When I got my first baby, I had all these romantic expectations on what my breastfeeding experience would be. Here are some of the realities that I wish someone had told me about.
- It’s not automatic. It takes a bit of work and time to finally get it right.
- I needed to put my baby on the breast immediately after birth. I was not able to do this and subsequently, it took a while before my baby would accept to breastfeed as she preferred the faster option of cup feeding.
- It does not have to be painful. I thought that it was normal to have painful nipples when the baby started to breastfeed. I later discovered that the pain was caused by my baby latching on poorly and once I got lactation support, I learnt about the correct latching techniques.
- That I would get some cramps and pains on my stomach when the baby was breastfeeding. This is nature’s way of contracting the uterus back to its usual size with the added benefit of controlling bleeding after birth.
- I needed to wear breast pads even in bed. I would wake up and find my bed sheets wet with breast milk that had leaked. Using sports bra’s or ‘boob’ tubes to support the breasts and breast pads gave me a more comfortable time and I did not need to change my bedsheets daily.
- It was important to establish breastfeeding first before introducing a bottle as this causes nipple confusion for the baby and could lead to baby preferring the bottle rather than the breast.
- I did not need to eat copious amounts of food that made me get constipated and bloated. I just needed to stay well hydrated, eat a well-balanced diet with smaller meals several times a day. Read here to learn about Common misconceptions on foods eaten by breastfeeding mums https://motherhood101.co.ke/common-misconceptions-foods-eaten-breastfeeding-mums-kenya/
- I would get a lot of pressure from many quarters about how, when, how long I should breastfeed. I needed to learn what worked for my baby. As long as my baby was adding weight adequately, passing urine and doing the poop regularly, then my breast milk supply was enough.
- As my baby grew, she underwent the ‘teething’ period and my breast was the first casualty as she tried to see how these brand new teeth worked. I had to learn how to teach her not to bite me.
- That the spectacular cleavage that came during pregnancy and birth would soon disappear once I weaned my baby from the breastfeeding.
