The first 3 days our nursing sessions would last a good 45 minutes to 2 hours! Yes, I still had blisters the whole time. Especially on the right side because she seemed to like that side better! The purpose of her nursing so long is to get my milk supply to come in. Breastfeeding is supply and demand, so if you feed on demand your supply will try and match up with that.
I will say when I got home, Day 3, I was way more relaxed about the whole thing. I didn't have hospital staff in and out, I have a comfy bed to sit on, and it was just me and my daughter. It felt amazing to sit on my bed! My butt and back were so sore from the hard hospital bed....and probably sore from labor too :) !
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Start of Something New
It all happened so quickly that I don't remember exactly what moment in time I first breastfed. She was born at 9:50 in the morning, and I remember looking at her for a while before the nurses took her and had to suction her a little. I believe within 30 minutes I was attempting to nurse my daughter for the first time.
I read a lot of literature and even took a breastfeeding class offered by the hospital to get a head start, or at least know what to expect. From what I read I knew it may not come easily as some may think. And it didn't. I was able to express some of the colostrum when I attempted to get her to latch. That way she would at least get the nutrients that she needed, as we worked to get 'the latch'.
I also read that lots of nurses and doctors are not educated on breastfeeding, which is true, we learned nothing about it in nursing school! So I went in with the intentions of denying any formula that the staff wanted to feed to her because of her 'not getting enough'. I knew my body was producing what my little one needed, right from the beginning. The hospital I delivered at was very pro-breast is best so I was only offered formula once because I kept complaining of the pain I was in. The nurse said she could take her for a few hours and give her a bottle so that I could rest. I said "No, I came in prepared to say no to a bottle because I thought I might want to give in!" She backed off right away and was totally accepting.
I was exhausted, my body hurt, the hospital bed was hard, and my nipples HURT!!! I got blisters on them! I never remember reading about blisters! Ouch! The best way I can describe it is: a blistered sunburn that someone keeps rubbing...but with more nerves because it's on your nipples! LMAO...I can't believe I nursed through that!
I read a lot of literature and even took a breastfeeding class offered by the hospital to get a head start, or at least know what to expect. From what I read I knew it may not come easily as some may think. And it didn't. I was able to express some of the colostrum when I attempted to get her to latch. That way she would at least get the nutrients that she needed, as we worked to get 'the latch'.
I also read that lots of nurses and doctors are not educated on breastfeeding, which is true, we learned nothing about it in nursing school! So I went in with the intentions of denying any formula that the staff wanted to feed to her because of her 'not getting enough'. I knew my body was producing what my little one needed, right from the beginning. The hospital I delivered at was very pro-breast is best so I was only offered formula once because I kept complaining of the pain I was in. The nurse said she could take her for a few hours and give her a bottle so that I could rest. I said "No, I came in prepared to say no to a bottle because I thought I might want to give in!" She backed off right away and was totally accepting.
I was exhausted, my body hurt, the hospital bed was hard, and my nipples HURT!!! I got blisters on them! I never remember reading about blisters! Ouch! The best way I can describe it is: a blistered sunburn that someone keeps rubbing...but with more nerves because it's on your nipples! LMAO...I can't believe I nursed through that!
Friday, May 22, 2009
A little background...
I gave birth to my daughter on April 9th, 2009 and have been exclusively breastfeeding her. This is a blog all about breastfeeding (BFing), my BFing story, good BFing links and information, and for others to share their BFing successes!
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