Breastfeeding for this ManilaMom was hard

Breastfeeding is hard. It may be easy for many, those who repeatedly say “it is the most natural thing in the world,” but for people like me, it is HARD. There are many reasons why I was able to survive breastfeeding and believe me it was a survival thing as every day I was pondering whether it was worth all the pain and frustration of both me and my baby. I’m not at the end of it either, 7 months of exclusive breastfeeding, I still deal with some pain and a lot of inconvenience. 

I don’t mean to harp on how hard bf is to discourage others from doing it, I want more women to breastfeed! I do think though, that if more women come into it prepared, knowing it could be hard and where the difficulties will come from, they will be more likely to stick with it. So below is a summary of what worked for me in terms of survival tactics:

1. Turn to your mom friends, those who have been there before and are kind enough to take the time to write you an email every now and then to share survival tips. Those with some “technical knowledge” and those who are supportive and not all oh-it-was-so-easy-i-don’t-understand-why-more-people-don’t-do-it.
2. Read read read. I read blogs, babycenter, baby books, videos and all other manner of information transference. I learned how to latch the baby properly by watching videos on YouTube, learned about oversupply on kellymom, learned about weaning from the bottle from ... somewhere. Arm yourself with information because you are your best advocate, you know what you can and cannot deal with and you are the one who knows what is bothering your baby. 
3. Do not rely on your pediatrician or OB for lactation and nursing advice. They know next-to-nothing. What they know can be summed up in the following sentence: breastfeeding is best for babies, keep doing it. Most of the information you will need is online, or if you’re not a reader, with a lactation consultant or midwife.
4. Buy and use the gadgets and meds. I used a lot of them: nipple shields, breast shells, lanolin, saline solutions, hydrogel packs, etc etc. I even cling-wrapped my nipples once. Believe me, you’ll do anything to deal with the pain.
5. Sleep with your baby. This one is not for everybody and is truly a personal choice based on what you and your partner are comfortable with. After around a month of sleepless nights I finally did it, put the baby in the bed, lay down beside him and breastfed him until he was asleep. It changed everything for me. I got more sleep, the baby got more sleep, my husband got more sleep. Everybody was happier. Plus I really believe that it increased my milk supply having the baby around me all the time. 

Breastfeeding did not “come naturally” to me until month 3, when I could whip out my boob with no additional equipment (i.e. nipple shield) and know that wherever we were and no matter how hungry he was he could latch and get a good feed. Now I feel like a pro, but still feeling pain as the baby starts growing teeth. Overall it was a struggle worth going through. Keep your eye on the prize and don’t hesitate to ask for help.