Things I wish I knew about breastfeeding before I actually started

If you’re just like me who had the desire to breastfeed your kid, but only had a vague idea of how it’s supposed to work, read on because I wouldn’t want you to make the same mistake as this new mama did. 

1. Water is gold – After giving birth, I was just in so much pain down there that peeing at ease before is like a distant dream. The whole process of actually going to the toilet took so much time and effort that even the idea of going already exhausted me. So I made the huge mistake of not drinking water to prevent my body from producing urine. Not the brightest idea simply for the fact that even when you haven’t given birth, your body still needs that 8 glasses of water. But when you intend to breastfeed (and really, I don’t even know why I haven’t thought of it in the logical sense earlier), how would your body produce breast milk if you don’t even have the base ingredient in abundance inside your body? Breast milk is composed of 90% water, so your body definitely needs that extra liquid guzz to produce that liquid gold. Drink up, and bottoms up that 1L water bottle as often as you can. 

2. Sore and leaky boobs are the norm – Especially in the early days where your baby is still trying to figure out how to latch properly, pulling your nipple may be their way of showing their frustration for not getting as much milk as they wanted. This scenario equates to you having very very sore breasts. And when your milk has finally come in, your breast still needs to figure out how to seal your nipples properly so that it doesn’t leak through and mark your entire shirt. My advice? Have a capsule number of nursing bras, shirts and pads to prevent those embarrassing and sometimes smelly stains (I mean sweat and breast milk? Your baby might find it the best combo but yep, let’s just avoid such mixtures shall we.) Invest on a good nipple cream for sore boobs or apply cold cabbage or cold nappy to help soothe those swollen breasts. 

3. It’s actually tiring – All those picture perfect instagram breastfeeding posts you see on instagram? Yep, they failed to make me realize just how much of a toll it would actually take on the arms, back and shoulders for this task. All these mamas who make it seem so effortless appear like that simply because they had so much practice with it, day in and day out.  But as a first time mama attempting to breastfeed? Yep, aside from the pain you’re trying to recover from the actual experience of pushing out a human down below, you also have to deal with the sore breasts and muscle pains of having your babe in your arms for what seems like the better half of 24 hrs. 

4. It’s ok not to have enough milk #FedisBest – It’s 2020 you guys, and we should really stop trying to shame mamas for not being able to produce enough milk for their kid. Breastfeeding is hard work, and you also have to deal with the worry gnawing at the back of your mind if your baby is really getting enough milk. So again, shoutout to all the warrior mamas out there who attempt to breastfeed and need to resort to supplement. No matter what your circumstance is with your breastfeeding journey, what’s important is that your baby is fed and is growing. You know what’s best for you, your family and your baby. 

5. A supportive community is sooo important – For you to have more likelihood of successfully breastfeeding your baby, your support system is highly encouraged. Even the simple act of helping you get comfortable as you breastfeed, or not immediately rushing to give your baby the bottle speaks wonders to your mental health. The simple science of breastfeeding is the more you try to feed your baby, the more you are trying to tell your breast that it needs to produce more milk. You also need to rest (or at least attempt to relax your tense body a little bit) to produce more hormones and produce more milk. So having some form of help with the baby, housework or cooking works wonders as well to help you produce more of this golden liquid. 

6. You and your child need to work for it – If you desire to continue this breastfeeding journey, it requires not just you to work hard for it, but your kid as well. Remember that you’re not the only one trying to figure things out, your kid has to as well (pretty much everything they do, they have to try to figure out). So try to cut you and your kid some slack if the breastfeeding session doesn’t work out this time, simply try again next time. Just continue to persist, and celebrate the times when he or she can actually latch properly and not bite you in the process. If a position doesn’t work, try to switch to another position. Or location, or what have you. It’s a gradual learning process, not a race. You and your kid will eventually get it. 

7. You get hungry way too easily – As a person who never really had a huge appetite in the first place, this was actually something that really bewildered me. And this crazy appetite only kicked in after one month of trying to breastfeed. By this time, I was slightly getting the hang of it and I suddenly began to eat way more than my usual portion. After giving birth, I didn’t have that much of an appetite and was generally always too tired to even think of eating, much less do the actual eating process itself. So that sudden turn in my appetite was really that much of a shocker for me. But breastfeeding in itself is proven to burn 200 to 500 calories per day, so you definitely need more calories to fuel your body in its milk making process. Have a bunch of easy to grab healthy finger foods like granola bars in hand to remedy those hunger pangs. 

8. Pump to prevent mastitis and engorgement – I highly suggest, no matter how tired you are, to pump the other boob if you have the habit of feeding one breast more often than the other, and not stimulating the other breast. There’s a reason why God gave us 2 breasts. But if you have a medical condition that makes it difficult to switch breasts or the baby finds it difficult to feed from one breast as compared to the other, at least pump the unstimulated breast. Uncleared milk in your breast presents an opportunity for bacteria to grow and cause you to have fever or the severe discomfort of engorgement. So clear the milk as much as possible to prevent the feeling of your boobs rotting. 

There you have it! Eight points I wish I knew before I began my breastfeeding journey. In hindsight, even if I knew all of this stuff, I don’t know if my journey would have gone as smoothly as I would have imagined, but I believe it would have played a role in improving my mental health disposition, having all these background knowledge. Nonetheless, if I was able to figure things out, you can too. No shame in whatever method you choose is best to feed your baby. You go do you. And with that being said, may you have a wonderful breastfeeding journey, even more so than mine!