Because I Don’t Want Breastfeeding to Suck …So Much

Yesterday evening, I attended a breast feeding class. I have been thinking about going to one since I was pregnant with Lexi. Actually, I really wanted to, but with my father’s death 2 months before she was born and working full time, I just didn’t feel I was up to it. Plus, I felt it was more important for us to do the birthing class. Scheduling time for that was about all I could handle at the time.

As many of you know, the first time around, breast feeding did not go so well. By the time we left the hospital, I was cracked and bleeding. Then came engorgement. I had no idea how horrible that was going to be. It didn’t take me long to fall in love with the breast pump and reunite that love every 3 hours. Let’s just say that I did NOT have a problem with production (quite the opposite).

There were many factors that made that time in my life a living hell including working at home trying to put in 40 hours with deadlines at the crazy point of the year in marketing, knowing that I would be back in the non-pump friendly office in a few short months, my husband losing his job less than a month after she was born, and numerous 2-hour trips to visit my mother-in-law who was in and out of the hospital and well on her way to losing her battle with cancer. While, I was so happy to have my sweet little baby I will freely admit that was a nightmarish time of life. Needless to say, the stress of breast feeding was just another issue for me to deal with, so I pumped and Lexi was fed breastmilk in a bottle for 3 months.

Since then, I have been bound and determined to have a much better experience the second time. It would be pretty impossible to have a similar or worse experience, so my odds are great. In general, I feel optimistic because I am not working, none of our close relatives have terminal cancer, and life is just going better. Breastfeeding will work this time, right? Well, I am not going to give up easily. Hopefully, this baby is a great at latching and if not, I have a lactation consultant that lives close by.