Life has been hectic. We sold our house, bought a new one, went to California, and recently moved into our new home. Unfortunately, my breastfeeding journey is slowly coming to an end. I found that my mental health was deteriorating slightly due to the changes that came with planning work, moving, and travel days that revolved around nursing and pumping. I recently decided that it was time to end my breastfeeding journey. Although I still produce a good amount of breastmilk, I only pump once a day before bedtime now. I’m very proud of myself for all the sacrifices I’ve made to nurse my son for these past 11 months!
To any new moms, I will say breastfeeding is natural and beautiful but it doesn’t necessarily come naturally at first. You are not born knowing how to breastfeed your baby or how time consuming breastfeeding is. There is a learning curve and it can be really difficult and painful but I can confidently say you will get pastit all. Deciding to breastfeed is a big decision and commitment, one that is very rewarding but it can be very hard at first.
In my opinion, the first couple of weeks of breastfeeding a new baby are a tough adjustment period for mom, the baby, and her breasts. I am happy to say that it gets much easier. I breastfed my son shortly after his birth, and his latch was great! Hospitals, nurses, midwives, and OBs will stress how crucial that first latch is, which is true. However, let’s be honest, OB nurses do 99% of the work. After the birth, we moved to my postpartum room. I nursed every 20 minutes, rotating breasts for every session, and I thought breastfeeding was so easy! However, 12 hours later, my nurse had me try to get my son to nurse, and it was a disaster. Both of my breasts were completely hard and engorged. My son could not get that deep latch he did before, and he just kept falling asleep. I was instantly in tears and frustrated because I knew how essential my baby needed my colostrum. He also had jaundice, and the medical staff kept saying to feed him as much as possible to get my colostrum. I remember looking at my husband in complete shock and disappointment in myself, thinking, “How did this change so quickly?”
After two more attempts, I reached out to the lactation nurses at the hospital, and wow, they were amazing. The lactation nurse told me how firm my breasts were, and my milk came in very fast. I was happy to hear this, but I still had issues getting my son to deeply latch because my breasts were very, very engorged (yes, and they hurt so badly).
Thankfully we were able to go home and I had to hand express my colostrum into syringes and feed my son that way the first night. I will NEVER EVER forget that first night home with a newborn baby….
“My breasts were still pretty engorged because I was unable to fully release all my milk during each nursing session due to having way too much milk as well as an aggressive let-down. Having engorged breasts caused me to be paranoid because I was terrified of mastitis. I am happy that I never got mastitis during my breastfeeding journey, but I know many mothers who have. I ended up having to pump early on to release the pressure and bottle-feed my son with my breast milk for a couple of days. I was able to get him to latch again and was surprised at how natural breastfeeding was once we established a deep latch. He nursed every 2-3 hours around the clock until he was three weeks old, then he started sleeping through the night. I still woke up and pumped every three hours unless he woke up to nurse.
A side note, removing milk throughout the night is crucial and can help with maintaining supply and regulating hormones.”
I used to be considered an “over supplier” as I would produce around 7-10 ounces during each pumping session. I understand this term can be triggering for new moms, and I apologize if that is the case. Some mothers naturally produce larger volumes of milk, and I happened to be one of them. Initially, I thought there was something wrong with me. However, after attending my hospital’s lactation support group weekly, the nurses confirmed that my son’s latch was deep, my let-down, and breast emptying were normal, and I shouldn’t worry. Remember that it takes around 10-12 weeks for your body to adjust to your baby’s needs. I knew that being an over supplier would make me feel uncomfortable, and if I didn’t nurse, I would have to pump more often than I wanted. But pumping every 3-4 hours prepared me to pump at work, and I’m grateful I was able to establish a schedule before returning to work.
At work:
Pumping made it easier to split up duties while at work. I would pump every four hours while at work, and my husband would stay at home to watch our son and give him my expressed milk from the day before. Of course, there were times when I was unable to step away to pump every four hours. On those days, I would just have to pump once or twice while at work. Fortunately, my body and breasts were already regulated, so it never hurt my supply. It would just be uncomfortable throughout the day until I was able to pump or nurse when I got home. We had a routine down. My husband would start the bedtime routine, and I would come home, shower, and nurse our son to sleep. I loved coming home from work and nursing and missed the bonding time with my son! On my off days, I would also nurse him. If he was napping, I would pump and I learned to freeze my milk early. I am grateful for being an over-supplier! It allowed me to freeze leftover breast milk, so my son can have breast milk until he is one.
Nursing and pumping now:
My family and I just went to California to visit my aunt and cousin for Thanksgiving. I slowly started to adjust my pumping schedule and weaned myself. I didn’t pump or nurse for a week while in California. When I came home, I was uncomfortable but surprised to still be able to produce breastmilk after a week had passed. I pumped for 10 minutes and managed to produce a lot of milk – thankfully my body is still able to produce it. I was nursing at night before bed. I am pumping at night in hopes that my body will eventually adjust and stop producing milk.
Breastfeeding is a challenge for many moms. The truth is that everyone struggles in the early days, maybe in different ways. Some may have issues with getting a deep latch while some may struggle with the intensity of their baby’s needs. Others may have difficulty because of birth complications or a sick baby who isn’t latching at all. Everyone has their struggles with motherhood and parenting. Thus, we should all be supporting and loving each other no matter what. ❤️
top 10 benefits of breastmilk
1. Releasing breastmilk helps mom release oxytocin
2. Contains important antibodies
3. Provides ideal nutrition that help strengthen and develop immune syste
4. Promotes healthy weight for baby
5. May reduce risk of SIDS, Obesity and Diabetes for baby
6. Boost baby development and growth
7. Easier to digest compared to forumla
8. May be more economical than formula feeding
9. Brain development
10. Breastfeeding lowers mothers risk of breast and ovarian cancer
