Photo credit: Heather Gallagher
1. ?I was utterly shocked (and then kind of impressed) by the spraying fire-hose effect. When my babies would pull off, the milk would go ballistic in all directions. (I had a lot of milk.)?? Lauren
2. ?One thing no one told me, and that took me by surprise, was how comfortable I’d be with having my nipples out in the open!?? Claire T.
3. ?Someone told me that if feeding isn’t ‘working’ in the beginning that it might not be my fault. (I.e. position, tongue tie, reasons other than you). I was mentally prepared for feeding not to come naturally, per se, and that was really helpful.?? Youngna
4. ?That breastfeeding would make me feel isolated. I wasn’t comfortable with people?especially extended family?seeing my breasts, and covers didn?t work well for me, so I ended up in separate rooms than everyone else a lot of the time (like at family dinners). My first baby would nurse for 40 minutes at a time, so I?d miss a lot of the family conversation.? ? Kim 5. ?For the first several weeks, it takes two hands. (At least! A third is often required!)? ? Claire T.
6. ?My daughter spat up blood when she was one week old. I was mega-traumatized and took her to the ER, only to have the doctors tell me that’s super normal because I had a cracked nipple, and she had swallowed blood. Wish someone had told me!!!!? ? Kate
7. ?How painful those first two weeks are. Ow. Ow. Ow. Nobody talks about blistered or bloody nipp...