My breastfeeding experience.

Before I even became pregnant, I always knew that I would breastfeed my children. Most women around me breastfed their children, so it was just kind of the normal thing to do. So,when I became pregnant, I had every intention of breastfeeding. I knew it would be hard. But I knew that it was absolutely the best thing I could do for my daughter’s health.

I am one of those people who does tons of research on everything that I become committed to. I don’t think anyone in my life was surprised at the endless amounts of literature I read about pregnancy, labor and delivery, breastfeeding, attachment parenting, and child development. HEck, I even took a Biology of Women course at my college. I thought it would be fun! Haha, and it was, sort of. (turns out the worst idea is to take a class like that….I had many nightmares after learning about EVERY single genetic disease or condition a child can have.)

So, my research on breastfeeding only told me what I already knew. That “breast is best”, not only for mother, but for baby, as well. I won’t go into every single detail about why breast is best, because then this blog would be a book!

Ok…so Isabela was born and FINALLY they bring her to the recovery room. You can see that moment here.

I was so speechless and humbled as I was holding my firstborn. The first thing I wanted to do was hold her skin to skin. Skin to skin contact is usually the first thing that “they” recommend mommies do, after giving birth. The warmth from mommy’s skin helps to regulate babies temperature, and it also makes for a great bonding moment. So, finally, my doula asked me if I was ready to try breastfeeding. We went through the motions, but my little tiny wasn’t
hungry. She was tired and content to just sleep in my arms.

Ok, so several hours later (around 10:30PM), I was finally in my room. Chris had to go home and get some stuff he forgot, so he left the hospital. Because I had a Cesarean, I wasn’t allowed to be alone in the room with my baby! What!! So, they took her to the nursery, and I felt like my heart was broken in two. When Chris came back, he asked them to keep her in the nursery til morning so I could recover. I had a real problem with that, because I felt like I
didn’t get to spend any time holding her yet! So, the nursery nurse reassured me that she would bring her in every 1- 2 hours to nurse, and that it would be a good idea for me to get some rest. I must have been really exhausted because I didn’t put up much of an argument. The nurse took Isabela to the nursery around midnight…..SOOOOOOO

so much for rest. The nurses checked on me every hour, and I could barely sleep. I wanted to kill Chris as I heard him contently snoring. I did fall asleep eventually, though, and woke up with a JOLT. It was almost 5 am!! Where was my baby!! All I could think was that she hadn’t eaten yet. I felt horrible and so sad that my little tiny was so far away from me.

Before I could buzz the nurse, I could hear a baby crying, and the nurse brought my baby in to me! She said, “I’m sorry…we’re a little late.” HA! I was too eager to hold her to be mean to the nurse.

So, this nurse then began to “help” me learn how to breastfeed. Today, I know that the nurse didn’t know a single thing about breastfeeding. She was doing everything the lactation consultant tells you not to! Of course, I was so tired and drugged, I couldn’t think straight.

Isabela was really crying. Poor tiny was hungry. And, she didn’t know how to latch on. The nurse kept pushing Isa’s head towards me. Thinking about it now, makes me want to slap her! Finally, Isa latched on and began to eat. The nurse kept asking me if it hurt , and I kept saying no. She then kept telling me that it it didn’t hurt then I wasn’t doing it right!I was too tired to argue, though, and just ignored her.

Isa turned out to be a good eater in the hospital. She would latch on and eat for about 40 minutes or so. And, I learned that breastfeeding only hurts when the baby latches on incorrectly. Isabela decided she would latch on correctly all through our hospital stay. Only when we got home and when my milk came in did Isabela began to have problems.

So, tomorrow, I will post the remainder of this blog. It’s pretty long, and I want you all to have something to look forward to!