When I pregnant with my daughter I remember being told over and over "breast is best!" The quote now drives me nuts. Yes I am a huge advocate for breastfeeding. I would encourage all mums to at least attempt to breastfeed. But the quote gets me annoyed for one reason only. It denotes those who can't breastfeed. Having your baby fed is best.
With both of my kids I have had some difficulties with breastfeeding. I have considered numerous times of switching to formula as it would be "easier." Let me tell you I am glad i persisted!
If you are reading this and are having some difficulties with breastfeeding I hope you find some inspiration and help in what has helped me to succeed in breastfeeding.
In hospital I was so confident to begin with that I would be able to breastfeed without issue. I had BF my daughter until she was 1 year old. To begin with I was having success. But a few days in bubs had lost too much weight (over 10% of body weight) and was extremely fussy. Thus began my expressing journey too.
I was BF, expressing, and using top of formula feeds. If this plan is suggested to you know that it is full on. Expect to feel tired and have little time between the process finishing and starting again.
I was glad when I was able to slow down the process because it was so tiring! When expressing I was only able to get 5ml- 10ml from both sides after 40 minutes of expressing. It didn't seem worth it at all.
On the fourth day in hospital my milk finally came in, and in an instant I felt relief. I was sitting and had this rush type feeling down my chest. I then felt like someone had tipped a heap of water down the front of me. I had leaked milk everywhere!
From there, I BF solely and found a huge change in bubs. He was settled after feeds and was gaining weight quickly. I started to feel a lot better about the BF journey. I was still expressing, but limited it down to twice a day.
Expressing
Since coming home I have continued to express and BF. The expressing hasn't been about feeding bubs, rather to boost supply and have a backup bottle of milk in the fridge for fussy times.
Each time I express I like to take a photo of it so I can see the difference in the amount. Gradually I have increased the amount I have been able to express in the same amount of time.
My goal is to reach 150ml between both sides. So far the most I have reached is 110ml!
I use the Tomee Tippee Electric pump with their bottles. I also have a stash of their storage pouches that I have started using. The pouches are good for labelling and they take up less space than bottles.
Breastfeeding
In the first few weeks I was very anxious about BF in public and making sure I was feeding bubs every few hours. As the weeks have gone I have become a little more confident and relaxed about it.
There are times when I am out that I will find a parents room, where other times I will sit confidently in the middle of a food court or cafe.
Whenever I plan to go out I wear a nursing top under another top in order to create some coverage when feeding just in case.
The photo shown is the first time I fed bubs in public. I was so nervous that I put a muslin wrap across me. Whereas now I just make sure my top covers me enough so I don't offend anyone.
Most of the time there is no issue with me feeding him. Generally there is just looks, and not even negative ones.
At home we have got a good routine happening with BF. I have our pillow set up on the couch for feeds, and we lay down in bed at night time. At home I am a lot more relaxed and can feed confidently.
In order to boost my supply in the first few weeks I stumbled upon the amazing Clean Tea Mothers Tea. Within days I saw an improvement and I have continued to drink the tea since. I have made the tea into an ice tea jug and put it into a drink bottle for when I am going out. It has made it so convenient!
So far our breastfeeding and expressing journey has been very up and down, but overall a positive one. I have adjusted and adapted to what I feel comfortable with and this has led me to feel confident that I can BF and express for bubs. It isn't easy and at times I doubt myself. But I have come this far and bubs is happy, settled and gaining weight. It is all worth it!
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