BREASTFEEDING. When I hear the word I cringe. My experience with breastfeeding was extremely difficult. When my son, Turner, was born I was adamant I would breast feed as long as I could, or at least until I went back to work. For the first week, I breast fed laying on my side due to my healing process. Just like many other moms experience, the first two weeks were very painful. Everyone kept telling me the pain would lessen over time, but it didn’t. I met with a lactation consultation two days after Turner was born to make sure he was latching right, which he did a good job of. But something was just not right. I got mastitis not once but twice in one month, and if you know what it feels like you know it was horrible. Fever, chills, lack of energy (which you’re already low on to begin with), rash, itchy skin, and above all else you’re supposed to continue nursing to work through the infection. I worked through it gritting my teeth and quietly whispering a few swear words as Turner nursed. I also had a cut on my nipple that would not heal for anything.
Let’s throw in to the mix a very gassy and fussy baby. I mean crying all the time for no reason. I blamed my diet, so I tried to lay off the dairy. That lasted a few days. It was too stressful to track every little thing I ate, and Turner seemed to be acting the same either way.
Finally, after 5 weeks of trying my best, my husband noticed my pain and struggle and offered to buy some formula. I think he was tired of Turner’s gas issues as well, and would try anything to get him to stop crying. We supplemented formula with pumped breast milk. After the second or third day of pumping every few hours, I decided to quit. I was done with the stress and the struggle. Turner seemed to be doing a bit better on formula, and I finally felt free from pain. I was very apprehensive to stop, and I immediately missed the connection Turner and I had in those quiet moments we spent together. In the end I feel I made the best decision for Turner and I. I plan on breastfeeding as long as possible with my future babies, and I hope my body cuts me a little slack the next time around.
:: How was your experience with breastfeeding? Did you struggle as well? ::
My story is very similar too but with so many more unforeseen complications. My baby had a tongue tie but no one told us so nursing was pure agony until we had it fixed when she was 2 weeks old. Then I got thrush twice that lasted almost two months because the pediatrician kept saying that me and baby were fine. My baby screamed in pain and threw up constantly so I changed my diet and tried a whole host of other things to fix her. I also had major oversupply which I think led to a lot of my child’s pain and unhappiness. We gave her formula a few times to see if it made a difference but no change. PPD was finally the last thing for me to solve in myself which was probably the most difficult thing to conquer. Nursing didn’t get easier until 4-5 months honestly.
I say all of this to help anyone else who wants to give up but maybe isn’t sure they should. Well we’re still nursing at 8 months and it has been an amazing experience and I’m thankful everyday I kept trying. Everyone is happy and healthy!
Breast was not best for us. My baby daughter was one of those aggressively hungry babies. She wanted to feed constantly that first month. By day 2 my nipples were raw and bleeding. It never got better, and I got no sleep for about 3 weeks. I learned a lot about myself as I became a new Mom. One big lesson: I do not handle sleep deprivation well, at all!! I became unraveled and totally lost it on my poor husband. After reaching out to my fellow Mama friends, I realized that most of them had supplemented pretty early on. I’ll never forget the first time my baby sucked down that bottle of formula. She was so satisfied, she slept for 3 hours straight. At this point in the game, my husband could take her for 2-4 hours at a time while I slept. It worked so well for us. It’s funny how no one ever mentioned just how difficult breast feeding can be. I was totally clueless and in shock that first month. I hope to be more successful with my second baby, but will not feel bad if it doesn’t work out.
This is exactly my story however turns out I think I found the key with my 2nd. My 1st was horrendous, pain for 6 weeks, gassy baby, mastitis 5 times plus a second hospital stay. Baby was never really that happy.. The. I had number 2 and day 3 In hospital I felt like I was getting mastitis again. We spent three hours massaging and pumping and sorting it out. Met with a Lactation consultant. Then at 4 weeks I met with another Lactation consultant and she had the key !! I had oversupply and she put me on a block feeding schedule. Everything settled within 3 days and I’m still bfing my 10month old with no mastitis and no other issues. The sore breasts, gassy fussy baby, green poo, milk pimples on baby’s face and mastitis and overactive letdown (meaning I could hit the wAll with it spewing) never returned. Most Lactation consultants are so concerned about latch and what not that they don’t also address oversupply issues and how to schedule your feeding so baby is getting good filling hind milk. It’s a shame but I’ve been trying to spread the word so others don’t have to go through this either. However I am always happy to say don’t be a martyr and if you need to go to formula then just do it because mom needs to be happy too so she can enjoy caring for her her new one.
I’m currently struggling to breast feed my two week old. We had to supplement almost right away while still in the hospital, which killed me, I felt like such a failure. While I’m still very hopeful that it will get easier for us, it’s comforting for me to read all of your experiences on here.