Just wanted to share a thought I was having while I nursed my 1 yr old little boy to sleep. I could hear him swallowing and feel that liquid gold being pulled out by him and it sent me back to the beginning. Right after he was born I was made to feel like I wasn't producing enough and felt forced into supplementing with formula at the hospital. They told me I would need to continue to supplement at home while I worked on building my supply (which was in fact hindering the process but I didn't know that at the time).
That first month was so incredibly frustrating and everyone told me it would be ok to give up, that it wasn't a big deal. Eventually I had to tell everyone to shut up because it was a big deal to me. I wanted to breastfeed. Many many times my son and I cried together as we worked to figure this relationship out. Little by little we did and by the time he was one month old we were done supplementing and he was only drinking breastmilk straight from me.
I remember pressing on my breasts and feeling the knots of milk, feeling engorged and thinking to myself, 'is this enough? is he getting enough?'. I was so doubtful of my body's ability to do what it was supposed to do. I thought about going to see someone but everything I read said that if his diapers were good and his weight was good, then trust that. So even though I doubted, I trusted that he was getting enough. And he was.
Now we're at a year, (I can't believe it!) and still nursing strong. I never feel engorged anymore and rarely can I feel those knots of milk. I don't feel 'full' anymore. I can tell though by the weight of my breasts that they definitely have plenty of milk in them. Every time we nurse I can feel him pulling it out and getting what he needs and sometimes (like now) I am amazed by my body. And I am amazed that I ever doubted it. That I could ever have thought, when I was so full it was painful and leaking, 'is this enough?'.
For all the new mama's out there, TRUST your body. It is wonderful and beautiful and amazing. Put that baby to breast as often as they want and unless there is some underlying medical anomaly, your body will do what it was designed to do. If you can't stifle the doubts, go see a lactation consultant and get a weighed feeding. If your baby wants to be on the breast for what seems like forever and then wants to nurse again 20 mins after they just nursed - don't doubt yourself. Trust your baby and trust your body.
Sorry for the long post, was just feeling very thoughtful and emotional nursing this evening and was thinking that I wish I hadn't felt so alone in the very beginning, before joining this group. That I wish I'd had some mama's telling me what I needed most to hear then. I hope my words help at least one other new mother feel just a little more confident that her amazing body is perfectly capable of taking care of her amazing baby. Nurse on!
That first month was so incredibly frustrating and everyone told me it would be ok to give up, that it wasn't a big deal. Eventually I had to tell everyone to shut up because it was a big deal to me. I wanted to breastfeed. Many many times my son and I cried together as we worked to figure this relationship out. Little by little we did and by the time he was one month old we were done supplementing and he was only drinking breastmilk straight from me.
I remember pressing on my breasts and feeling the knots of milk, feeling engorged and thinking to myself, 'is this enough? is he getting enough?'. I was so doubtful of my body's ability to do what it was supposed to do. I thought about going to see someone but everything I read said that if his diapers were good and his weight was good, then trust that. So even though I doubted, I trusted that he was getting enough. And he was.
Now we're at a year, (I can't believe it!) and still nursing strong. I never feel engorged anymore and rarely can I feel those knots of milk. I don't feel 'full' anymore. I can tell though by the weight of my breasts that they definitely have plenty of milk in them. Every time we nurse I can feel him pulling it out and getting what he needs and sometimes (like now) I am amazed by my body. And I am amazed that I ever doubted it. That I could ever have thought, when I was so full it was painful and leaking, 'is this enough?'.
For all the new mama's out there, TRUST your body. It is wonderful and beautiful and amazing. Put that baby to breast as often as they want and unless there is some underlying medical anomaly, your body will do what it was designed to do. If you can't stifle the doubts, go see a lactation consultant and get a weighed feeding. If your baby wants to be on the breast for what seems like forever and then wants to nurse again 20 mins after they just nursed - don't doubt yourself. Trust your baby and trust your body.
Sorry for the long post, was just feeling very thoughtful and emotional nursing this evening and was thinking that I wish I hadn't felt so alone in the very beginning, before joining this group. That I wish I'd had some mama's telling me what I needed most to hear then. I hope my words help at least one other new mother feel just a little more confident that her amazing body is perfectly capable of taking care of her amazing baby. Nurse on!