I took the breastfeeding class. It helped me get an IDEA. An IDEA of what kind of commitment I’d be making. I’m now coming to the end of my breastfeeding adventure with weaning in the near future and with that said, I’ve become very reflective. I’ve generated a list of things I wish someone had told me the first two weeks of breastfeeding.
20 Tidbits to Surviving the First Two Weeks Breastfeeding:
1. You are doing a great job. You are doing so much work that gets unnoticed. It gets SO much easier. SO much more rewarding. And SO much more comfortable.
2. Find an app or trick to help you remember what side you nursed on last. Some people use apps to help them know which side they are on. Others use hair ties. You may think you can remember but you don’t realize HOW MUCH you are nursing and how deliriously tired you are. Find a trick.
3. Ditch the nursing scarves. Receiving blankets are so much easier than nursing scarves.
4. Expect toe curling pain if your nipples crack. My friend told me the first two weeks your nipples might bleed and crack and if so, it was toe curling. That was the perfect words. You can’t move or yell and you have this perfect baby in front of you, so if your nipples do crack and bleed think of the word toe curling and remember, I feel you.
5. Do what you can! If you can’t breastfeed, or need to supplement, don’t sweat it. I have exclusively breastfed but have friends who supplemented along the way and their kids are just as adorable and healthy as mine.
6. Hide the cat NIP. When you aren’t nursing start wearing thick sweatshirts. This helped a lot so when I held her close and tried to get her to sleep she wouldn’t be able to smell my catnip milk. That’s right, your milk is like catnip to your baby (no pun intended). Wear sweatshirts and realize that when they sleep better on other people this is why!
7. Yes, it’s normal. If you start texting your mommy friends the words “Is this normal?” after a breastfeeding question fifty times a day, then you are super normal. That was the most common thing I texted the first two weeks.
8. Enjoy a drink. I ate what I wanted and drank breastfeeding too. If you can drive, you can nurse. Beer always made me pump more actually. Oatmeal will do this too.
9. You’ll have a new vocabulary. The phalanges on a breast pump and a membrane are words you may not know yet. But you will. Phalanges was Easy E and my “Word of the Year” of 2017.
10. Don’t get scared by “nipple confusion”. Nipple confusion is apparently a thing. But, I have never, EVER, EVER, actually met someone who experienced it. Don’t let it get into your head to much. We gave Maggie a pacifier three weeks in and it saved our sanity. She stopped using it at a month old in lieu of her thumb, and it didn’t change anything.
11. Just nurse those first few weeks. Remember, in order to breastfeed the baby uses a zillion muscles. It’s the most exhausting thing their little bodies do. A bottle uses a lot less work and muscles, so while I advocate pumping bottles, I’d wait a few weeks until you are really settled into your routine.
12. You will sleep again. We had Maggie sleeping by 6 weeks almost through the night. That’s a whole other post.
13. Babies are tough. Give yourself a break if you don’t follow all the rules. I forgot to boil bottles until Maggie was two months old. No harm, no foul.
14. Beware the internet. I’m part of lots of breastfeeding groups and realized quick that I had a very different outlook than other women. I knew I’d be on a schedule quickly, and sleeping through the night. And I was. Some people will breastfeed and let their baby dictate their journey. Other mom’s will follow the babies’ lead but dictate it themselves. Realize the mom you want to be and that there is nothing wrong with that.
15. Cluster Feeding is a real thing. Babies just want to nurse and nurse and nurse at first. This will not last forever. They will have certain hours they want to nurse on end and you’ll worry they aren’t getting enough to eat. They are. At first I tried to fight it but realized it was easier to find a show to binge watch, get comfortable, and just let her do her thing.
16. Learn the Four Bs! Start a bedtime routine the day you get home from the hospital and stick to it. We usually did it around 9:30/10:00 at the beginning. We called it the Four Bs: Bath, Book, Blessing, Boob. We always did bedtime nursing in the nursery chair. That has never changed. At this point the second we sit in that chair with Maggie, for naps or bedtime, she starts rubbing her eyes.
17. Get an expert to help! Don’t be afraid to call your Lactation Consultant from the hospital. My insurance covered two visits and at one point around three months I felt it was needed. It was the best hour I had in building my confidence. For Baby 2, I will schedule an appointment the first two weeks no matter what. It was the best thing I did.
18. The occasional accident Zzzz is OK. If you fall asleep at night breastfeeding, give yourself a break. We know we aren’t supposed to, but it happens. It’s dark and we are tired. Just set up a pillow system around yourself just in case.
19. Bedtime is bedtime no matter what. From 10-8 everytime we nursed we didn’t turn on lights, make eye contact, or talk to Maggie. Nursing at night was strictly business.
20. Get that hubby of yours on board. When the baby wakes up to nurse have him change the diaper in the dark and bring them to you. This always gave me two minutes to pee, grab a water, and set up the TV and pillows. Teamwork makes the dream work.
Mostly remember, you are doing something more selfless than the 9 months previous. You should be very proud!
Anyone have anything else that helped get them through those first two weeks?