Nearly six years ago my wife gave birth to our beautiful little girl. Raising our daughter has been one of the most difficult yet rewarding experiences in my life. When my wife broke the news to me that we were expecting another little one, I was both overjoyed and terrified.
We’re closing in on the six month mark and have decided that we want to give breastfeeding another shot. It didn’t go very well with our daughter and we wound up switching to formula after about two months.
A couple of weeks ago my wife told me that the hospital was hosting a breastfeeding workshop. My initial reaction was “I don’t know why you need a workshop. Isn’t is simply lips to nips and BAM you’re breastfeeding?”
It would seem that the process is a lot more involved than that. We spent about two and a half hours covering topics from feeding cues, to what to look for in dirty diapers, to breast pumps.
I don’t know how hands on I’ll be with this whole process, outside of bringing the baby to my wife to get some milk fresh from the tap, but I think we’re in good hands with this hospital. Thinking back to our first time, we weren’t given a lot of useful information and I think we were kind of setup for failure.
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There is a lot to feeding. My wife is breastfeeding our fourth right now. We had forgotten how hard it is.
The first month is the hardest. Baby is learning to latch and your wife will have some cracking and chafing from baby inefficient latch. Might have some bleeding and clogged ducts too.
We found that ordinary olive oil was the best thing for cracked skin. More effective than fancy nursing creams. Completely safe for baby.
Heating pads help with the nursing pain and clogged ducts. Daily glass of wine seems to help too.
Consider an electric breast pump. Useful in reducing clogs. Great for increasing supply (which fluctuates a lot in the beginning). Expressed milk also gives you a chance to feed baby once baby has learned to nurse.
You can safely freeze expressed milk for up to 6 months. Always good to have a little set back just in case.
We like Medela brand pump, bottles and freezer bags. Most insurance covers some portion of the pump.
You can help by giving mom and baby several “nursing holidays” to stay in bed, rest, and practice latch/feeding every hour or so. Your moral support can make the difference for success. Especially when she is sore, tired, and frustrated. Families are two parents for many good reasons. Support and encouragement is key to early success.
Enjoy every moment with baby. They are a great blessing. They grow far too quickly.