Breastfeeding

Before I became pregnant with Aston I hadn't thought much about breastfeeding, I assumed it was something that came naturally to most women and although I was aware that not everybody did it I didn't really know the reasons why.

Breastfeeding however is not always easy and it can take quite a while for both mum and bub to learn what they're doing. Sometimes they can't breastfeed at all.

Aston loved to breastfeed and other than sore nipples at the very beginning we had it mostly under control quite quickly, he loved it so much he developed a sleep association with feeding that made life miserable for all of us. You can read about that here. (NB. This was a problem for us, for others this kind of sleep association may be a more positive thing.)

I think I was expecting Zachariah to be like his brother, in fact I was a bit worried that as he got older Zach too might develop a similar sleep association. At the moment there is no chance of that.

Most of our feeding sessions are quite stressful and often accompanied with much crying. Poor Zach just can not get comfortable. I need to use two hands, one to support him and the other to support my breast otherwise he won't stay latched on. As well as this, my milk was coming out too fast and causing him to choke and gulp and upset his tummy, after a few weeks it settled down and now I think he struggles to cope with how hard he has to work to get his dinner.

After watching a feed the early childhood nurse said "it's not very relaxing or comfortable for either of you is it?" It was comforting to have someone else acknowledge how I felt. She suggested swapping sides every time he got upset which does help. After the first day of doing that Zachariah was a lot more settled during the day and did lots more poos which made me worry that I'd been under feeding him for eight weeks!

I also spoke to an Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor who encouraged me to stay calm during feeds despite the screaming, to remember that it's Zach's problem not mine and if I am calm he will feel calm(ish) too. Sometimes this is easier said than done.

It is frustrating to not have an easy answer but we are soldiering on. It's not all bad, sometimes we do have a decent breastfeeding session with minimal crying and just this morning Zach stopped sucking and looked up at me with a very cheeky smile! :-)

A possible alternative to breastfeeding?