I am glad I took the breastfeeding class at the hospital last night, but I was also a little disappointed by it. The instructor spoke so fast, and packed so much info into each sentence, that things were hard to follow. Also, 3 of the 12 or so women brought their hubbies, which is great in the sense that hubby wants to be involved to the extent possible with breastfeeding (and the instructor did have some ideas for hubby involvement in the breastfeeding process; mainly in helping to keep baby awake!) but I found it a little awkward to ask questions with the guys there. Which is kind of weird, considering I claim I will have no problem with breastfeeding in public. But somehow, holding a plastic baby up to the outside of my shirt and squeezing my nipple in full view felt a lot more awkward than I think bringing a real baby discretely into place and squeezing from under the shirt will be.
The limited information on pumping was also more confusing than anything else. I think she almost wanted to make it complicated so that we would take her other class on going back to work while breastfeeding! I've always been 100% confident (but trying really hard not to be cocky about it) that I would breastfeed exclusively at first, introduce bottled breast milk between 4-6 weeks so I could go back to work, and continue breastfeeding at least for the first year. No formula, no way. I know that it is doable, but the message I got out of the class was a little mixed. She didn't mean to be discouraging, by any means, but somehow I was discouraged.
Please encourage me!
I agree, if I was just trying to figure out the breastfeeding thing I wouldn't want a bunch of guys there!
Trying to go completely w/o formula for a year and work is definitely hard, but definitely doable. It is just a matter of your committment. It takes a while to get used to pumping - very hard to produce a lot at first cause it just ain't the same as the real thing! That's why I suggested starting to pump right away. It really helps to pump with the baby there with you. If you start this way I think it will be easier to pump at work when baby is not there - gives you that association. But you can do it. And if once in a while baby does have to drink formula it won't kill them. Sean had some now and then cause I just couldn't keep up. Focus on the breastmilk baby IS getting, not what she isn't! :-)
Posted by: Keri on April 16, 2003 06:15 PMhey! I managed to do it with you! And I used a manual pump! It is just a matter of getting into a routine and giving yourself the latitude to do what you have to do. The most important factor in breastfeeding is to enjoy the time you share with your child. The pumping and other stuff work themselves out with time and babies need water too! You will do fine as long as you are willing to get through the first six weeks which is when your breasts are learning to do their job. I could have fed an army with the amount of milk I produced! Don't let one person destroy your faith in yourself and remember that you will have people around you that have done it and will help you get into the swing! Momma
Posted by: Momma on April 16, 2003 09:27 PM