Breastfeeding: The Joys & Challenges

Let me start by saying, fed is best. Breastfeeding, bottle feeding, a mixture of the two, etc; How a mother chooses to feed her baby is entirely up to her. There are a lot of factors to take into account when choosing how to feed your baby, but what matters most of all is simply that you feed them.

I personally wanted to be a mother more than anything in the world. Having Laken was a dream come true. In fact, while I was on maternity leave I often referred to him as my dream boat baby. He was easy and sweet. I loved snuggling him, feeding him, smelling him (anyone else can’t get enough of that newborn smell?), and watching him sleep. Breastfeeding was an exciting part of motherhood that I couldn’t wait to experience. It’s so personal and intimate. I had witnessed other Mamas breastfeeding their babies, but until I did it myself, I didn’t think I could ever really understand the experience. All that to say, breastfeeding has been wonderful for us, but that definitely isn’t everyones experience.

While I’ve really enjoyed breastfeeding (we’re currently going on 9 months!), it definitely can have its drawbacks. Here is my own personal joys/challenges list for breastfeeding.

Joys

Super cost effective

Honestly, one of the reasons I was so excited to BF, and so thankful when it went well, was because it was free. Aside from some of the products I bought to assist in this feeding journey, the milk itself was free. As a young family with a decent amount of debt and an unpaid maternity leave, this was a huge benefit.

Readily available

At a family dinner and want to stay a little later? Unexpectedly stuck at the airport with a delayed flight? Exhausted and don’t want to open your eyes while you feed your tiny babe in the middle of the night? Whatever the case, as long as you’re with your baby, you can feed the baby. As a new parent I underestimated the amount of things I would now be toting around with me. Not having to remember bottles, formula, etc. was a relief. This definitely has its own downside though, see below.

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Healthy

Breastmilk is freaking awesome. The way its able to change and adapt for your baby really feels like a superpower sometimes. Your breastmilk is specially tailored to meet the needs of your growing child; breastmilk changes from the colostrum you produce in the first few days, and continues to change until you’re done nursing.

Multi-purpose

In addition to feeding your baby, breastmilk can be used for all kinds of ailments. When LJ was a newborn I worried about him getting diaper rash. Every time his bottom was even a little red I poured a small amount of breastmilk on it, and it cleared right up. A lot of parents enjoy giving their baby a milk bath, or using extra milk to relieve eye issues. Rubbing milk on your baby is definitely not a substitute for getting advice from a medically trained professional, but it is a nice at home remedy for a lot of things. I like to compare it to the coconut oil craze- there doesn’t seem to be a lot it can’t help with.

Time to bond

Perhaps my favorite benefit of breastfeeding is the amount of one-on-one time I get to spend with LJ. Especially in the early weeks it was nice to be able to step away for twenty minutes to nurse. As LJ has grown our feeding relationship has changed. He doesn’t eat nearly as frequently as he once did, and he’s more distracted when he nurses sometimes. Selfishly, I’m so grateful for all the quality alone time I’ve racked up with him over the months while feeding.

Challenges

Over/under supply

I luckily didn’t have either of these issues, but they are a huge concern for most parents. An oversupply sounds like a great thing, but from the friends I’ve heard from, it can be quite a pain. One of the big things that makes new mothers anxious is the fear that they aren’t making enough milk. Check in with your lactation consultant (I saw the one at Health Foundations where we had LJ), or contact your local La Leche League if you’re worried. There are a lot of great formula options to supplement with or use if the need arises.

Do I have enough milk on hand?

This is the downside to breastmilk being readily available. It’s only “readily available” if you’re actually with your baby. Otherwise, you’ll need to express milk to be able to go anywhere. I am in the unique situation of being able to take LJ with me to work, so I don’t need to pump to be able to feed him while I’m gone during the day. However, if I want a day or night away, I have to pump in advance and make sure I have enough milk frozen to feed him while I’m gone. I don’t exactly love pumping, and finding a time to pump when I’m nursing throughout the day has been challenging. Needless to say, this is probably my biggest obstacle.

Access to the boob

Everyones comfort level with nursing is different. Some parents don’t mind their entire stomach/breast/etc showing and some do. I fall somewhere in between. I don’t really want everything hanging out, but I also want easy access and to not be uncomfortable. There are plenty of “techniques.” You can pull a stretchy shirt down, open up one with buttons, invest in some nursing tops with the hidden opening, or you can pull any shirt straight up. I’ve mostly just pulled my shirts up. High waisted leggings or pants help cover my midsection, and the excess fabric from my shirt covers the top of my breast. I tried to use a nursing cover a few times and it was hot, awkward, and hard to see what was going on in the early days. Add in multiple layers due to a cold midwestern winter, and gaining access can be a pain in the butt.

Mastitis/Engorgement/Infections

I’ve had mastitis once, around the 8 month mark. It sucked. I had a fever and chills for three days, and then a giant reddish-pink stain showed up on one of my breasts, finally causing me to call in and get a prescription. My best advice is that if you feel terrible or think somethings wrong, call your doctor asap. These infections can escalate pretty quickly and be really painful. Luckily I had a pretty mild case pain wise, but it’s definitely not something I’d ever want to experience again.

I am so grateful for our sweet boy, and for our breastfeeding journey. It’s brought me a lot of joy, bonding, and amazement over the last nine months. While I love it a lot, I think it’s also SO important to highlight the ways that it is challenging and frustrating at times. Nothing you ever do will always be sunshine and rainbows. For us, the storm clouds are definitely overshadowed by the sunshine that nursing has been.

Did you breast/chestfeed? Do you love it, hate it, or something in between? What were your happiest moments and your most difficult? Let me know in the comments below!

with Love from our Wild,

Caitlyn