My Breastfeeding Journey - The Early Days

When I fell pregnant with Ava last year I knew I wanted to give breastfeeding another go as unfortunately it didn't work out the first time around with my son Noah. I didn't want to put any pressure on myself but I knew that I wanted to start fresh and give it another try. With this in mind I teamed up with Medela just before Ava was born and wrote all about my breastfeeding hopes and fears which you can read here.

I've now been breastfeeding exclusively for two months and can happily say that it's going really well and I couldn't be happier with our journey so far. That being said the early days and weeks can be tough so I thought I'd write all about my own personal experience so far.

Before I get into all that I want to start by offering encouragement to any expectant mothers out there who are wanting to breastfeed or thinking about trying to. Whether it be their first child, second or tenth, if you've not been able to previously or are unsure about it. If you want the encouragement then please do take it and just give it a go, what's there to lose? Don't let previous experiences put you off as I could have easily done. I'm so glad that I tried again as it's been a whole different experience this time around. 

Let's start at where our breastfeeding story began, two months ago when Ava was born. The minute she entered the world she was placed on my chest for instant skin to skin and I gave her a cuddle in the towel as she gave out her first cry. I settled her in an exhausted haze and then brought her to my chest, she latched instantly and that is when our journey began.

We had to stay in hospital for 24 hours to be monitored after she was born which is a standard protocol when your waters break but your contractions don't start naturally. I didn't mind because it gave me time to rest and get my bearings before heading home with her. I remember laying in the hospital bed in the early hours with her and just gazing at her in awe. The midwives were amazing with me and one in particular offered me lots of support by showing me different feeding positions and gave me tips on how to get the ideal latch. Having this support so early on was just what I needed and I cannot thank them enough.

I found the first few days at home the toughest, especially at night. To begin with I struggled with her latch on the left side which made my nipple sore and cracked. As it was so sore I found myself feeding more on the opposite side as I wanted it to heal. Again I got great advice from the midwives who visited, they told me to feed through the cracked nipple, to apply lots of nipple cream and get lots of air to it because if I didn't feed on that side it could effect my supply. It was the perfect advice just at the right time. I did what they suggested and everything was fine in a day or two.

Then there's the cluster feeding, let me talk about that! When Ava was around two weeks old there was a couple of nights where she literally didn't stop feeding and being new to breastfeeding all kinds of thoughts and worries flooded through my head. Was she hungry? Was she not getting enough milk? Was there no milk left? Is this normal? I spoke to numerous people about this and they all assured me that it was all totally normal and it was her way of "upping supply" and perhaps a growth spurt too. So if you are currently going through a cluster feeding stage just bare with it, get comfortable, turn on Netflix and grab a load of snacks! It's the perfect excuse to relax and indulge while your baby does too!

We have now been breastfeeding for 10 weeks, a whole 70 days and our journey so far has been everything I had hoped it to be and so much more. I went into this thinking "just give it another go Jenna!" and now I can't imagine doing anything else! I love breastfeeding! 

Do you have any breastfeeding stories you'd like to share? I'd love to hear them! 

- Wrote in partnership with Medela. 

My Breastfeeding Hopes And Fears

It's been three years since I had Noah and it's hard to remember him as the soft and squishy newborn that you see in the photo above. He's now a boisterous toddler who's all about superhero's and literally never sits still. Yet just looking at that newborn smile takes me back to that very day and all the memories and feelings come flooding back.

The newborn days can be tough, especially for a new parent. They don't call it the fourth trimester for nothing, it is hard but it's oh so worth it. Back when I was pregnant with Noah I had hoped to breastfeed him but I have to admit that I didn't really prepare myself for it. There's so much to learn when it comes to caring for a new baby that I felt totally overwhelmed once he was born. It's no surprise that when the time came to breastfeed him that I struggled. He had breast milk and plenty of colostrum during his first week but I eventually switched to formula as I openly admit that I wasn't prepared at all. I'd started to make myself ill with the stress and guilt of it all and I think that could have all been prevented if I had looked for more support during pregnancy and had done my homework. That being said I don't regret making that decision, it was right for us at the time because of all the reasons above but this time I hope to do things differently. 

I'm currently 9 months pregnant with baby number two, my baby girl is due any time now and I'm determined to give breastfeeding another go. I feel so much more prepared this time because I've been doing my research and feel like I know what to expect. I've read numerous breastfeeding articles, spoke to countless breastfeeding Mum's, signed up to a couple of breastfeeding support groups online and have also joined the community of parenting bloggers with Medela. That's right, I'm a Medela Mum! 

This post is all about my hopes and fears when it comes to breastfeeding. Of course my fear is succumbing to the emotion and stress of it all again like I did with my son but I hope and think I won't this time around. My hopes are to breastfeed and express for as long as possible and that my baby thrives. Having this army of support and knowledge behind me this time I know that I can do it, or at least give it my best shot! I'm so excited for this new breastfeeding journey to begin.

Do you have any breastfeeding tips you would like to share with me?

- Wrote in partnership with Medela