Mama Advice
We asked you for tips or stories on #lactation to support new moms. This is what you said:
1. Try to worry less
I wish someone had told me that no matter what you’re doing, you’re probably doing fine. Try to worry less.
2. however you are feeding your baby is right for yoU
If you can make it through the first six weeks, it gets soooo much easier! Talk to your mom tribe... your mom, grandma, pediatrician, friends, strangers... be open and honest about the challenges and joys. And always know that however you are feeding your baby is right for you and your family. Try not to feel judged - unless it is someone telling you how awesome you are!!
3. you are not a failure as a mother
If you need to supplement or bottle feed you are not a failure as a mother or a person!
4. For something so “natural” [lactation] is actually pretty hard
For something so “natural” [lactation] is actually pretty hard (especially that first month). There were lots of tears over cups of mother’s milk tea and the pumping machine, but I’m glad I persisted. Made for a very sweet bond between my baby and me ❤️
5. It’s just the most beautiful give and take there ever was.
[Lactation] is not easy or automatic. I persisted and it took about 3 weeks to go breast only. I didn’t think it was possible, didn’t think I made enough milk, didn’t think I could go on after the first, second or third clogged duct, was scared when I got 104 fever with one clogged duct, didn’t think I made enough milk once I had to pump at work. 13 months later and I feel like the most accomplished, productive (literally), human being ever.
This has been and continues to be the number one best thing I have ever done in my life. I love breastfeeding. I love the give and take. We need each other. If she doesn’t drink, I get engorged. If I get a clogged duct, the only thing that can fix it is my baby’s sucking. If I nourish myself well, she gets fed well. It’s just the most beautiful give and take there ever was.
Raw cabbage leaves are a savior as well.
6. I could not have done it alone.
I wish it was more commonly acknowledged how HARD [lactation] can be.
My daughter had a tongue and lip tie which caused real damage to me before we got it resolved. I had so much milk she was getting only the watery stuff, not the fatty stuff. Then she had dairy and soy sensitivities. She’s five months old now and we’re going strong but there were so many points along the way where we encountered another obstacle.
I’m thankful for the medical providers and medications and therapies that enabled us to continue our BF journey, because I could not have done it alone.
7. Be kind to yourself.
It’s a pretty profound experience to create life - it’s a journey. We are growing as mothers, as they are growing as little humans. Be kind to yourself. Reach out to your village. Know you are enough.
8. It was by no means easy for us but exceedingly rewarding
It’s amazing to look back and realize that I not only sustained them during pregnancy but also through the milk that my body made! It was by no means easy for us but exceedingly rewarding. And at the end of the day what matters most is that the baby is fed, no matter how it happens.
- @LJD0504
9. Research, research, research, but also trust your gut
Try to read and learn as much as possible while pregnant. We can focus so much on the birth of a child that we neglect to read up on what to do after that!
If you can, get some advice from a qualified lactation consultant. If the answer you get at any stage of pregnancy or postpartum or breastfeeding doesn’t seem quite right, please get a second opinion! Research, research, research, but also trust your gut :)
The intensity of breastfeeding in the first few weeks can be full on, especially for a first time mum. Try to do some meditations and affirmations to let go over your past and fully embrace this chrysalis/butterfly like transformation from maiden to mother!
Don’t try to “get back to things you liked before” or “your old life” - accept that you are creating not just a new human life, but a new life for yourself also.
This is hard but important work, and the sacrifice of personal space, time, and overwhelming nature of a newborn is a great teacher for this re-birth!
10. A mother's love is a phenomenal thing
If you’re having trouble [with lactation] be sure to check for a tongue tie. I’m still breastfeeding my fourth daughter but my first was so difficult. So the other day I asked her (my first daughter now 13) to see under her tongue and sure enough she has a huge tongue tie! It made me cry... but the honest truth is that my bond with her is as strong as with my breast-fed babies. A mother's love is a phenomenal thing 🌺♥️