My name is Shannon and I’m an EBFFTM. WTF?! (the breastfeeding post)

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My thoughts exactly.

For those of you who aren’t completely absorbed into the new-mommy world, EBF=exclusively breastfeeding. FTM = first time mom. It took me awhile to catch on, too. Don’t worry, you’ll get there.

Warning: This post contains words like “boob,” “nipple,” and “suck.” If any of those words make you uncomfortable, skip this post and come back another day. For those of you brave enough to continue, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

BREASTFEEDING “SUCKS” – ha! I crack myself up!

The truth is, for some women it does prove to be quite difficult and for others it works just as nature intended. As for me, I think I started off somewhere in-between and have gotten to a place where it works really well for both me and Bean.

For those of you who are interested, you can read about the benefits of breastfeeding here. Please remember that breastfeeding vs. formula feeding is a personal choice. As an infant, I was formula-fed, as was the Mister, and we turned out a-ok. But after hearing all the benefits (and knowing we’d save mucho mulah not buying formula), it was a simple choice for us — I would give breastfeeding 110% and then re-evaluate if for whatever reason it wasn’t working out.

Again, this choice is up for each family to make on their own, and the following tips and suggestions are from me and my experiences alone. If you have any other questions or concerns, discuss with your doctor or lactation consultant.

OK – onward tally-hoe!

If you are considering breastfeeding, here are a few things to keep in mind…

1.) Preparation is key

While nothing could really prepare you for a little nymph sucking the lifeblood from your boobs, I highly suggest taking a breastfeeding class– WITH YOUR HUSBAND/PARTNER. The Mister and I attended a breastfeeding basics class, which is probably available at most hospitals. This class was so incredibly helpful and provided so much useful information. We practiced “holds,” talked about what to expect and even reviewed products that make the process more comfortable (I’m lookin’ at you, Lansinoh lanolin!). The Mister and I left the class feeling prepared and confident.

2.) Take a deep breath and RELAX

Even though you are meeting your little one for the first time, they already know you pretty well. In fact, they can sense any frustration or stress. So try and stay clam when you try and feed them for the first time and the process will be easier for both of you.

3.) The sooner the better

The sooner you can try breastfeeding your baby, the better. I literally fed bean for the first time as soon as they handed him to me. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t easy. Mommy and baby have to work together to form a latch and a position that works well for both of you. For me, it wasn’t like Bean immediately found the perfect spot to suck and latch on. I literally had to pinch my nipple and jam it into his mouth like a bottle. At the same time, I would lightly pat underneath his chin to initiate his sucking. Eventually he got the hang of it on his own, but I’m certain we wouldn’t have been as successful if I left him to figure it out on his own. The hospital has nurses and lactation consultants standing by to help you with this. Lean on them for support and let them help you find what works best for you and your baby.

4.) Practice makes perfect

When things don’t work out the way we intended them to, a common response is to avoid or put off trying it again. WRONG. In this case, you really need to keep at it. Yes, in rare cases there are variables that make it almost impossible to breastfeed successfully. But we are lucky to have many tools to off-set any challenge — i.e. nipple shields, positioning pillows, etc. Try them all and you’ll have a much better chance of making it work.

5.) It’s not a bed of roses

I want to SCREAM when I hear people say ”if it hurts, you’re doing it wrong.” When you have a little ninja vigorously sucking on your boobs for HOURS a day, it’s bound to get uncomfortable. I remember genuinely thinking at one point my nipples were going to fall off. I’m not joking. Seriously, if you could see my face right now it is stone cold.  But referring to my earlier point (practice makes perfect) it does get easier over time – probably because your body toughens up with callouses!

6.) There’s no greater feeling than success

So yea, I mentioned it could be rough. And yea, it might hurt a little bit, too. But it’s also pretty miraculous. That you get to be the one to comfort your crying baby. That you get to watch them grow in front of your eyes. That they fall alseep nestled on your chest, not wanting to be anywhere else in the entire world. That eventually, they look up at you with complete adoration, smiling from ear to ear, knowing that you are someone special — their mommy ;)

Many of you have asked about my exact breastfeeding experience and what worked for me. Before I went back to work, I breastfed Bean on-demand. I’d feed him whenever he wanted to be fed and we didn’t worry about “how much he was getting.” Sometimes this would mean I fed him every hour and other times it would mean I got 3 hour stretches. That being said, I wasn’t really able to go anywhere without him for the first few weeks. One time I risked it, left him with the Mister and went to the grocery store. It was a DISASTER. So we learned that the Mister had to run all the errands.

But knowing I had to head back to work, we wanted to introduce the bottle as soon as we could (but not TOO soon, because we didn’t want to cause nipple confusion). For us, this was at about 4 weeks. Luckily, Beanie took the bottle without hesitation (after we got it to the right temperature — lukewarm). During the weeks leading up to my return to work, I’d pump at least once a day and started building up a milk stash in the freezer.

Now, I pump at work every 2-3 hours for about 10-15 minutes. For me, that’s all I need to get about 4-7 ounces (I’ve been called a milk goddess, no joke). The grandmas then use that milk to feed Bean the next day — if he gobbles it all up before I get home, they pull from the freezer stash (which I try and add to on the weekends). When I’m home, I breastfeed. So Bean gets breastfed in the evenings, first thing in the morning and all throughout the weekends (unless the Mister and I have a date night). This is the system that works best for us and our family.

Looking back, I do see how easy it could have been to throw in the towel when my nipples felt like they were being ripped off my body and Bean went through phases where he had to eat EVERY HOUR FOR 45 minutes-2 hours straight. But I’m glad I forced myself to stick it out — for me, stopping was never an option. I only know what I’ve experienced, but for us, all the benefits outweighed any pain or discomfort. I can also say that I’m fairly certain breastfeeding played a HUGE part in my uterus shrinking down so fast, as well as kick-starting my weight loss (more on that tomorrow).

I hope this helped some of you who have been curious about breastfeeding or currently weighing the pros and cons yourself. I’m happy to answer any additional questions in the comments! If they are super personal, I’ll respond via email — but don’t hesitate to ask ANYTHING. I know how intimidating this can all be and I am happy to help in whatever way I can.

20 Responses to “My name is Shannon and I’m an EBFFTM. WTF?! (the breastfeeding post)”

  1. RhodeyGirl said:

    Thank you very much for this post- it is very encouraging!

    Posted on | Reply
  2. Kelly said:

    I think I will have to print this our and save it for the future…thanks!!

    Posted on | Reply
  3. saba said:

    yep,definetly agree with everyting cause i had the same experiences with both my kids (almost6 and almost 3).Another useful tool when u r on the go is a product called Yoomi. its a bottle which is bpa free,have vents to reduce colic and most amazing thing is that u can warm the milk in 60 seconds by the press of a button literally.it is so good that it was also featured on ‘The talk’ show and now with my sister also expecting i got it for her too.i m no way connected to them just love some easy peasy gadgets.hope u read the info on their site too and let me know abt it.lending a helping hand from one busy mom to another.

    Posted on | Reply
  4. Kara said:

    This is great. I tried EBF, but ended up EP instead (exclusive pumping for those “not in the know”). We had to introduce a bottle too early (for jaundice issues) and then the LC really pushed the nipple shields and that seemed to complicate everything. I did the EP thing for 3 months and I’m with you on the milk goddess thing, I never had to worry about my supply!

    You are incredible for doing the EBF thing while working full time, I hope you know that :)

    Posted on | Reply
  5. stace said:

    great post!

    just wanted to take a quick moment and let you know just how much respect and admiration i have for you.

    you are an amazing mother and deserve so much credit for doing this. as someone who had a relatively easy experience with breast feeding, i know how draining it can be and i am SO impressed you are doing this while working full-time.

    make sure the Mister rewards you for all your hard work (although I have a feeling he makes sure you know how appreciated you are)

    Bean is so lucky to have you as a mommy — never forget it!

    Posted on | Reply
  6. kimi said:

    Great post. I EBF for 3.5 months and then did 1.5 months of EP and honestly never ever liked any of it. I wanted so badly to love breastfeeding but I simply did not enjoy it at all. Actually it made me miserable. Once I gave it up I became a much happier mommy. I give huge kudos for those who try it and even more for those who stick it out long term — it’s a huge accomplishment! I only wish I would have felt more comfortable knowing when it wasn’t working for us. I was too guilt ridden to give it up sooner and made everyone miserable.

    Posted on | Reply
    • thedailybalance said:

      well i commend you for sticking with it as long as you did – that’s no easy feat! sounds like you definitely made the right choice for you and your family. happy mommy = happy baby ;)

      Posted on | Reply
  7. Brittney said:

    Great informative post! In my opinion, the more stuff like this the better- I love hearing real life “tell it like it is” stuff about pregnancy/motherhood. Thanks for sharing your experience!

    Posted on | Reply
  8. Doc (The Healthy PhD) said:

    Question: Where do you pump at work? I obviously have no idea how your office is set up, but I get super annoyed when women pump at my workplace in our SHARED offices. I literally can’t use my own SHARED office for 2 hours per day, and it seems to me that this is never a problem for anyone else…so do I just have weird coworkers or is this the norm and I should get used to it?

    Posted on | Reply
    • thedailybalance said:

      I pump in a private room/office that is intended for personal phone calls, naps, pumping, etc. I would never, ever even consider taking over a shared space. I’d sooner go to the back seat of my car.

      Posted on | Reply
      • Doc (The Healthy PhD) said:

        That makes me feel a lot better. My fiance says I’m being insensitive, and maybe I am, but I feel like there has to be a more reasonable way to do this than to lock me out of my workspace (and other people out of their workspace) because you need to pump.

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  9. Jessica @ The Process of Healing said:

    SO interesting! Thank you for sharing!

    Posted on | Reply
  10. monica @ Mom in Training said:

    I BF’d Harper until she was about 14 months, then easily weaned her before I went back to work full time. There is the most amazing video on youtube of babies that were delivered naturally (so no drugs in their system)and they are placed on their mom’s stomachs and the babies LITERALLY inch themselves up and crawl to the boob and start drinking immediately. The also show a few babies where the moms had epidurals (i had one) and oh my gosh the difference! It totally made me think that next round I just may have to bypass the drugs b/c Harp and I had some issues getting started with the BFing. Such a crazy video. I think if you type in newborns crawling you can find it. The bean is adorable and you look awesome Shannon.

    Posted on | Reply
  11. Kim said:

    I found your blog through your guest post on Leslie’s blog.

    I was stoked to see that we both became first time moms in February! I am also exclusively breastfeeding (and have been keeping it up through pumping at work).

    But I have to ask (since I still consider myself a rookie) – is there a reason you don’t just use your freezer stash but instead use what you pumped the day before? I ended up stocking up a lot while on maternity leave. I’ve already filled one freezer (we have 2 fridges) and the 2nd one is well on its way to being packed.

    What I’ve been doing is just grabbing the oldest milk from the freezer to give to baby girl (because the thought of any of the milk going to waste actually makes me feel sick!).

    I recently read something about how frozen milk breaks down some of the good qualities of milk so I’m starting to panic a bit (although baby girl is in the 90th percentile for her weight at 4 months!). I just wanted to know why you are choosing to use the previously pumped supply. I’m always looking for good BF info!

    Posted on | Reply

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