Mum-to-be again.
HEALTH WARNING - if you know me personally (or even if you don't!) and would rather not spend the next 5 mins reading/thinking about my boobs then best stop reading and come back tomorrow. For those who know me personally and DO want to spend the next 5 mins reading/thinking about my boobs then you are very strange people but then if you are my friends then I probably knew that already :)
Anyway...
At the weekend we had a guest appearance of a bit of colostrum. For those of you who aren't already in the know, colostrum is the nutrient rich, immune system-building stuff that the baby has for the first few days until proper breast milk comes in. Some women leak this or are able to express a little bit in later pregnancy.
I had breast surgery just over a decade ago and my surgeon then had told me flat out that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed. When I was in my early 20s and babies were a long way away, I didn't care if I couldn't breast feed, having more pressing medical concerns. When I got into my late 20s and into my 30s I was kind of freaked out about the whole concept of breastfeeding and felt that it wasn't something I wanted to do. Once I got pregnant it was like someone flicked a switch and suddenly I became desperate to be able to breastfeed our daughter. A biological imperative I guess.
Having read info and got a book by the very informative La Leche League, I now realise that it may indeed be possible to breastfeed, although it may be necessary to supplement to varying degrees with formula milk.
When I saw that I could express colostrum I actually started crying I was so happy and when I called Dad to Be in to tell him he was very confused as I was crying and laughing at the same time and he couldn't work out what was going on! Even he welled up and we hugged each other excitedly.
I've been really anxious about whether or not I would be able to feed her. I had had all the normal bodily changes that the books had told us to expect, and we had been encouraged by this, but nagging doubt remained. Although it is early days and there is possibly a long, uphill battle ahead of us, the apprearance of colostrum had made us both very positive. I guess we will just have to let nature take its course and see what happens...
HEALTH WARNING - if you know me personally (or even if you don't!) and would rather not spend the next 5 mins reading/thinking about my boobs then best stop reading and come back tomorrow. For those who know me personally and DO want to spend the next 5 mins reading/thinking about my boobs then you are very strange people but then if you are my friends then I probably knew that already :)
Anyway...
At the weekend we had a guest appearance of a bit of colostrum. For those of you who aren't already in the know, colostrum is the nutrient rich, immune system-building stuff that the baby has for the first few days until proper breast milk comes in. Some women leak this or are able to express a little bit in later pregnancy.
I had breast surgery just over a decade ago and my surgeon then had told me flat out that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed. When I was in my early 20s and babies were a long way away, I didn't care if I couldn't breast feed, having more pressing medical concerns. When I got into my late 20s and into my 30s I was kind of freaked out about the whole concept of breastfeeding and felt that it wasn't something I wanted to do. Once I got pregnant it was like someone flicked a switch and suddenly I became desperate to be able to breastfeed our daughter. A biological imperative I guess.
Having read info and got a book by the very informative La Leche League, I now realise that it may indeed be possible to breastfeed, although it may be necessary to supplement to varying degrees with formula milk.
When I saw that I could express colostrum I actually started crying I was so happy and when I called Dad to Be in to tell him he was very confused as I was crying and laughing at the same time and he couldn't work out what was going on! Even he welled up and we hugged each other excitedly.
I've been really anxious about whether or not I would be able to feed her. I had had all the normal bodily changes that the books had told us to expect, and we had been encouraged by this, but nagging doubt remained. Although it is early days and there is possibly a long, uphill battle ahead of us, the apprearance of colostrum had made us both very positive. I guess we will just have to let nature take its course and see what happens...
Just popping in to say 'hurrah!' and 'yey!'
ReplyDeletex
hooray!
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding is wonderful. It can be hard at first to get into the swing of things, and very intimidating in the beginning...but then...you'll get it.
...and then, you will have the most wonderful bonding with your baby. You'll love just rocking & nursing, and staring in amazement at her little face, and hair, and eyes....
Oh, I'm happy for you!
Supply issues: read up on the herb, Fenugreek. Makes you smell like syrup, but increases your milk supply.
Also, there's "Mother's Milk" teas...they taste like licorice to me (aniseed), but the fenugreek is not bad at all!
Good luck!
I've got Motherlove Special Blend (http://www.motherlove.com/product_more_milk_special.php) which has got goat's rue, fenugreek seed, blessed thistle, nettle leaf, and fennel seed - seems to cover everything.
ReplyDelete