My kid is almost 3 months by now. So I think I can give some advice on this whole breastfeeding situation. We have established sort of (and I say it VERY lightly) a routine (more like a rhythm I should say). I did not enforce anything, we just went with the flow and I payed attention to the cues of my kid and with time I got to know him better.

I want to preface this by saying that this thing is HARD. I already talked about it in another post but at the beggining I felt like I wanted to quit right away. The reason I didn’t do it was, first, formula is ridiculously expensive here and second, it upset my kid’s stomach so much the only time I gave him formula that I felt horrible. But that was MY CHOICE. You are not better or worse for deciding to breastfeed or use formula. Baby must be fed at all costs no matter what, and that is the most important thing always.

1. Be Patient with yourself. This is no easy task.
2. It’s more important to feed the baby than feed the freezer. Meaning, don’t go overboard with the whole pumping deal yet if your baby just arrived. Focus on him/her.
3. Get to know your baby’s hunger cues. I learned the hard way that when a baby starts crying for milk they have been hungry for a while.
4. If you want to start expressing milk, get a silicone pump (the famous hakka) first and collect any let-down when you breastfeed.
5. Don’t get discoraged if you don’t have a lot of supply at first. I made the mistake of watching too many youtube videos of other moms who had amazing supply at 2 weeks postpartum and the reality is that… that’s just not possible for everyone. Your milk production works in a supply-demand manner, meaning that for most moms you will produce enough for feeding your baby at that point in time. So it regulates itself throughout the time you breastfeed.
6. If you don’t have to go back to work right away I would suggest waiting at least a month to six weeks to start your milk stash. This is when the breastfeeding is established and most likely you are starting to produce a bit more because of all the times you nurse during the day.
7. There will be cracks and bruises in your nipples. I had a lot of them at first and it was very painful. To help soothe the pain I started using Lanolin Cream and it absolutely helped me. You can also use cooling pads to easy irritation, pain and soreness but keep in mind that this is something that happens to most moms and it’s hard to prevent it.
8. Get comfortable! I cannot stress this enough. For the first few days the newborn will nurse sometimes for up to 50 minutes (because they tend to fall asleep and are not very efficient in the sucking department yet) so sit in a comfy chair or your bed and get a lactation pillow or any pillow you feel it works for you. Believe me, you will thank me later.
9. The whole latching situation can be complicated to understand (I still don’t!). As a rule of thumb, it’s not supposed tu hurt, it can be uncomfortable at first when the latch but then you shouldn’t feel excruciating pain. Also, if the baby is gaining weight as expected by their doctor, then STOP worrying. The weight gain is the only assurance we have that tell us the breastfeeding is working.
10. At last, I just want to tell you that it’s OKAY if you want to stop breastfeeding and start formula. Repeat after me, IT’S OKAY. Although breastfeeding is undeniably the best source of nutrients for a baby, it’s okay if you are not feeling it. I get it, it’s freaking hard. If you are too stressed out or feel like it’s not working for both the baby and you then stop and give formula. Motherhood and life with a newborn is hard enough and feeding is something you will be doing a lot the first 6 months (until you start with solids) so there’s no point in suffering more.

Of course, every baby and mother are different. And while this tips may or may not apply to everyone, I sincerely hope that I shed some light in this topic that is (in my opinion) not talked about it enough. There’s this false notion that it all comes naturally, and for some woman it does but for the mayority it is a challenge.

Hope you found this useful!

XOXO