Breast feeding is not as easy as it looks! This is what I soon found out after giving birth...
Skin to skin contact with baby was encouraged as soon as she was born. If you do decide to breastfeed it is encouraged you do straight away as colostrum is produced. I didn't see much of it as it comes in small amounts. It is however one of the most important nutrients given to your newborn.
Milk does not for some mums come straight away. I had to wait a couple of days until it started to flow. Very little was produced during the first few days to where I had to give my baby some formula! I tried to express but still did not have enough, (no one told me it would at first be painful!) I was so worried that if I gave her formula she would not latch on to me anymore. However, she did and formula was used temporarily as a top up in the first few weeks.
Almost a week and a half later after giving birth, I experienced engorgement! Oh it was terrible for me. I was so frightened as I thought I was having a fit as a cause of my pre-eclampsia (as mentioned in my previous post). I was shaking uncontrollably and my body had a sudden rush of cold throughout. I felt too weak to move but when I managed to, I put extra layers on and my partner poured me a drink of cola as he quickly researched what could relieve it. It soothed me down and I soon stopped shaking. I felt like the sugar rush gave me energy to cope with the weak feeling that rushed all over me. I was exhausted so wrapped myself warm and all of a sudden sweated it out. Yes, my body felt like it was over heating but it felt so much better. The best relief after this was when I started breast feeding my baby. Every time my breasts engorged as painful and excruciating as it was, it was the only thing that could relieve the pain.
Some women may not be aware, as I was not at the time, that your breasts may engorge at seperate times. Do not fear, the other will engorge too! They will be the same size or similar to each other!! (Lol) some say when they experienced engorgement they developed a temperature too. I experienced engorgement several times and it often surprised me as I was breastfeeding regularly. Each time, I would go through the same symptoms and the only relief was when baby fed.
Now, when I was breastfeeding my breasts would refill after feeding baby. If I was not around and several hours passed, they would suddenly go very hard and I'd experience an aching feeling. I also had to wear breast pads as I sometimes leaked. It is a good tip to time and divide how much you feed the baby and each breast for them to stay level in amount and appearance. This goes per feed.
After talking to several mums who breastfeed, they expressed their distress of the appearance of their breasts after baby had fed. They would appear to sag but this is because they had been emptied as baby drank milk but would fill up again after a while as they conform to baby's needs and the amount they drink.
I researched many sites about the appearance of breasts after feeding baby and seeked advice from family. Many told me that they would go back to how they were. It was hard to believe at first! Online, they said that they may sag a little but not to the extreme as many women may imagine. This is because six months after breastfeeding they say breasts go back the same due to fat tissues building back up as they were. I must say before those six months were up they returned back to the shape they were before.
I encourage any mum to breastfeed. It may be hard in the beginning but once you get into the flow of things and see the results, it will all be worth it. It was the greatest feeling knowing that she was growing and striving so healthily because of me! It makes you appreciate how amazing the body can be.
If you are unhappy with how they look, chest exercises are a good way to naturally lift them. Many I found on YouTube, as I wanted to work on my body as a whole. Due to the amount they grow and shrink it is natural for them to be less perky but not saggy! Extreme sagginess is caused at times by damage in the tissue.
Remember there is no excuse for us! Aim high, aim for your body to be even better to what is was before giving birth. Giving birth is a wonderful thing. You have given life, you have brought life into the world. Giving birth makes your body so much more "womanly", so much more feminine.
Embrace it, work on it then show it off!
I will soon be blogging in April about Post-partum fitness and Self-esteem! So watch this space...
Written by Chic Toddlers. Posted with Blogsy.
