Breast feeding is challenging, learning how to latch the baby on takes practice. The morning my milk came in my breasts went form a B cup to at least a D. They were swollen and painful. And over the next few weeks I needed to massage painful lumps from them while baby fed. I feel a sense of achievement for getting through it, for breast feeding my baby, but I have total respect for those who chose to bottle feed. There are times it is so hard that bottle feeding at least gives Mom some chance to rest and recover. In the past there were wet nurses for when women could not breastfeed. Not everyone can, not everyone should, there is a balance of needs to think about between mother and baby. I believe that. I believe that women need supporting in their choices so that they can feel good about them.
Breast feeding was hard at first. There was pain and bleeding. At first I had blocked ducts and when they burst it was bloody raw. Newborns latch on hard and suck hard. It hurts even more when there's an injury. Baby needed bottle feeding from expressed milk for four days, against the advise of the home visiting nurse who said baby wouldn't breast feed again after. Thankfully, she was wrong. By day four baby rejected the bottle and went back to breast feeding. There was more pain and discomfort for a few days or more. It was a long time ago and I forget the exact period of days. It's that way with small babies, one day blends into the next in a tired blur. But after that it was easy and pleasurable. There are feel-good hormones that happen on breast feeding, it's almost as good as getting a massage! Baby fed and got fatter, mamma lost pregnancy pounds by sitting on the couch, all was good. Feeding baby in public took a little getting used to. I didn't cover with a cloth as many do. Baby would have removed it anyway, they do have preferences of their own. I was lucky that it all worked out for me and I was glad I persevered. There are some I knew who had to move on to bottle feeding for good reasons and their babies did very well too.
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