How you feed your baby is a personal decision, and each choice comes with its own benefits. Here are a few things I wish I knew before deciding to breastfeed.
When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I decided almost immediately that I wanted to breastfeed. I’d heard about all the benefits — “it’s the best thing you can do for your baby!” “Breastmilk is like magic!” “It helps you to bond with your baby!” — so it seemed like a no-brainer.
After my son was born, we started on our breastfeeding journey. But like most first-time moms, I ran into issues I didn’t expect. And while I wanted to nurse until at least the one-year mark, I had to make some shifts to my initial plan.
Here’s what I wish I knew before deciding to breastfeed.
It may not come so easily
I always thought that breastfeeding was natural, and that once my baby was at my chest, instinct would kick in (on both our parts).
My son began looking for food mere minutes out of the womb (called “rooting”), so I thought we were on the right track. But after our first few nights home, I realized he wasn’t latching to my nipple well. He would tug forcefully at my breast, and by the third day I was bleeding and in pain.
While breastfeeding is natural, it’s rarely easy. These types of issues are incredibly common, so common that many hospitals have lactation consultants available for new moms.
If you’re planning on breastfeeding, doing some research into these techniques now may save you some blood, sweat, and tears (literally) when your baby arrives.
You may have to supplement with formula
After our first few doctor’s appointments, I learned that my son wasn’t gaining enough weight. My pediatrician advised me to start supplementing with formula, which if I’m being honest, broke my heart. I felt like I was already failing at being a mom since I couldn’t feed my baby the way I had planned.
But the truth is, the most important thing is that your baby is fed. Even if you’re using some formula in conjunction with breastfeeding, your baby is still getting the benefits of your breastmilk.
After I started to use formula, my son gained weight and some the “pressure” was off of me. Formula helped my son’s physical health and my mental health immensely.
There are breastfeeding medicine specialists
My pediatrician recommended I see a breastfeeding medicine specialist, sometimes referred to as an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
At our first appointment, my doctor did a “weighted feed” where she popped him on a scale both before and after nursing. It was determined that he was only getting around half an ounce when he nursed — not enough food for a meal. After adjusting our nursing position and giving me a few pointers, she suggested that I pump and bottle feed more so that I could regulate his milk intake.
I started doing that, and he continued to gain weight. We were able to pull back from the formula and rely solely on breastmilk, which equalled a lot of pumping time.
Unfortunately after several appointments, it was discovered that he was still only getting about half an ounce when we nursed. And even with all the position changes and new techniques, it was still excruciatingly painful for me. At that point, I decided to switch to exclusively pumping for my son.
If you are having trouble breastfeeding, you don’t have to go it alone. IBCLCs can advise you on best practices and help make your breastfeeding journey work for both you and your baby.
It’s time consuming
At the beginning, your baby has to eat every 2-3 hours, and the clock starts from when your baby first begins eating — NOT from when they finish. So if you start nursing at 12pm, they’ll be due to eat again by 2pm or 3pm.
This means there’s not a whole lot of down time for mom. It felt like I was always always attached to my pump, and eventually it got very difficult to do every 90 minutes. I decided to switch to a battery-operated wearable pump and that made it easier to stay on a schedule.
Breastfeeding takes a lot of time, whether your nursing or pumping. Getting a wearable pump may help you multitask, but some find that they aren’t as effective.
The baby weight may not “fall off”
I’d always heard that breastfeeding burned a lot of calories, and if you chose to breastfeed that the weight you’d gained during pregnancy would “fall off.”
That certainly wasn’t the case for me.
I’m grateful that the cultural norms have shifted from having to “bounce back to pre-baby body” during the postpartum period, but I found that the excess weight I gained during pregnancy had a huge impact of my life. I wasn’t able to get up and down off the floor easily, climbing stairs was really difficult, my joints hurt and my back ached. Not to mention the fact that I returned to work as a personal trainer 6 weeks after giving birth, and even demonstrating simple exercises for clients was getting tough.
At 8 months postpartum I’m below my pre-pregnancy weight, but I really had to focus on caloric intake and my activity levels. This was challenging to do and took some trial and error, as you want to keep your caloric intake high enough to produce milk. The standard I’d always heard was to eat 500 extra calories a day, but doing that actually caused me to gain even more weight. I found that just a slight bump in my calories — only about 150-200 extra a day — kept my supply regulated and also allowed me to lose a healthy amount of weight per week.
Postpartum should not be about losing weight, but it should be about taking care of yourself and your baby. Every body is different and will respond to breastfeeding differently. Do what you need to for you mental, physical, and emotional health, and do what you need to do for your baby.
Most insurances will give you a free breast pump
Even if you are planning to nurse exclusively, having a pump on hand is a good idea. Unfortunately, they aren’t cheap. The good news is that many insurance plans will give you a free pump!
Most insurance plans will give moms a free breast pump, although there are some limits to what they offer. Check with your specific insurance plan.
You can stop at any time
The most surprising thing to me about breastfeeding is that it’s hard work. It takes time, effort, and attention. There are loads of benefits to breastfeeding that you don’t get with formula feeding, but at the end of the day it’s your choice as a mom. Your health is important too, and if breastfeeding isn’t working for whatever reason, you can stop and switch to formula.
I’m still breastfeeding because I can while keeping my own health in check. I’ve known lots of moms who’ve decided otherwise, and their babies are happy and healthy!
Even if you’ve started breastfeeding, you can stop if it’s becoming untenable.