Thinking of breastfeeding?

Helen Harris - 1 Mar 19

When my son was born he totally changed my life for the better and I couldn’t ever imagine my life without him.

Whilst I am still learning everyday, I wanted to share my breastfeeding experience to date with you in the hope that more new mothers consider this as a feeding option.

I was always encouraged by my own mum to give breastfeeding a go so when I was pregnant with my son it was always the plan that I would try to do it. When he came along he was very sleepy following a 17 hour labour. In the first 16 hours of his life he wasn’t interested in feeding so I didn’t push him. Once the midwives found out how long he had gone without a feed they panicked. They couldn’t latch him on to me immediately and instead had to cup feed him his first milk. Your emotions are all over the place anyway following the birth, but I was devastated thinking I was not going to get the hang of breastfeeding. I had to stay in hospital for three nights until they could see that he could latch on.

Whilst a lot of people who visited me saw me struggling and could not understand why I did not just give my son a bottle, my husband was incredibly encouraging and got me through the tough first days. I am sure that if it had not been for his support, my son would definitely be bottle fed now.

I remember a friend saying to me that it took her six weeks until she felt confident in her feeding. I thought at the time that this seemed like a long time and didn’t quite believe what she was saying. Now of course, I completely understand.

Bringing our baby home was the best feeling but the hard work was just about to start. Everyday for those first six weeks I thought that day would be the last day that I would breastfeed. I had sore/cracked nipples, latching on problems, milk production issues, doubts that he wasn’t getting enough food, worries over feeding in public and the pain of it would quite often make me cry.

Each day (and night) was a new challenge that I would have to overcome and I can honestly say that whilst I knew it was the best thing for him, I didn’t necessarily enjoy the breastfeeding in those early days. It was not until the weight began to pile on him that I believed I was doing it right.

True to my friends word after six weeks I felt that we both knew what we were doing and I was really enjoying it. However, problems did not stop there. Only a couple of weeks ago he stopped feeding altogether for two days and due to the worry of this my milk production decreased. My son still refuses to drink from a bottle even if it is expressed milk, which means I have had to miss out on a friends wedding and another’s hen do.

Nobody can prepare you for what it feels like to become a mother but equally I have been surprised by how incredibly hard it is to maintain breastfeeding. I can honestly say that the whole breastfeeding process has been harder than the birth itself. So would I consider doing it again next time round? Absolutely.

Yes I am restricted in what I can do/how long I can leave him for but why would I want to leave him anyway, he’s my baby?

I understand that breastfeeding is not for everyone but I just want other women to know that whilst it is not easy, it is rewarding. These past few months have been the most tiring, yet satisfying of my life and I only hope that more women are encouraged to give it a go.

At three in the morning when the world is asleep I can feed my baby for free, without sterilisation, and see him staring up at me, getting all the nutrients he needs. It still amazes me how it all works so effortlessly now when I think back to the struggles we had in the beginning.

Helen Harris

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