By Amy Jussel •
August 5, 2008
Mother’s milk is one of those ‘does size count’ topics that can make new dads wonder how their wives suddenly look like an ad for Hooters, and new moms quake in nervousness bookmarking resources from La Leche League for fear the baby won’t ‘latch on.’
There’s guilt-laden inadequacy of spousal pillow talk mumblings like, “Fergawdsakes, quit touching them, they feel like they’re gonna pop!” and surges of insecurity that surface in the wee hours of baby fussiness that can mess with our brains, convincing us the tyke must be starving. But the baby bonding, nourishment, and even eco-benefits of breastfeeding? Worth every precious ounce of initial angst and challenge…
By Jennifer Lance •
August 5, 2008
My daughter was born on her due date, into water during an assisted home birth, and weighed nine and half pounds! After my beautiful daughter was born, we immediately brought her to the breast. She latched on in a supine position, which amazed my midwives. I was in sheer bliss.
I read tons of natural pregnancy books, but I had neglected to really read about breastfeeding. I was more worried about labor then breastfeeding, as I thought nursing would just occur naturally, and it did (although this was not the case with my second child). I did read the Nursing Mother’s Companion, which I highly recommend. The most important thing I learned in this book was to NEVER wear an underwire bra while lactating. The wire can cut off your milk ducts and lead to nasty mastitis. It happened to a friend of mine, and I still wonder why doctors don’t tell their patients the dangers of the wrong bra.
My daughter quickly gained weight, and her cheeks grew to the size of melons. I began to fear I was overfeeding her and that she might become obese. My midwives tried to squelch my fears and called her “healthy”, but since I couldn’t measure how much milk she was getting, my anxiety got the better of me. I kept breastfeeding, despite these fears, despite cracked nipples and an occasional blocked milk duct, through the uncontrolled let down of milk pouring out.
Mother’s milk is one of those ‘does size count’ topics that can make new dads wonder how their wives suddenly look like an ad for Hooters, and new moms quake in nervousness bookmarking resources from La Leche League for fear the baby won’t ‘latch on.’
