My breastfeeding journey

I did say that my next blog would be about breastfeeding and I just have to say before I get moaned at.. I am not trying to make anybody who didn’t/doesn’t breastfeed feel bad. As long as babies get fed that is all that matters! But for those people who do want to give it a go please read on.

I started about 15 minutes after Isla was born after we had our skin to skin – the first latch I thought was ok but I now realise it wasn’t correct, I did ask for help in the hospital but everyone was super busy and I got discharged 12 hours after giving birth so not much time to perfect it.

Once I got home and a few days in I realised that the latch wasn’t right at all as my nipples were cracked and bleeding they were so sore to touch, at this point my milk hadn’t full come in yet either and the hardest part was not feeling like I was giving isla enough milk it was heartbreaking! (do not give up if you are worried about this honestly they DO get enough milk, don’t listen to what other people say – and if you are worried go and get them weighed at the clinics).

About 3 nights in we had our first bad night and they were so sore I was crying as she was latching on. I even sent Sam to Asda at 2am to get some milk because I just couldn’t bare the thought of her latching on anymore, I only gave her half a small aptamil ready made milk, and then I persevered with the boob.

The day after my best friend saved my life and brought round some nipple shields and some new pjs – love you holly. My milk took about 5-7 days to come in properly. Breastfeeding wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be at the beginning I very nearly gave up.

You can see the difference in milk by the colour it really is amazing!

Colostrum I managed to pump right at the beginning –

After my milk had come in –

I also had a lady from the FAB team come round and see if Isla was latching correctly, she was amazing helped me so much showing me which positions to do and which ones best suited me – I have very large boobs anyway without milk so they are HUGE now and certain positions didn’t work for me. The rugby hold really was a no for me. I used a pillow to prop her up and just held her normally.

Another life saver was a really really hot shower, almost unbearably hot. It really soothed my nips and made it better for the next feed! And obviously nipple cream.

After 8 days I had stopped using the shields completely and we were away then! My milk was fully in and I was super happy! My nipples were fine, they toughened up and no pain!

I do not regret doing it at all – it’s been the best bonding experience for me and my baby. We are now at 10 weeks old and I am still exclusively breastfeeding. Please please persevere with it. I had a lot of support through other mums I know through Instagram who kept messaging and helping – they got me through it too! Thanks girls, you know who you are! A bit of positivity and knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel goes a long way!

Now I’m starting to think a little bit more long term – I have a manual tommee tippee pump and an electric – I have to say I don’t like expressing, it’s time consuming and with Isla liking to feed little and often it just didn’t work for me! The other day I was recommended by a friend to use a “Haaka silicone pump” and it is literally a funnel – all you do is put it on the other boob whilst feeding and it collects all the let down milk! I’ve managed to bag up 8oz from Monday and this can be frozen or I can let Sam feed her! It is so amazing I don’t have to pump or do anything I can just leave it on for 10 minutes whilst she’s feeding and it’s collecting milk for me!!!!! AMAZING. Definitely get one. this is it…