I have some things I've been wanting to say about breastfeeding, but I've been too busy holding a baby up to my boob six to eight times a day to write them all down. So I guess it's going to be boob week here at Dear Gherkin, so I can finally get all this lactation notation out of my system. Here's entry number one:
Well, internet, I wasn't wild about the idea of breastfeeding before I had the baby, for a number of reasons, but the most significant one was that everyone said it hurt. Everyone, that is, except for hard-core breastfeeding advocates like Auntie Moonbat, who tended to describe it in the sort of rosy orgasmic terms I couldn't help but distrust.
A lot of people, people I do trust, said it hurt worse than labor. I did not like labor. I do not like pain. I am, in fact, and you can quote me on this, a total pussy.
I did not think it would be good for my relationship with this new human being if I dreaded feeding him, or winced when he touched me. Nothing like a truckload of anxiety and resentment to poison the already potent cocktail of new motherhood.
If it hurt, I wasn't going to do it. That was that.
Thankfully, it hasn't hurt. Much. I had some pain near the beginning, but nothing like what I was worried about. Nothing stabby, no bleeding or cracking, no blocked ducts or infections or thrush. My sister-in-law gave me a bunch of those gel soothing things for nipple pain, and I only used them once, when I was a little sore. And that's it.
Believe me, I know that I'm lucky in this regard. And although I'm sure it will be hard for some people to read about my relatively painless experience, I am not particularly inclined to apologize for it, because I've had my share of painful experiences elsewhere, and what is this, a contest?
Today, I'm going to take a guilt-free moment to celebrate one of the only things about having my baby that has gone unequivocally well. Yay! Go boobs! Hey uterus, you could learn a thing or two from these boobs. Finally, a feature of my reproductive anatomy that knows how to put in an honest day's work. You're on notice, cervix--from now on I'm grading on a curve.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
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7 comments:
I have heard many women, my mother and mother in law included, that said it was the easiest thing in th world. I'm so glad that it was for you, because you are right, you deserved a freaking break on something!!! And I have to say now, it is wonderfully easy for me too. It just took 4 months for everything to work right. Wiley is a gifted little boy knowing exactly how to feed from the beginning. And you deserve kudos for giving it a try and doing it right!!!
Somehow, I have a feeling that, should I ever be in this situation, my boobs are not going to be the high-performing member of the team. They never have been to date.
I am delighted to hear, however, that your breasts are performing so satisfactorily. Perhaps the remainder of your reproductive organs will be elevated by their example.
I'm really glad it's going so well! It hasn't been too hard for us either (until teeth, and that's getting much better). Not that I didn't worry endlessly early on anyway, but that's another issue entirely.
I breastfed because it's cheap and requires very little prep or planning. Every time I didn't have to make a bottle in the middle of the night I thought "yay, boobs!" or something like that.
Now you just need some sort of suspension device so you can type and nurse at the same time.
Yay boobs! We should all be so lucky.
Glad to hear you're holding up well.
This is wonderful to hear. I think I've had more fears about breastfeeding than the actual birth. Especially still feeling all "broken" from infertility/miscarriages, not very confident in my body's ability to do "normal woman" things.
But man, I sure hope I can do it. Somehow I have a sense it could be healing in a way, too. Would love to hear any tips you have/things you wished you known at first, etc.
I had the opposite experience - most people just dismissed it as expected and easy...unfortunately for me it didn't work out that way. I'm glad it did for you!
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