Here is this week's Monday Mommy! This is Jessica B. (you met her through Monday Mommy a few weeks back) and here is she is with her breastfeeding journey with her first child. I love sharing breastfeeding journeys since everyone has a different experience; the good, the bad, and the ugly! New mamas are nervous about breastfeeding and want so badly for it to be perfect. Life is not perfect, in fact it is messy! Sharing our breastfeeding experiences will help new mamas not be so concentrated on being perfect and know that being messy is perfectly normal! Breastfeeding has its ups and its downs, and we need to be able to speak freely and support one another through those downs! So here is Jessica with her Breastfeeding experience! Thanks Jess!
My daughter was 14 months old when we weaned. It was a sad but happy day. I was ready to have my body back.... I wanted it all to myself. But oh how I was going to miss those days of snuggling and providing her something that ONLY I could give her.
I don't remember much from the first few weeks of our time together. I do remember that she never nursed off of both sides in one sitting. She would only nurse for about 10 minutes and then fall into such a deep snooze that there was nothing I could do to wake her up. And thus I started pumping within days of coming home because I did not want my supply to be off.
Because of this my supply was always great and at least once if not twice a day my poor girl would get covered in a milk bath because she couldn't drink fast enough... hee hee I remember the first time trying to nurse her in public. My husband and I were shopping and I went into a fancy restroom in one of those fancy stores where they have couches. It was an EPIC FAIL. I remember trying to get her to latch on and she refused but was screaming with everything she had so of course I 'let down' and when I say sprayed, I mean I sprayed that girl with breastmilk.... trying to get her to latch on, holding her screaming body, trying to cover myself as other women were staring (some with sympathy, others with amusement, and others with disgust), and finally got myself put back together, picked everything up and rushed back out. The look on my husband face was priceless.... it obviously did not go well since I was out in 5 minutes, my daughter was soaked from head to toe, and we were both still crying. From that point on - we only nursed in the car where it was quiet and I had much more privacy!
That is one my one piece of advice for new moms, whether you will be staying home or returning to work. Start pumping as soon as you can - you will be thankful for it later. When you're having a bad day or end up sick - the baby will have breastmilk and you will not have an ounce of worry or stress in your body which will help you out in more ways than one. When I returned to work my daughter was 4 months old and I had a huge supply of milk frozen and ready for her. She drank frozen breast milk until she was almost a year and half because I had so much frozen. It helped with transitioning her to whole milk as well because we mixed them together.
Don't be afraid of pumping which ever way suits you best. I bought this very fancy expensive pump for over $350 dollars. And it's being sold at my yard sale this weekend for $25. The thing just did not work for me, I had no suction, and cried more than I care to admit while using it.
Want to know how I pumped?????
With my hand.... into a cup. *blush* It shocked me but it worked so well, I was getting twice as much each time I pumped then when I was using my electric one. Go figure huh. :)
I missed nursing but it was time - I let my daughter lead the weaning. We were down to bedtime nursings and it just felt right. Because I did it slowly I had no pain or issues from engorgement.
But I did miss those sweet moments, the pure hunger in my daughters eyes and then the amazing contentment that came over her as her belly was getting filled up. Breastmilk induced stupors are the best!
Happy Breastfeeding!
Please come visit me over at www.andtheycallherblessed.
~I hope that you have enjoyed this week's Monday Mommy! If you have questions for Jessica B. or any comments, please leave them below! Remember, Monday Mommy is an outlet for Mamas to speak freely about their experience as a mama. Questions and comments are encouraged, but please do not post negative comments as they will be deleted immediately.~
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