Breastfeeding: The Early Days

I didn't want to breastfeed. My husband wanted me too (and said he'd pay for a breastlift if I wanted one). So I did my research and found a pediatrician group with a full-time lactation consultant on staff. And then in recovery from my c-section, I began nursing. And those were the only good decisions I made for weeks.

Who doesn't want to see her baby this excited 8-12 times per day?

I didn't believe that babies really would hang out at the boob every minute of every day. So I fought it. And my supply suffered and then I supplemented and my supply suffered more. Then the baby didn't gain enough weight and I supplemented more and my supply suffered more. Then I tried to sleep and let my husband take a feeding and my supply suffered even more.

Here's the short of it:

• The baby needs to be on mommy, skin-to-skin all the time. No one else needs to bond with the baby, and certainly not by "helping" by giving a bottle. For a few weeks, wallow in each other's filth and cuddle and nurse. Daddy and grandma will find their own ways to bond later. Look up kangaroo care. 
• Sleep beside each other if you feel comfortable with it. See above. 24/7. This time passes quickly and back in the day people wouldn't bathe for months. Look up safe bedsharing or look at Dr. Sears.
• Pump on occasion. Your supply peaks in the first few weeks. So maximize your chances of good supply. If you have an over supply, just shut up. You'll also build a stash for later or quick trips out. More on pumping later.
• Eat to maximize supply: fenugreek, oatmeal, buckets of water, and high quality, nutrient dense foods.
• Ask for help. Lactation consultants, La Leche, your mom. But if breastfeeding is your goal, mind that well-meaning, helpful advice can undermine your success.
• With each mom and every baby, there's a skill set to develop to nurse wearing any clothes at all, so give it a couple weeks to learn and to let your bald puppy learn too.
• Likewise, don't let anyone come over that you don't want to nurse in front of and don't take the baby off the breast for someone to hold the baby. They can wait or admire from a distance. 
• Buy supplies in advance--bamboobies or other nursing pads and lanolin or other ointment. A few nursing tanks or tanks with long stretchy neck holes.
• Unless you have a specific milk issue, feed a full meal from one side, then offer the other as dessert. Alternate. I fed too much of the foremilk and it gave Ellie gas. Later on in a feeding, more fat comes out.
• Many babies have a side preference. If you aren't careful, you'll end up with one big, milky boob and one littler one. One of mine is so lazy, it's the boob Ellie uses for comfort nursing. I call it the sleepy boob because she likes to fall asleep on it.
• Pediatricians are not experts in breastfeeding. Lactation consultants are. When you need an expert, ask an expert. 
• Question any recommendation to supplement especially if it comes without specific ideas to increase your milk supply. 

And here's what I did wrong in list form:

• Tried to keep my boob-loving dictator off the breast. 
• Pacifier and bottle use (although Ellie had no confusion issues)
• Supplemented rather than nursing more
• Did not pump. Seriously. Barely pumped. 
• Did not stock up on stored milk. 
• Ate nothing but candy for days on end.
• Tried to sleep alone and make the baby sleep alone. Fast forward almost a year, and she still sleeps beside me and nurses half the night. But she loves the boob more than average.

But now I'll tell you the bottom line. Breastfeeding my daughter is the best thing I've ever done. It heals all bumps and bruises, she's never been sick, and I shit you not, for the first weeks, the oxytocin release when she'd nurse made me pass out like I was high. It was freakish.