What I Wish I Would Have Known.... {About Breastfeeding}

I am writing this post as part of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop hosted by The Slacker Mom. This week's topic is "What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Breastfeeding..." 

I wasn't very educated before I started breastfeeding. It was supposed to come naturally and I was counting on that. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Here's what I wish I would have known the first time around...

Your body takes approximately two weeks to regulate its milk production. 

In the beginning, when the leaking started, I thought I was going to leak forever. I remember standing naked outside of the shower as the milk poured out of me. This is ridiculous, I thought! So I took measures to decrease my milk supply! *gasp* I struggled to produce enough the rest of our breastfeeding relationship. With Jordan, I maximized on this excess production and stored up milk and ended up with an incredible supply our entire 18 months of nursing. 

Make SURE you have a good latch. If you don't, take the baby off and try again. 

Okay, okay, this was told to me. I just wish I would have actually listened to this. Jacob struggled so much to latch on that once he was on I didn't feel like fighting him and struggling to get him on again. So he never learned to properly latch. Sore, cracked, and bleeding nipples later..... We would have had a better experience if I had forced him to latch properly from the get go. 

Two Words: Nipple Ointment

I didn't know about the all purpose nipple ointment until the second go-around. If I had, I am 100% sure that I would have been able to nurse him until my goal of 12 months {we had to stop at 11 due to the nipple damage he was causing}

Learn to Trust.

Trust your baby to know what to do -- they are born knowing how to breastfeed. And trust your body to do its job -- you were meant to breastfeed. If you understand the way the body works and trust trust trust that your body and your baby are doing what they were both made to do -- things will go a lot smoother!

Enjoy it. 

It sounds dumb. And it sounds obvious. But enjoy these moments. Because even when you think you've had enough, you will miss it when it's over.