Breastfeeding

So, you're probably thinking to yourself, "TMI, Megan!, TMI! Stop!" but here it goes.

As most normal, intelligent, people can recognize, breast milk is best for your baby. The practicality of pumping and then giving it to your little one, via a bottle, 100% of the time sounds O' SO tempting, do not do it. At first, you'll probably think, "this is great!" and "Matt will be able to help." All this might be true, but by hour twenty, you're ready to kill yourself will all the cleaning that you'll have to do (bottles and pumps have many parts that require attention to detail) and how frequently it will occur. But, alas, there is a solution. Breastfeeding. Yup, no messy clean-up, except on the baby and maybe your shirt. But, more on that later.

Personally, I had a difficult time feeding my baby in the beginning. The tricky part, that the lovely lactation specialists DON'T tell you is that your milk is not in before you leave the hospital. So, Isabel and I were doing fantastic before leaving the hospital but when we arrived home, we started to have "issues." By day three, she could not eat because my breasts were so engorged (read hard, heavy, painful, etc.). If you need a visual, which I'm sure you're thinking that you don't, it's like getting breast implants that haven't softened or dropped yet: a very, very, weird sight.

Anyway, she couldn't eat, I was getting mucho frustrated, so I ended up renting a pump and feeding her, with a bottle of breast milk, for the next three days. BTW: This ended up great for us because my poor nipples needed a break and she easily got her food.*

To wrap up, although it might suck in the beginning, you will have no problems by the time that your baby is one month old. I guarantee that. When you are getting frustrated (and you will), just remember that it won't last more than a couple of weeks. Any soreness in your boobs or nipples will be gone and it will mostly be an enjoyable experience. You will learn to type with one hand and even feed her without much propping.  Good luck! You'll be great.

* My lactation specialists recommended Dr. Brown's bottles if you want to use one this early. The babies showed no problems of switching between breast and bottle -AND- they come in BPA-free and glass bottle options. 

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