Breastfeeding

This message is for all of my friends who have had or are having babies in the next month or so.

Tired much? Ha! You just pushed a watermelon out of an orange. Epidural or not, you pushed, and your body is exhausted. On top of that, you are determined to breastfeed (YAY!), which means you do not recover from labor until your baby sleeps through the night. I'm not sure if anyone told you, but breastfeeding is EXHAUSTING! Although, there is nothing like losing weight and eating all the time without working out.

If you are struggling with the breastfeeding thing, take heart! You are doing the best you can, and you will be rewarded in full! All throughout my pregnancy, people kept telling me that breastfeeding was painful, awful, and that I wouldn't last because it was just too difficult (I'm not one that deals with pain well). I think all that horrible advice made me even more stubborn to continue, and I'm so glad I did.

Alaina and I had almost every problem known to breastfeeding. We got to visit lactation consultant after lactation consultant. After about 2 weeks, I decided that I was just going to pump for the next year because I was determined to feed Alaina breast milk for health and financial reasons. Thankfully, we did not have to do that because I HATED pumping, with a passion! Even after she figured out how to latch on, we continued to have problems up until she was about 6 or 7 months. In fact, I think the only thing we didn't deal with was thrush (thank you Lord!).

So, if you feel like quitting, contact me for encouragement! We managed to make it to about 14-15 months before completely weaning, so I consider it a success! She has never had an ear infection, and the only times she got sick was when she was exposed to something that I was not.

Ok, new mama, if you are still reading this, here's my advice...know that you are a doing a wonderful job and, GO TAKE A NAP!

Love,
Christie