In the run up to Damian’s first birthday this Saturday I figured I would write a few articles on my thoughts on the various choices I have made and what, if anything, I would change.

Initially, breastfeeding was a lot more difficult then I thought it would be. I have flat nipples for starters, which while not detrimental to the newborn, is a little confusing when they first seek nourishment with the instinct to find something that sticks out, only to find a completely smooth breast.

For the first couple days I tried nipple shields, which basically are fake nipple that goes over top of your real ones to give the baby a target to suck on. They also pull your own nipple out, the way it is suppose to be (which, when done enough times, they start to stay that way.) I can honestly say that nipple shields were the second most painful event in the nursing experience. Can you say blood blisters? One afternoon I just threw them out and gave Damian a shot at the breast straight up. After some momentary frustration, he figured it out. Thank the goddess! He quickly adapted the the unusual nipple shape and after a few weeks my nipples pretty much looked like any other woman’s anyways.

Then it was all good! Or not.

When I gave birth I had a yeast infection, not the end of the world right? I am prone to them and beyond my usual struggles with my vaginal flora I didn’t think too much of it. Apparently though, when you push a baby out that particular opening, the yeast catch a ride sometimes. After a few weeks of doing whatever evil little yeasts do, they turn into this thing called Thrush, basically a yeast infection in the baby’s mouth. It looks like some has coated then inside of your baby’s mouth with cottage cheese and it won’t rub off. As awful as that sounds it is not the end of the world, it isn’t really even for the baby most of the time, Damian didn’t seem to be bothered buy it. The bad thing about thrush and breastfeeding is that the baby can pass it back to you and then you get a yeast infection in your breasts. This is what makes blood blisters from nipple shields seem like a walk in the park. This was the most painful thing that happened while breastfeeding. It was as through my breasts were on fire and I would just cry (which is not something I do often, no matter the pain.) I almost gave in at this point.

I didn’t though and we treated it, not with the usual antifungal medication though, which we chose a more naturopathic method and just made a poor environment for thrush to thrive. The yeast that gives you an infection thrives on three things dark, damn and sugar. So I stopped eating so much fruit for a few days (I adore grapes,) let the girls air out by a sunny window for awhile and applied a very weak boric acid solution to my nipples and Damian’s mouth before and after every feeding. I also started probiotics. The thrush starting going away the first day we started treatment (ahhhh) and we stopped treatment after two weeks. Haven’t had a problem since.

Of course there have been other problems, but all relatively minor in comparison. My nipples dried out from all that constant attention from Damian and were sore and cracked, but Lanolin came to my rescue, which is a bi-product of wool. Seriously, if you intend on breastfeeding any buy nothing else to help you, buy Lanolin. I now consider the sheep a sacred animal for this beautiful product they provide, hehe! After a couple months my nipples were well trained warriors and I didn’t need it anymore.

The only other item I would recommend to a stay-at-home mother, that I have used, is a really comfortable nursing bras for sleeping (I use the Medela Comfort Nursing Bra) and nursing tank tops (I love the Gilligan & O’Malley Nursing Tank Top.) Remember, the girls will grow. Exponentially. I was a 38 B when I conceived and when my milk came in, I was a 40 DD. That is an extra large Medela bra and a L Gilligan tank top. I would recommend a cheap bra till your breasts figure out where they want to be. I bought mine after a week, and NO UNDERWIRE at first, that would be the shortcut to clogging a duct, ow. I wear my tank tops every day and I find the built in bra gives me enough support but you can double it up with another nursing bra. Just remember that breastmilk stains yellow and that cloth breastpads, never used disposables, can show through lighter colored tanks (so I pretty much only use my white one for layering under another shirt.) Why do I love nursing tank tops so much because when you breastfeed in the winter it is nice to have your midsection protected from the elements and in the summer it is nice to just be able to wear one layer to stay cool. If modesty is important to you, they have that going for them too.

What else… Bitting, everyone always asks me about bitting. Or they say, “if my child bit me I would stop breastfeeding that day!” Yes, Damian bit, but the warrior nipples endured. Every time he bit I would unlatch him and give him a teething ring. He learned really quickly that bitting meant no milk and in his world, no milk is bad! Consistency was the key there and when he did bite I always did the same thing and told myself that teething is hard on him too. My own wisdom teeth were breaking through at the time so I could almost relate, I joked about sharing the teething ring with Damian.

Would I change anything next time? Some people ask me if I would ever supplement with formula. Never. Some people ask me if I would schedule feedings. Also never. Both impact your supply, when you supplement with formula your breasts don’t know how much to make and decrease production, when you schedule it has the same effect and besides, young babies do not understand timetables, they only understand their need. It is your duty as a parent to fulfill that need until they are old enough to understand otherwise.

I would change one thing though. Next time I will buy a manual breastpump. Since I am a stay-at-home mother there is pretty much no point for me to invest in some hemi-powered roaring double breasted super soaker milking machine (that might be an over-exaggeration) since I will be feeding at the breast 99% of the time since that is still better then expressed milk in a bottle (and seriously washing bottles sucks, pardon the pun.) It would be nice though, after the nipple confusion stage has passed to sleep in occasionally and have Daddy do a bottle, or when the baby is older, to have a friend stay with him or her for a couple hours while Michael and I go out, secure in the fact I have left my precious one with the very best food possible.

Ultimately when breastfeeding I think the most important thing to remember is that laughter is vital. Things will happen that will be embarrassing. If you use a cover (Damian never would) your baby will pull it off him or herself, unlatching at the same time exposing you for the whole mall to see. Before your breasts have the whole production and flow thing under control you will forget your breastpads, even if only for a minute, and leak through onto your favorite shirt. Someone will try to give you advice when you nurse in public (and it is such a pain to make them go away.) As your child gets more grabby he will try to pull off your nursing bra when hungry in the most public situation possible. It’s okay though, just laugh, you are a new mom and anyone who does not understand is really not worth your time are they? Especially since time is now at a premium. Besides, when you are feeding your beautiful baby in a way that only your body can, and you get that huge rush of happy bonding hormones, and he looks up and you with the most gorgeous eyes in the world, you will know it is worth it.