The first six weeks.

Everyone says that the first six weeks are the hardest, and I couldn't agree more! As a first time mum I had no idea what was about to hit me. My body was recovering from the trauma (good trauma of course), my hormones where out of whack, and my nipples were getting used to being fed off of. The first few weeks are when you really have to stay determined and strong (apparently it's quite easy after your first child but I obviously would have no idea) as these are the weeks where your nipples are getting used to something new, just as your feet have to get used to new shoes (I'm sure everyone knows what that's like) but that's just a mild comparison. You really just have to get as comfortable as possible and fight through the pain.

Feeding for the first time.

The first week of feeding was actually a breeze for me with minimal pain. I remember I was in complete admiration during my first feeding session because this little human being who had spent the first 39 weeks of his existence being fed through an umbilical cord, just knew what to do when he was introduced to his new food source. It was purely amazing. I spent the rest of my time in hospital finding a comfortable position to feed him in and getting used to holding him in the position (I plan to write a blog on feeding positions in the near future :)). "This isn't so bad!" I thought to myself because I thought that was as painful as it got, but come week two it really began to hurt.

 During the second week I pumped a few bottles for him with a manual pump, I thought pumping was great! I could easily get 100 Mls from each breast for him and it gave me a small break from breastfeeding. Of course I only pumped occasionally and breastfed regularly to keep up my supply, and I managed to push through the rest of the week by staying positive. By week thee I had really started to lose faith in myself, I was in a lot of pain and I dreaded feeding time. I also had the 'three day blues' until week four which made me that little more upset. Lansinoh cream became my breast friend (pun intended) as I dabbed my nipples with it before feeds and lathered in on after feeds, and after every few feeds I would allow them to air out for a while, which I highly recommend you do to encourage healing. 

Personally, week four was probably my worst week. By now my nipples were raw and even bleeding a bit, I was nearly always upset and even pumping had become harder and more painful. I started to substitute a few feeds with formula just to give myself a break (which I do not recommend as it can decrease your supply), but it just made the next feed harder. A few times I really considered switching him to formula because at the time it was so much easier as I didn't have to put up with the pain and it meant my partner could help with the feeding, but my partner really encouraged me to keep going and to get me through it I looked up the health benefits of breastfeeding for inspiration (mentioned in previous blog). To make matters worse, during week four I got mastitis. For those of you who have had it, well you know what I'm talking about, and for those of you who haven't... It freaking hurts! It makes your whole body feel horrible and it makes you miserable. I went to the doctors where he gave me a Maxalon injection and some antibiotics which took approximately four days to heal. But during those four miserable days there were times where I told my partner "I can't do this anymore" and "I'm giving up, I'm switching him to formula!" which he strongly encouraged me to stick to breastfeeding which he knew I wanted to do and he even sat with me while I fed and helped distract me from the pain. Though even with all of my partners support I still really considered permanently changing Noah to formula, but every time I went to go do it I would feel guilty and go back to Google and do my regular thing of reminding myself of all the benefits of breastfeeding. Then after my mastitis healed, everything started to get better.

Come along week five, breastfeeding became a lot easier, it only hurt for the first five seconds that Noah latched on and then the rest of the feed was a breeze. I even began to enjoy breastfeeding. I was so proud of myself and how far I had come with my breastfeeding, I was officially an exclusively breastfeeding mother! I started to feel the magnificent bond between my son and I and felt less like a feeding machine. I became more confident when going out in public, and by week six the pain had stopped all together. I felt on top of the world, I was sure for a while there that it was never going to get better! If breastfeeding is something you really want to do then I suggest you stick to it, it really is rewarding once it gets better.

Lansinoh lanolin cream

BREAST IS BEST! :)