Happy Breastfeeding week ladies. Okay y’all; brace yourself this might be a long post.
I’m not really sure where to start, but breastfeeding has always been a challenge for me. I remember with Alani I was adamant about breastfeeding, but little did I know; everyones body is different, and breastfeeding may be harder for some, and I was the “some” that it was hard for . I regret not doing the research prior to, I thought milk was just going to just be flowing, like it did for my sister, but nope, my milk didn’t start coming in until about day 6 with Alani, and then I remember only pumping like half an ounce when it did finally come, and I quit just like that, yup that easily, not knowing that with patience, consistency and time you’ll produce more.
This time around I said I’m going to try harder, and not give up so easily. Again for lil mama my milk didn’t come in till day 4, so we supplement fed her in the meantime. When my milk was coming in I remember being soooo engorged, it was the 1st time i’ve ever experienced engorgement, and it was sooo painful, like the worst pain; well after labor. I could barely lift my arms, on top of that I was still in pain from giving birth a few days prior. I was so over it, and really wanted to give up at that point, but I chose to push through. Within 2 days the engorgement decreased, and I started giving lil mama milk, and she was so good, and patient with me, she didn’t fuss when we were learning to latch on properly, but again I wasn’t producing what I believe to be enough milk, and she still seemed hungry after eating, so we continued to supplement, but I was giving her breastmilk and then formula. I would put her on, and then if she still seemed hungry I would give her the bottle.
Till this day I’m unable to pump enough to store, It maybe me and my inconsistency, but I tried the fenugreek supplments, the different beverages, coconut water, Body armor etc. It might be because I’m not pumping about every 3 hours like a lot of mothers do, well the ones I’ve spoken to, but I’m pushing through and trying.
I really commend you breastfeeding mothers, because this shit isn’t easy. How do you guys put the baby on your breast, change them, put them back to sleep, pump, feed the older sibling, try to make sure she enjoys her summer too and she’s not forgotten about, take her to the park, oh and not forget to take care of yourself. Breastfeeding really is another job in itself.
I feel like this post needs a part 2, because there’s so much I want to add but it’ll just be too long. I want to thank my cousin Krislyn who has been motivating, inspiring, and helping me with this journey; She has really been my lactation specialist from afar, she is partially the reason I didn’t give up yet, she would check on me often and sent me so many tips that helped. She also has twin newborns and a 3 year son herself, and she’s breastfeeding, and pumping, and just doing the damn thing, so she’s my motivation.
I would like to hear your breastfeeding story, I was surprised at how many people shared similar stories, it’s great to know that we’re all in it together!!! what’s some things that worked for, and what did you learn, share them in the comment section.
Heyyyy Tukie!! OMG that first day of them not really getting anything, and crying non stop boyyy is it hurtful. I agree the stress really does play a part, a lot of time we’re stressing to nurse, and all our body is telling us to do is relaxxxx. The cracked nipples I had that, it went away after like 2 weeks, it was sooo painful, you’re just bringing back the memories. Thanks for always supporting.
Hiii Mariah! how are you? I’ve heard a lot about the oatmeal cookies, I’m going to add that to my grocery list. and wowww 2 years later, I could only hope.Congratulations on baby number 2 wishing you and your family all the best!!! Thanks for stopping by, hopefully you can make it to one of the mommy meet ups.
You know I had to leave a comment on this after doing it twice LOL!! After Santana I remember being in the hospital and not producing enough milk but not wanting to give him formula. After a day of him crying I felt horrible but he was obviously hungry, I turned my back and cried while Alsemia fed him formula. I spoke to my grandmother the next day and she told me that I was stressing and needed to take it easy because if I stress I stress my milk and it’ll dry up(BEST ADVICE I GOT). When I left the hospital my mother told me to take a shower as hot as I could stand the water and run my breast under the water, so I did just that and and the next day I was feeding Santana in one boob and pumping manually on the other lol!!!
With Savanna I remember grandmas advice and that time around in the hospital I took it easy and with her I was able to feed her in the hospital. But also because Savanna slept 12hours I pumped more I experienced something with her I never experienced with Santana… DRY CRACKED NIPPLES OUCH!!! But I knew what to do to help with that due to all me previous research so it was all good lol.
Most of what I was able to do both times cane from my own personal research, I was heavily into wanting to breastfeed and giving a natural birth so I researched it all and honestly a lot of my research was worth it. So just read and continue to follow through and I think this time around you will be okay. Also I’m here to help if you need any advice.
Hey it’s Mariah, and trust I know how hard it is to maintain breastfeeding. When I first had my son he wasn’t latching good and according to the doctors in the hospital he wasn’t gaining enough weight. Thankfully the nurses were very encouraging and pushed me to continue nursing. One thing that helped with my milk production was oatmeal cookies and not the nasty lactation cookies just plain old fashion oatmeal cookies. I also hand expressed my milk when my son wasn’t nursing trying to build up my milk supply. I wasn’t really able to make enough to store but it was more than enough for my greedy newborn. 2 years later and I still had milk. I just recently stopped my son from nursing because I’m pregnant again and it was too painful. I would just say keep doing what your doing and consistency is key. Your doing a great job.