Lana’s Breastfeeding Story
“Having realistic expectations was helpful and took a lot of the pressure off me”
I always knew I wanted to breastfeed but as much as I was determined to stick with it, I was also realistic and knew I might not be able to. The first time I tried to nurse my daughter it was extremely painful. I was told by a lactation consultant at the hospital that breastfeeding should not hurt if the baby latched on correctly, I really don’t think that’s true. It hurt every time she latched in the beginning even though I was told she had a good latch.
I was fortunate that I did not have issues with supply or with my daughter latching correctly but every time she latched, I was in excruciating pain. I would dread whenever she woke up and I knew I had to feed her. She was up every 90 minutes at night which made it that much harder. Every time she latched; I would count to 20 in my head to get through the pain. After around 20 seconds the pain subsided. Then of course I would need to switch sides and repeat the process again. I wanted to stick with nursing but I was finding it very difficult and would get anxious whenever my daughter was ready to feed. I decided that I would give myself 6 weeks. If by 6 weeks the pain did not subside, I would quit. Having a finish line seemed to help. I was working towards a goal.
In the beginning my nipples were sore and cracked, I bought lanolin cream and would apply it after every feed but I’m not sure if it was helpful. I was also told to express breastmilk and apply that instead but I’m not sure if that helped either. On around day 6 of nursing, I woke up in the middle of the night with painful lumps in my breasts. I got worried because I had no idea that this was normal. I did not realize I was experiencing the “let-down.” Once I looked it up (thanks Google!) I found helpful tips for easing the pain. In a day or so the pain from the let-down went away and my milk supply increased. I was fortunate enough that the pain from nursing subsided in less than 3 weeks, I made it. At this point it became an enjoyable experience, I loved nursing my daughter. I was very happy I stuck with it.
Nursing at different stages brought on different challenges though. My body was constantly adjusting to my daughter’s needs. Sometimes I felt she was not getting enough milk and I would top her up with formula, other times she was not drinking enough and I would get engorged and need to pump. At around 6 months my daughter started getting very curious about everything going on around her. I found that she was not nursing effectively. She would latch, nurse for a few minutes, unlatch and look around, repeat. It was a bit frustrating because it would take a very long time to feed her. It felt like all I was doing between her naps was nursing. At around 10 months I started losing my milk supply. I’m sure I could have done things to increase my supply but I felt that it was a good stopping point. I transitioned her to formula and really enjoyed my newfound freedom!
Overall, I enjoyed nursing and I am glad I stuck with it. Having realistic expectations was helpful and took a lot of the pressure off me. My goal was to nurse for as long as it worked well for both of us. When it stopped working for me, I transitioned her and was very happy with my decision.