I went to a first time mommies support group today and since it was the first meeting, we went around the circle introducing ourselves and our babies and saying a quick little summary of our experience so far.
I was towards the end of the circle (thank god because I hate being first!) and it didn't take long to since a theme in everyone's stories...
"We had a really rough first two weeks."
"Our first couple weeks were incredibly difficult."
"After an incredibly rough start with breastfeeding..."
"Breast feeding was so difficult at first."
"After two weeks, I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel."
By the time it was my turn to introduce myself, I felt like my story of scabbed nipples and a small mouthed baby girl just didn't seem worth mentioning. It certainly didn't seem like anything special.
It really makes me wonder if there is any first time mother out there who never used the words "we had a really difficult beginning" when it comes to their babies.
One thing that did surprise me, though, was the number of women who gave up. I kindof expected formula-fed babies to be the minority in the group, but it was really split down the middle. So many women said something like "it was just too much for me" or "breastfeeding just didn't work out" or "I don't think I could handle another painful breastfeeding-related issue."
So... for all you non-mothers out there... Beware of the first two weeks.
And for all you non-mothers out there... PUSH PAST IT!!! Ellie is only 3 weeks old and I can already tell that I'm going to absolutely love our time together while breastfeeding. The look in her eyes when she is feeding, and the way she just passes out afterwards with a unconcious smile and giggle... really, nothing beats it.
Breastfeeding has gotten better for us, but we still have painful moments. I'm hoping that when Ellie gets bigger, we won't have so many issues, but I am glad I didn't give up during the few times that it crossed my mind.
2 comments:
Glad to hear things are going so smoothly!
The first night we had the Cracker home was difficult, but by day break we realized our problem...newborn diapers were too small. So we moved up a size for night two, and immediately our problems were solved. But that first night...OMG...we went through a million outfits. Every time he peed it was up his back, in his armpits and all over where ever he was at the time. My Ped was also insistant that he eat every two hours with only one three hour stretch a night. Hmmm...everyone else seems to be told 3-4 so I'm not sure what that was about. He never lost any birth weight and at 5 days old he had gained an entire pound!
One thing we did learn right away was the he LOVED his swing at night and didn't want to be anywhere else unless it was being held upright by us walking the halls. I spent the first week sleeping on the living room floor right next to the swing since I knew it was a big no-no according to the instruction manual. I eventually got over it and call CPS if you want but he spent the first 5 or 6 months sleeping there every night. (That was when I first learned about Costco batteries.)
Continue to take care of yourself. I remember that I was always amazed with all the "it's hard" talk that new parents actually went out and about in the world during the day and didn't look like zombies. I also felt it wasn't all that bad, though absolute exhaustion and a minibreakdown suddenly hit around 6 weeks. J came home from work and put me to bed which made all the difference. I wonder though if that was the first sign I was getting sick and just didn't know it yet since it was only a week later that I was hospitalized.
Congrats again!
We just got a swing the other day and Ellie loves it. She was perfectly content to sit in it for quite some time, just staring at whatever it is she could find to stare at. Luckily, we haven't really had a problem sleeping yet, so I don't think we'll need it for that purpose very often.
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