What I am here to argue is that
Breastfeeding is
A lot different than breast milk when you hear breast is best
what that is not taking into account is the mental health of
the mother
Hi guys, welcome back to my channel that mama goes today I'm talking about my tips relating to breastfeeding
There's so much more to breastfeeding than the milk itself. We don't really talk a lot about how
There are many other health aspects related to breastfeeding not just the physical health benefits
But also the mental health aspect of the breastfeeding journey now
I do want to say none of this is meant to be
Medical advice if you have any questions or concerns relating to you and what you're going through
Please pick up the phone and call your doctor or call a lactation specialist. I am NOT a lactation nurse
I'm just an experienced mom a little bit about myself. My name is Brittany. I'm a registered nurse
I worked at a holistic women's health practice. That's where I discovered my passion for teaching about learning about things relating to feminine health
So I talked a lot about feminine health on my channel
But I also talked about motherhood and I share some tidbits of my life along the way. I'm a stay-at-home mom, and I love it
Most days, let's be real there some days. I'm ready to just
Be home in two weeks
you know either just my honest practical tips as someone who has literally done it all I've
Exclusively breastfed I've done exclusively formula. I've done mixtures of both. I've exclusively pumped
I've done all the worlds. I've done all the things in between these two children
I feel like I I can I can shed some light on
Some of the difficulties that come along with breastfeeding and I hope it helps you. That's the goal of this video
I pull up my tips here. I'm so so prepared. Okay tip number one is in regards to your nipples
You're gonna find out very quickly. If you're not already breastfeeding that they're going to be sore. You can rub them raw with a
towel whenever they recommend you do before you have a baby and it's
It's still not going to prepare your nipples put the towels down ladies. Your nipples will have to adjust to
Nourishing a baby and having a little baby
Literally gnawing on you
Way too many times a day, then should be legal if I'm being honest
So a couple things that I would recommend is your best asset is actually your breast milk if you have sore cracked
nipples
Make sure to rub some of that on your sore areas and it actually is like an antibacterial
Liquid, it's really great in helping to heal those areas. So that's number one. Number two, that will not help with the soreness
So having things like those gel pads
I used nipple cream religiously for the first like months that I was breastfeeding and
Just making sure like we're doing whatever works for you applying cold
didn't always help me but having those gel inserts sometimes did help and just like
Learning how to let them rest a little bit for me
I know they said to do both sides every feeding
But when one side was really struggling I kind of let that side rest a little bit
I never just like went forever and ever without feeding from that side because of the supply-demand issue
It's really struggling and it's like you're about to just me your child in the face
Every time you feed because you're gonna jump out of your seat
Then I that's when I tend to like ease off a little bit
I like touching myself while I talk about this
But honestly like I'm like I'm so I'm so sorry the other thing in regards to nipples
it's all within the same tip is looking at the latch with my
Second-born the baby that I'm breastfeeding right now
I had trouble with latch and that made the the soreness the nipple issue even
worse because they're not latching very well kind of like gripping on to the wrong parts and
They're not being effective with their sucking motion, which means they're not getting the milk
I need to get which means they're gonna work even harder and it's just this whole thing. That was like a lot
It was a lot. So I would recommend looking up. What a good latch looks like
Or better yet if you're in the hospital or but if you're not if you're not breastfeeding yet
Make sure to talk to the lactation consultant a lot while you're in the hospital because that's a a resource that you're in
The last thing I want to say in regards to nipples is that the soreness will go away
But the pain you feel will go away eventually
I promise you that and it'll probably be quicker than you think
it will be your nipples will toughen up just like we do in the face of
Difficulties your nipples are as tough as you are just
Remember that tip number two is to ask for help
I know you've probably heard this a million times, but everyone likes to say that until it's time to like
Actually do the work, you know, so what I'm gonna give you is like specific ways in which to ask for help number one
I mentioned the lactation
Consultant use that resource if you're in the hospital and you're trying to breastfeed
I think I call it lactation ten times while I was in the hospital. That's a lot. I wasn't in that long
I kind of felt annoying a little bit, but honestly
you're asking them to do their job and
Use that resource while you have it like bring them in as many times as it takes
I honestly wasn't sure about my latch and I spent a lot of time discussing with the lactation
Consultant if the latch was good and what are the different ways I can make sure that I'm doing this right and blah blah blah
blah blah blah lactation is just a one way that you can ask for help in one very very very small way because honestly,
it's like
This much compared to like the rest of your life with this baby. So it's important at home to
Establish some ways in which you have help. So here are my practical tips in regards to that sleep deprivation is real
Like you can prepare mentally as much as you want to and maybe you're a night owl. That's fine
I am not so I struggle a lot with being up awake at night all the time
Still do one thing my husband helped me do was always to get me set up in the middle of the night
So we would literally both get up those first few weeks when it's really hard when you're adjusting
We would both get up. I would go to the bathroom because you're still still dealing like all the like lochia and stuff
So I would go straight to the bathroom get myself cleaned up go to the bathroom get a drink of water like almost
Just set the tone so that I could like approach the breastfeeding thing in a calm manner
Meanwhile, he would be changing the baby's diaper
making sure she was waking up enough to actually eat effectively getting me set up making sure I had my nursing pillow like
It was fantastic and I'm not saying that this is a forever thing because I think it totally defeats the purpose
Both parents are up all night, you know, especially if you have another child
Which we did with this one even to just be able to help you shave off a few
Minutes of the routine that you do when a baby gets up as a newborn. I think really helped me
So I'm thankful that I had a partner that was willing to help me with that every 20 minutes of sleep counts
And that's no joke. I realized nobody can actually help you breastfeed. That's you ultimately
I mean people can help you latch people can whatever but you are the one that's breastfeeding, but all the other things
That's where you should be recruiting hands
And it makes a difference in the long run
Tip number three is to be set up
Have a place that you go with your baby to breastfeed
If I didn't have a spot that I could get away from the chaos, whatever it is
Even if you don't have kids maybe you have people over
Maybe they're coming to visit you and the baby but to be able to like go to that spot
And already have all the things you like to have there like a water bottle
snacks, I mean those first couple months I had a little like
Box of snacks. I was starving through the night
So and it's not like the best thing for your teeth or for your weights or whatever
I really really ate constantly and it not only that it actually helped me stay awake. I'm not saying that's the healthiest thing ever
So take that with a grain of salt
I find that if you create a comfortable space to do the things that maybe you don't feel like doing
You're more likely to still do them with a smile on your face
And that's true as anything not just breast feeding is true work. It's true with chores
I've got a I'm looking over here because there's like a mountain of laundry that's looking at me and I'm like
as far as the whole water thing goes being hydrated is a huge part of your supply and this is not a supply
Video, but already having water in different spots
Helps me a lot
it reminds me to drink water and then I end up increasing my intake which
that helps my supply so part of being set up is having those resources readily available because if they're not
Sometimes it can easily slip through the cracks
Another thing as far as being set up is just having the boobs easily accessible like right now
I know I'm not wearing like a nursing top
It doesn't have to be nursing tops, but it has to be something where if you need to like
Without a boob quickly you could do that and like this top. It's super loose. It's super stretchy. I've had it forever
I can literally just like lift it. I've got my my nursing bra. That's huge
You have to go out and buy 17 nursing bras
But I have three that I use religiously I used them for my first I've been using them for my second-born as well
They were not expensive. They were just on Amazon. We'll link them below. I swear by them. They're not like the most
Gorgeous things they're not the most supportive things, but they are cheap and they've lasted this long I wash them all the time
So, yes, like I think it's just important to have things that just make the process easier
You don't have to drop 12 the zillion thousand dollars to do it. But just make sure you have these little like
ways in which you are just already set up so that way you're less likely to just like
Lose your mind because you're already like in a zone where you're like, I'm sick of doing this because you will do that
Sometimes I think most of us can agree anyone has breasts it there are moments
You'll come to where you're like, I'm ready to give up
and if you have that mentality on top of
It takes me 10 minutes to undress every time I need to
Breastfeed on top of I don't have a comfortable spot where I can go and breastfeed
I'm the appropriate like supplies to sit and be comfortable while I do this and I'll have my iPad set up
whatever
It's way more likely that you're just gonna throw in the towel because if the whole experience isn't enjoyable, and it's all just difficult
It only makes sense that it's gonna be way easier to just be like I'm done the easier you can make the process
The more likely you are to stick with it
And that's true with anything breastfeeding tip number four is to give yourself a measurable goal or end point
I'm gonna explain what I mean by that. This is a mentality that I use for anything. That's difficult
My method is when things get tough, I give myself a measurable end
point to which
Then it is appropriate to give up
I'll use the example of breastfeeding
Obviously there was a time and there have been a few different times where she is getting up
like 7 8 9 times a night when she was really little and
My nipples were sore and I was exhausted and I just felt like giving up
She also just wasn't latching well, and she we had all these other things
But I was ready to give up on breastfeeding
I was really disappointed in myself because I had set the goal to make it to 6 months
and I just was like I
Want this to work so badly?
But I was ready to give up in that instance
What I do is I say in 3 days time if in 72 hours
I'm still having this heart of a time if it's still this difficult
and I'm ready to give up then I will actually give up and
What I found is that by the time I usually get to this
measurable end point I find that
Things are better or I've adjusted in some way and it doesn't seem quite as daunting anymore
another thing is like supply if I but if supply is the reason I'm like
I don't feel like I have enough here's what I'm gonna do even though I don't feel like doing this
I'm gonna give it 48 hours and I'm gonna try these different things and if by 48 hours
I haven't noticed a difference then I will stop by using this method. I haven't stopped yet
I have had to use this mentality a few times since I started breastfeeding, but here we are eight months still breastfeeding
We're still going strong use whatever endpoint seems
reasonable for you
If that endpoint is shorter than 72 hours, that's fine
you have to like listen to you and whatever it is that your needs are and whatever like limit you're about to hit and
I'm gonna talk more about like limits and mental health here in a second, but just being like honest with yourself
What can you do? What can't you do and perhaps you can't do anymore and that's okay question of the day
Where are you at on your breastfeeding journey? I would love to hear from you
So anything that you're struggling with leave in the comments below and make sure to interact with each other
I love seeing you guys
Respond to each other's comments and being supportive of each other because odds are if you landed on this video
You're either a breastfeeding mom who is either struggling or has?
the knowledge to help others that are struggling so respond in that way or you're someone that is planning to breastfeed and
And is looking for advice tip number five and this one is a little bit controversial
You don't hear this very often
But my opinion is you need to know when to say when and I say this
Because I have been that mom before with my firstborn at four months
I have been through quite a journey with attempting to breastfeed him and I ended up having to supplement formula
There was lots of like details that went into and life events
honestly that got me to a point where I just
Knew I needed to stop because I was at a breaking point. And in order to be the mom that I want to be I
Can't continue doing this
It was just it was too much want to emphasize again not speaking for medical advice not speaking from any advice perspective
I'm just sharing my personal experience and
Hoping to positively impact someone else and make them feel less alone on this journey. So here's my issue. I'm gonna break this down
I know how amazing breast milk is you put a bottle of breast milk
Right next to a bottle of formula and you compare the nutritional contents of course breast milk is gonna win every single time
It's it's the perfect
Mixture it's the perfect balance. It's the perfect
food for your baby what I am here to argue is that
breastfeeding is
A lot different than breast milk when you hear breast is best
what that is not taking into account is the mental health of
the mother and all the things that come along with choosing to
breastfeed because one of the best things you can do for your baby is
To be well, if you are, well you are going to be able to provide so many more things for your child
I think one of the best things a mom can do for her child is know herself and know her limits and
That's why I sometimes really respect women that say I'm not gonna breastfeed. It's not for me
I know that because I know myself
And I know that I just it's just not something I want to do and it's not something I feel like I will do well
Granted there's always like the part of me. That's like give it a shot. Maybe you'll love it
There's also the other part of me that's like good for you for knowing and for almost
Humbling yourself and realizing. Hey
It's not just for me that I'm making this decision
It's for my kids because I just I want to show up and I want to enjoy
This process and I know if I do breast feeding
I'm not gonna be able to enjoy it like I would if I didn't breastfeed and to me I'm like
Yes, girl, like good for you
So I want to paint this picture for you after I had my firstborn all along in my pregnancy
I had this image that I was going to I was gonna breastfeed it didn't matter
I was gonna do it because that's like the best thing you can do and I thought I want to do all the best things
I just remember
feeling so lonely and I
would sit awake at night breastfeeding my son and
I would just cry while I breastfed in it. I would just bawl the whole time to me
It's like let's let's take a look at this situation looking back and decided the pros outweigh the cons
My baby is getting the best nutrition that's hands-down true
but a mom who's struggling in other ways and then as being confined to a room
alone all night with a baby that needs her and she is
overwhelmed and anxious and crying and
as you can see like I just don't think it was the right thing for me at the time and
but I was stubborn because I had
Nailed into my head that breast is best and it doesn't matter what you're going through you
We're gonna do that because that's what you want to do for your baby
That's my issue with breast is best
It is just not a very holistic way of looking at the whole situation and I realized like this is an odd
platform this is an odd moment on my channel and to choose to talk about this but
viewer that mom you're struggling you're at your wits end with this and you honestly feel
Just depleted and you just don't you just don't know if this is for you
I'm here to tell you that you are not any less of a woman
You're not any less than a mother if you decide that breastfeeding isn't for you
I feel like it's important that we know when to stop we are lucky to live in a time when we have the option and
And sometimes choosing ourselves. It's the best thing we can do for our child. You know you better than anyone and
If you feel like this isn't a fit for you and you're not yourself while you're doing this
Then perhaps it's time to explore other options might be an unpopular opinion
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this if you're a breastfeeding mom breastfeeding
Their decision tonight do it Hertz is the ones that want to be breastfeeding and can't or
Are breastfeeding and really really don't want to and we're hanging on and feel terribly guilty
That they don't want to be breastfeeding breast milk is best fed is best and together
Mothers are the best
What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear from you
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I've got lots of things to share coming up and
I'm so happy to have you here. My mission is that you never feel alone in motherhood and in?
womanhood I want to empower you to
To do the best you can and do the best things that you can do for you and your babies
Despite with social normos. Thank you so much being here. I really appreciate it. We'll see you next time