My Breastfeeding story.

 

Hazel is about to be five months in 4 days so I thought it is time to share my breastfeeding story. But wait a minute, am not going to lie, it is still surreal to me that I have a five months old baby. Just the thought of it alone makes me feel so blessed and honored. God has indeed bestowed upon me the greatest gift anyone could ever ask for, and I couldn’t be any happier.

But to digress, if anyone ever told you that their first experience with breastfeeding was awesome, they are  telling a big fat lie.  After child birth, for me it is breastfeeding.

Growing up,  I was surrounded by a lot of women who  breastfed their babies.  Am from Sierra Leone and in my part of the world, the conflict between “breastfeeding” and “formula feeding” was never a thing because a lot of women I knew breastfed anyways. So for me, wanting to breastfeed was the natural thing to do for my child in return.

It wasn’t until I got pregnant when I started reading books, articles and blogs about breastfeeding that I realized the topic is bigger than just putting a nipple  in a baby’s mouth. But that’s not what I want to write about. I want to write about my gruesome and awesome experience with breastfeeding.

The hospital I gave birth in, has a breastfeeding consultant already which was a bonus! When the nurse gave Hazel to me, the breastfeeding consultant helped her latch on and to everyone’s surprise including me, she latched on immediately and perfectly. According to the books I read, it takes a while to get a perfect latch. I remember thinking to myself  “this isn’t hard at all, I can do this by myself.”

The only problem for me was the fact that I was not lactating and because of that I had to unwillingly give her Enfamil formula for newborn provided by the hospital. I got really upset and just angry at myself. All I wanted to do was feed her the best way I knew how, and here I was not being able to do that. I had a talk with the lactation consultant, and she told me to not stress about it that it sometimes takes a while.

She also suggested that I keep her on the nipple and also to put her on my chest with both of our clothes off  which will stimulate milk production. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Throughout our 3 days stay in the hospital she had nothing but formula.

When we came home, I tried breastfeeding again that is when I realized that a perfect latch goes a long way. I did not know how to get her to latch on by myself and every time I tried, my nipples felt like they were being squeezed with a plier. The pain was so much that I cried, every time I tried to nurse her.

By now, it has been 3 days since we came home; and not only were my nipples sore and blistered but trying to stimulate milk production hurt like crazy. I also tried pumping, that also hurt like hell.  All I wanted to do was just give up and just stick to formula. Just the thought alone, made me cry even more because that meant missing out on naturally bonding with my child. You could say I was really determined to breastfeed.

Fortunately, my friend bought me a whole 5lb bag of raw peanut because she heard somewhere that it helps with milk production haha, which I munched on like my life depended on it.  And surprisingly enough, it worked. I woke up with leaky breasts! And I’ve never felt happier. Now on to tackling the sore and blistered nipples.

After my milk came that morning,  I became anxious to breastfeed her. Well more like anxious, scared and dreading the pain I know awaits me. I held her in my arms, I curled my toes, and just latched her onto my breast the best way I knew how. Thankfully, it hurt for only a moment. The way I felt when she sucked and took her first gulp can’t be described even if I wanted to. It was a feeling of accomplishment. I was empowered and I felt happy and satisfied. She continued nursing for at least 15 minutes and when she finally burped, nothing beat that feeling! “I could provide for her now”  I thought to myself.

The joy I felt nursing her beat the pain I felt, am not going to lie. And little by little, the pain subsided I guess because I nursed more often. Am proud to say it is almost 5 months and we are still going strong! Pumping is easier now too and my supply is looking good. I haven’t really set an age limit of when to stop nursing her, I just know I’ll do it until I can no longer.

You asked if I finished the 5lb bag of peanuts? Yes, I did! I do not need another bag anymore though haha. I just stay dehydrated and eat a lot. A lot more if you asked me, but that’s another story for another day.

Hazel is up and I need a bottle of water!

from lactation « WordPress.com Tag Feed http://ift.tt/21zk3VC
article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard