Foodbaby

Breastfeeding is hard.

I thought I knew that, I thought I was prepared.

But the first week my nipples were cracked and sore. When she tried to feed she would bite. It brought me to tears again and again.

I finally called the helpline at Birth and Beyond (which miraculously is free) and the woman told me about “cliff hanging” babies.  She said maybe Coraline felt like she was falling off, so she bit. I ordered a support pillow, bought some gel soothies, liberally applied lanolin, and it all got better.

Now two weeks later the feeding part is almost easy. I love watching her when she feeds, her eyes wide open, her free hand waving in the air. I bought a fancy cover-up and now I’ve breastfed on park benches, in the car, in front of my father-in-law.

But it’s still a lot. She feeds every 3 hours and it takes her 40 minutes to feed. I spend 8 hours a day breastfeeding, more than I sleep. The pillow (embarassingly called “My Brest Friend”) is a miracle, as it leaves my hands free while she’s feeding so I can write or read or talk on the phone. But it doesn’t change the fact that I spend most of the day breastfeeding.

I had no idea.