Two Weeks of Breastfeeding

Now considering breast or bottle feeding might have been a longer decision making process for you. As for me, I was sure right away that I wanted to breastfeed. It seemed the natural thing to do. And most likely many of you thought the same way. Also, you might be aware of all the great benefits of breast feeding such as the anti bodies that your baby receives with your breast milk, the bonding time with you, and the weight loss help just to mention a few. Basically, we heard of all these benefits and our decisions were easily made. Off we went onto our venture to a happy baby future.

How beautiful is the first feeding? As you lay in bed after delivery, exhausted, excited about your newborn, you might be very proud of yourself as you offer him your breast for the first time. It is your way of connecting again after the umbilical cord was just cut minutes before. It calms you down, knowing that everything is alright with your newborn. Then he sleeps for a long while. He wakes up, eats some more and peacefully sleeps a lot over the first hours of his life. So far you have not noticed any changes with your breasts. You might even be wondering if there is any milk or enough milk being produced for your baby. But most of all, you are both very content with how things are going.

Should I now say ‘Reality kicked in soon’, or maybe call it ‘The Great Awakening’? Two or three days pass by. Baby and mother sleep a lot, but mother starts to get concerned if she is producing enough milk. The thought barely settled in her mind as she can feel her breasts get heavier. Within hours her soft and loving breasts grow by two cup sizes, what was soft before turned into solid hard and hot. Engorgement has taken place and Breast feeding becomes a very serious endeavor. Engorgement is very uncomfortable and does hurt. In addition, the baby now finds it difficult to latch on correctly due to the hardness of the breasts. Usually, engorgement last for about 12 to 48 hours until the milk production has regulated itself.

Another common burden of breast feeding mothers is sore nipples. I have my doubts that there has ever been a mother that fed her baby and did not experience this. Not only does the mother have to learn this and that technique about breastfeeding but also the baby needs to learn to latch on correctly. It takes a couple days, just be patient. Also there are some remedies available at your pharmacy to put on the nipples to give immediate relieve from the soreness and help with the milk flow, as well as heal cracks in nipples. Some women however find their only remedy from the pain in pumping and then bottle feeding the breast milk to the baby. This is a great alternative since it still gives the baby all the nutrition from the breast milk.

Will there ever be an end to the pain of breastfeeding? Will it ever be enjoyable for you and your baby? Does it really help bonding for mother and baby? Usually, you can expect the most discomforts to take place in the first two weeks after delivery. I’m not saying after the first two weeks everything will be bright and shiny, but the majority of discomforts will most likely disappear and you will be able to start enjoying your baby and the times of breast feeding. Stick with it, in the end it will all be worth it.