I touched on my recent challenges with nursing Baby J in my last post. This morning I checked in with a friend who also just had a baby, her first. Coincidentally, she opened up about the difficulty she’s having nursing her son and the guilt of exclusively pumping due to the pain of nursing. I completely empathized with her. For solidarity’s sake, for her and any other Mama that’s struggling and might come across the post, I felt the need to be more transparent about my struggles.
Even though I nursed The Gents for nearly a year, I somehow forgot the latching techniques I learned 2.5 years ago. It was probably a mixture of post c-section fog, exhaustion, and over confidence (I mean c’mon, nursed twins! I got this.) I just kept dealing with the excruciating pain for Pepa’s sake, but when she spit up milk with blood in it (thankfully a friend told me a while ago about this happening to her so I didn’t freak out) I knew I needed to stop and reset the whole process for us.
I was in so much pain from not nursing properly that I had to exclusively pump for a few days until I healed. I was fortunate to have the support of J, Pepa’s pediatrician, and the home nurse that came to check on me after we left the hospital. I did some research and actually came across some articles I had read before! How did I forget this?! MOM BRAIN.
After a few days break and continued application of breastmilk, I healed. (Sidebar - breastmilk does wonders for your and your babe’s skin issues!) We eased back into it and before I knew it we were in sync and a couple of champs at breastfeeding. I do still give her a bottle when I need to or when I want to make sure she eats a specific amount. She has a tendency to fall asleep nursing and I can’t always wake her up to eat more. I get her nice and full in the evenings so she sleeps better.
This is what worked/works for us. Me writing this is by no means to shame anyone for not breastfeeding, but to encourage women to find the right approach and balance that works for them and their babe. Nursing is physically and mentally exhausting. You’re literally keeping another human being live. It’s work! At the end of the day your health is what’s most important to be your best self for you and your family. Remember, no one knows better than you how to take care of you. xo