Breastfeeding – part 2
Once I got my little boy home, and there was no one at the hospital topping him up with glucose, his interest in feeding certainly increased.
The problem we had was that he was really hungry, but didn’t understand that he had to latch on before he got anything to eat. He got upset and frustrated because there wasn’t any milk forthcoming, and I was getting sore and distraught because he was biting at the nipple, punching the breast, and screaming his head off. It’s surprising how hard those little gums can bite.
Eventually I always got him latched on, and then the feeding itself went pretty well. The wrestling time before he latched on reduced gradually as the days went by, but it was still many weeks before I considered breastfeeding in public. It’s hard to be discreet when your child is screaming and fighting with your breast.
After about six weeks I suddenly realised that he was latching on easily, the first time the breast was offered. The relief was enormous. The only issue I really had after that was that I couldn’t get my son to keep eating until he was full. After a few minutes he tended to lose interest and pull away, only to decide ten minutes later that he was still hungry.
I also seemed to have one breast that produced a lot more milk than the other, so it was hard to keep to a strict regime of alternate breasts. When I was feeding from the side that produced less, I sometimes had to top up from the fuller breast which just made the imbalance worse.
After a couple of months we decided to buy a breast pump because I was taking evening classes in German, and my husband needed to give the bedtime feed. Having the pump was really liberating and it gave me short breaks from the continuous commitment of breast feeding.
I found an electric pump the best option, but some people prefer the portability of a hand pump. You have to make sure you continue to pump while your baby is being fed expressed milk, otherwise your milk supply can become very irregular.
I do think that breastfeeding gives a baby the best possible start in life, and I fully intend to breastfeed my next baby for as long as possible. Sadly, many people don’t realise how much energy and effort goes into breastfeeding, and the shock they feel when they start puts them off continuing past a couple of days.
Just to let you know, I’m away for the next couple of weeks as some friends are getting married in South Africa, and we want to take a holiday before I’m too big to fly. When I come back I’ll be writing about kitting out your nursery, and some of the essentials that you will need. In the mean time I’d love to hear your comments or questions.
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