Ever consider nursing?

And no, I am not speaking of the occupation nursing, I am speaking of the act of feeding your newborn baby.

Before Jackson got here, I was dead set on nursing him. There were and are so many benefits to nursing for him and myself as well. We even had a session in our prenatal classes about nursing and I was so glad that we did. We were able to find out about all the benefits, learn exactly what the positions were for feeding, as well as the option of pumping vs. feeding from the breast.

I was so worried that I was not going to be able to nurse Jackson. I had heard so many horror (well, not really horror, just bad) stories about moms who couldn't nurse because of several different reasons. My cousin had her first child in November of last year and she had a few problems that eventually did not allow her to nurse. She made sure to tell me to try and get as much help as I could at the hospital with a lactation nurse. I called the hospital before Jackson was born to speak with the lead lactation nurse and she told me that they would do everything they could to make sure that Jackson was feeding well before we left the hospital. And they really kept to their word. We had a lot of problems with Jackson nursing while in the hospital. He would latch but not suck and we eventually had to supplement with some formula to get some food in him. I have been able to nurse since we got home. I will say that we have had struggles at home too. My milk production has been low and Jackson did lose almost 2 pounds, but we are back on the right track with formula supplements and pumping. I will also say that Jackson is now on more formula than breast milk because of my milk production. But, I am okay with that.

I say all of this to let anyone know that if you are considering nursing your children please know that it is probably going to be the hardest thing you will do as a new mom. This was the one thing that was never explained to me before Jackson got here. Now, I am sure that there are moms out there that didn't have any trouble at all, but I feel like the vast majority of women have some sort of struggle with nursing.

Here are just some points that I learned while nursing Jackson:

1) This is a learning experience between you and the baby. It really does not come naturally eventhough, it is the "natural" thing to do.

2) Nursing can be very frustrating. Remember that the first two to three weeks are the hardest and it does get easier. You have to remain calm, because the baby can feel your frustration and will not nurse as well if they do at all.

3) You have to eat and drink for milk production. When I say drink, I mean, you really should have a cup with water in it attached to your mouth almost. You also have to keep your calorie intake a little higher because it does take more calories to produce milk and nurse. But, also keep in mind that everything you put in your mouth does go to the baby.

4) Nursing your baby should not hurt. If it does hurt, the latch on is not properly executed.

5) Milk production has a supply and demand idea behind it. The more you nurse, the more your body will produce milk. If you have a low milk supply, there is a prescription or an herbal supplement (Fenugreek) that you can take to increase your milk production. But, just remember that this option alone will not increase the supply, you have to continue to nurse/pump to keep the supply up.

These are just a few of the "lessons" that I learned while nursing. I hope they are helpful to any expecting mom who has interest in nursing.