little miss elle gray and her chicco pocket buddy + pacifier
A lot has happened in the last couple of months that I've missed out blogging on. My blog turned 2 (!), I turned 34 (wide eyed emoji!), and I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Elle! The past few weeks have been oh, so challenging, but even more rewarding. I'm getting to the point where I don't remember and don't want to remember what life was like without this little one. She really is my pride and joy!
One of my biggest challenges has been breastfeeding. While I knew it was going to be hard, I never knew how hard. New moms know, the struggle is real. And if you don't know the struggle, consider yourself very lucky. I have been researching breastfeeding like crazy, and I have found comfort reading other people's experiences, so I thought I'd share my own. I'm on week four of breastfeeding and I still don't really know what I'm doing - trying to figure out how to up my supply, feeding on demand, cluster feeding until I literally feel empty, and just generally not knowing how much she's getting at a time and trying to not feel guilty about supplementing with formula - it's been so hard. But my little one seems content and she's growing like a weed so hopefully I'm doing something right!
One of my biggest challenges has been breastfeeding. While I knew it was going to be hard, I never knew how hard. New moms know, the struggle is real. And if you don't know the struggle, consider yourself very lucky. I have been researching breastfeeding like crazy, and I have found comfort reading other people's experiences, so I thought I'd share my own. I'm on week four of breastfeeding and I still don't really know what I'm doing - trying to figure out how to up my supply, feeding on demand, cluster feeding until I literally feel empty, and just generally not knowing how much she's getting at a time and trying to not feel guilty about supplementing with formula - it's been so hard. But my little one seems content and she's growing like a weed so hopefully I'm doing something right!
When I was pregnant, I only focused on being pregnant, and I let the fear of labor keep me from researching anything that came after giving birth. I really wish I would have done more research on breastfeeding beforehand. New moms: take it or leave it, but here are a few tips I've learned in the past few weeks:
- Take advantage of your lactation consultant, set up a meeting, and soak in all their knowledge. Write it down, because if you're anything like me, your brain is fried from a lack of sleep. I met with 3 different lactation consultants and all of them were so helpful in their own ways. They're an amazing and absolutely necessary resource if you're planning to breastfeed.
- Drink plenty of water. The first few days I was home, I was not taking in enough water, I was so busy and tired I literally forgot. There are periods of time where Elle will want to eat every hour, and I can tell I'm getting dehydrated. Have a glass wherever you're sitting, next to your bed, and next to your pump, and chug, chug, chug.
- Lactation cookies. My best friend had a baby 3 months before me and had the same breastfeeding woes. She made me a batch of lactation cookies, and they were delicious, filling, and great to grab one or two while I'm on the pump. You can find the mix here.
- Mother's Milk Tea. My best friend also gave me some mother's milk tea to try, and so far it seems to be helping. Some people don't care for the taste, but I don't mind it. I have heard adding some honey helps. You can find it here. I also love this supplement here.
- Don't stress. Your emotions are everywhere thanks to hormones, and it's a lot easier said than done. I was in tears many times trying to get Elle to breastfeed and the stress was definitely getting to me. It wasn't until the third lactation consultant that I met with that I really felt a sense of peace and freedom - she told me do not stress - if the baby doesn't want to breastfeed, give her a bottle and pump. One way or another, she is going to get fed.
- To help with the stress - ask for help! I'm the type of person who loves to have control over everything, and I do not like asking for help. But lately I've been leaning more on my husband, mom and sister to help me out, even if it's just playing with the baby for a bit so I can take a nap or do the dishes.
- If you need to supplement, or even if you decide to do formula only, find a good bottle. These Chicco NaturalFit bottles have a nipple that helps bio-mimic breastfeeding, so it helps ease my mind about going back and forth. They're anti-colic to prevent air ingestion and the angled nipple makes feeding comfortable for both the baby and whoever is feeding. The slow flow makes feeding less messy, and the wide bottle makes clean up easier. And they're BPA free!
chicco naturalfit newborn gift set c/o, also comes in blue (great registry item!)
chicco pocket buddy c/o, also comes in blue
Note: This post contains items provided to me by Chicco and contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.
I'm 100% no expert, and I definitely have a lot more to learn. Like I said, I'm only on week four, and I'm not going to work myself up about setting any goals. At this point it's just best to take it one day at a time! I would love to hear your breastfeeding stories in the comments below! Thanks for reading!
