Breastfeeding For the First Time

My little Ava is three-weeks-old!

Life certainly changes after you have a baby! The emotions I feel getting to know and take of her are indescribable.  It’s everything I dreamed of and more.  I love learning how to take care of her and seeing her learn how to be a baby / human at the same time.

Not everything a mom has to learn comes easy and there are challenges along the way. One of the first challenges for a mother if she decides to is breastfeeding. Since, this month is breastfeeding awareness month I would like to write about my experience with breastfeeding, so far.

BREASTFEEDING

Before, I had Ava I decided I wanted to breastfeed her.  The benefits of breastfeeding are countless and I wanted to experience the act of breastfeeding with my baby. 

Unfortunately, breastfeeding is not the easiest thing the first time you try it. It’s like riding a bike. You try and try and eventually practice makes perfect.

The first time I tried to breastfeed Ava I was totally hopeless! I didn’t know how to latch her properly. I stuck my nipple in her mouth and thought the rest was left to her. I soon learned that was not the case! My nipples were cut, cracked and bruised!!! At the time, I honestly thought it was normal because I had heard so many horror stories about breastfeeding.  It’s not normal! Breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt if the baby is latched on properly.

The problem I had was each nurse at the hospital told me something different, so I kept trying something new. I finally learned how to latch her properly when a nurse visited my house and told me to hold my breast like a sandwich and make sure she is sucking on the areola too. Once, I realized this breastfeeding became much easier.

Breastfeeding is going good for us now.  So far, I have no problem producing milk. Ava knows how to latch on super hard too 😉 The biggest problem is being able to go out if I need too. Ava needs to be breastfed every two hours and sometimes more because she is small. I am thinking about pumping, so she can get the bottle if I am away for a little longer.  Plus, my husband and I would like to eventually go out together and spend some mommy-daddy time together!

I will keep you guys updated on how pumping goes!

My Overall advice on early breastfeeding:

It is not easy and takes a lot of work. However, it is super rewarding once everything starts to go smoothly. It gives a mother a special bond with her baby and closeness.

Don’t give up!

Educating yourself is always a key to success. I just bought the book The Art of Breastfeeding by the La Leche League.  I don’t necessarily agree with all their stances, but they do have great information on breastfeeding. They certainly know how to breastfeed 😉