Breastfeeding

Hello lovelies,

Hope everyone is keeping well.

So, when I was pregnant, I always just assumed that id breastfeed and it would all come naturally and it was easy. Afterall, breastfeeding is the what our boobs were made for, right?

Unfortunately, it wasnt as simple as that.

I had taken a 4 hour breastfeeding class while i was pregnant, I had watched countless youtube videos on how to get the perfect latch and read several articles on the subject. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, prepared me for how difficult those first 2 weeks were. I even described to my husband that the worst part of all of having a baby, labour included, was the pain of my nipples. SERIOUSLY!

I genuinely thought that baby would just snuggle up and feed like it was the most natural thing in the world. Boy was I wrong.

I used the Multi-mam products for those first few difficult days and they were fantastic (thanks to my midwives for hooking me up with both products! The products were so good that i sent the hubby and my own mam to stock me up for at home!) I also went on Daktarin- on the nipples and in babys mouth after feeds due to the severity of the cuts on the nipples and risk of bacterial or fungal infection

Dont get me wrong, now I love feeding Indie and it really is such a wonderful experience. We have such a close bond that I never even dreamed of, we know eachother, we're already best friends. I can calm her down like no one else. She comes to me and just goes quiet, burrows into me and nods off to sleep. Its my favourite part of becoming a mammy.

I really do wish more people knew how hard it was going to be for the first 2 weeks, and i wish more that everyone knew how lovely it is after that first stage. Maybe breastfeeding would be more accepted in society. I really noticed the lack of breastfeeding talk/ acceptance/ normalcy when I tried to find nursing clothes. Clothes to make it easy to breastfeed in public, or even just around family wihtout having to practically strip down to the nip.. literally! I trawled through shops and websites trying to find clothes that didnt cost a bomb (Dont even get me started... H&M are a good bet, and ASOS too)

I really feel so lucky that I have been able to feed Indie this long (Shes 6 weeks old tomorrow). When I started, I thought "This is never going to last", even giving her a top up of formula on night 2 to give the poor nips a break, then my milk came in on day 4/5, and finally my sister and public health nurse suggested nipple shields. Hallelujah! I had bought a pair of shields during my pregnancy, but never knew how to use them and they didnt enter my mind while i was crying in pain worrying how I was ever going to be able to continue to feed; until the public health nurse arrived- mid-feed: the latch was good, baby was guzzling away, swallowing, but why was I in so much agony. Once baby finished feeding, the nurse had a look at my bleeding, bistered (yes blisters) nips and she realised that my nipples were flat.

I didnt realise there was such a thing. Growing up youre always told that 'everything is normal', we all have different bodies, big and small and theres no such thing as 'normal'.... except, now I know, when breastfeeding. Indie was latching fine but loosing suction on the nipple as it wasnt inside her mouth far enough. This caused excessive suction and loss of suction, causing friction which meant i got horrid blisters, which burst and bled. I know, it sounds glam! As you can imagine, it was excrutiating! This is where the nipple shields came in. They have been my lifesaver. Made of thin silicone, they create a barrier between babys mouth and the nipple, but also they help to draw the nipple up into the shield, allowing baby to get better grip, suction and therefore a more successful feed. Overtime, the natural nipple tissue becomes more pliable and the nipple shield is no longer required. Im now getting to this stage, where I have began to wean Indie off the nipple shield and occasionally feed her without the shield at all.

Theyre so simple to use, you just place them on the nipple, and feed as normal, though you may need to hold the shield in place. I'm so delighted they worked for me and I hope this will help any mammys out there wishing to feed past those first difficult weeks. Trust me, it gets easier! Theres a great page on nipple shields use and care HERE. This post is only my personal experience!

If anyone out there has any questions about it, feel free to ask. Follow my facebook page HERE, Instagram HERE and on Snapchat at 'Connikav'.

Chat soon, Conni xoxo