Don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Ok, it's only the first 2-3 weeks that hurts, but no one told me, so I want to tell you. Maybe for some people, poor latch or whatever can cause pain. But you know what? Correct positioning can also hurt! I consider myself tough, really tough. I'm a mom of twins, after all. I'm the mom of a child with Special Needs. I haven't slept soundly in about 5 years & when i am sick, I have to still function and I get no time off. I'm tough as nails.
BUT BREASTFEEDING brought me to tears...about 12x a day.
When I was in the hospital, I started nursing within 30 minutes of birth. I continued trying & at least 4 times a day, a LC would come in and view my 'positioning' and 'latch' and all that and tell me "GREAT JOB!". I was there 4 days and on the 3rd day, things began to really hurt. I asked for evaluation after evaluation and they all said "Bravo!" I knew it was right. My milk was coming in and Harper was doing great. Then I went home and things just got worse and worse.
I began to dread feeding time - dread it bad. It got so bad that I would bite a pillow throughout the entire ordeal. Sometimes I cried. I was so glad that no one saw me & that I was nursing in privacy of our guest bedroom. It was so awful. After a few days of excruciating agony, I called the hospital, looking for a LC. I spoke to one, explained everything & she said that latch and positioning sounded great. She recommended that I see my Pediatrician's LC. I didn't know he had one, but he did! I got into see her and she went thru everything and again, "It all looks great!" She felt that my nipples were a little beat up, but not too bad. She recommended and brought me a nipple shield. It helped a little. I went home feeling a little more confident.
The best thing I had going for me was that Harper was and is a VERY efficient eater. Most of the time, she was done in 10 minutes. Bless her sweet heart! I would only have to endure the razor blades (that's seriously what it felt like) for just about 10 minutes at a time (up to 12x per day and night!).
At home I tried the nipple things and though they were awkward, they helped a little. However, it slowed Harper down. Instead of filling up in 10 minutes, it was taking 20-25. Now, given that she ate every 2 hours or so, this was rediculous. I decided to buck up, grit my teeth, put on my big girl panties, bite my pillow and surely, someday the pain would lesson. Surely! I tried to explain the agony to my Aunt. She could empathize with the 'latch' pain - you know, how it hurts for the first 20 seconds or so. Well, multiply that times 100 and make it last 10 minutes and maybe that's how it felt like. I tried explaining to my mother, but she hadn't been able to BF and just couldn't imagine at all.
I googled and looked up so many things. I read about some gel pads that could help. I bought them and they maybe helped a teensy bit, but they hurt to remove. Oh, then engorgement began. Though it only lasted a few days, it felt like an eternity! I didn't think I'd survive. I took lots of hot showers and sent my husband to the store for cabbage leaves. They seemed to have helped but then I caught one of the boys eating a used one and I couldn't put them on anymore!
I did learn on google that it was a good idea to just nurse on 1 side per feeding and that would give the other side a nice break. This was nice. It did seem to help a little too. The razors and agony still existed but only for 1 side per feeding.
Finally, I stumbled upon this blog:
http://www.conversiondiary.com/2007/09/extreme-agonizing-torturous.html
This blog saved my sanity, it truly did. I read this blog and also emailed a friend of mine about the same time. To my friend, I said, "I thought this breastfeeding business was supposed to be easy, natural and painfree??!!". Her response was, "The first 15-18 days is HELL, but it becomes so painfree, easy and a BLESSING- hang in there.....it gets sooo bad before it gets better- like y ou want to throw the baby across the room..." This is coming from the calmest, sweetest, most loving mother imaginable. She hasn't a violent bone in her body and this was her description. Come ON, Kelly Mom or whatever. Why doesn't that site mention this stuff? I asked my friend why she didn't tell me. She said that honestly, what if she'd told me and I didn't have the pain? What if it hadn't been painful for me and she had scared me with her story? I would have thought her nuts...possibly.
Anyway, I blogged this so that others can hopefully stumble on this and read that pain is NORMAL and it may not be the stinking latch.
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