy baby. I'm a happy mummy now we have established a feeding routine, and baby is happy.
So those of you who don't manage to breast feed, don't beat yourselves up, it really isn't worth it. Some women take to giving the boob like riding a bike, others have to persist to get there, and some of us just don't manage it at all. That's just the way it goes - I now have a very expensive breast pump and a new wardrobe of breast feeding clothes that I am going to ebay, and spend the money on an evening out with some girl friends!
Comments
Glad you've found what works for you - that and a happy, healthy baby is what matters.
Lovely updates, Mummy O.