Breastfeeding

I knew before I had Amelia how important breastfeeding was to me, and, in talking with friends who recently had babies, I knew it could be challenging. I was committed to making it work for us. I was so lucky that Amelia knew what to do (more than me!) right away...she latched with little help as soon as she was placed on my chest after she was born. We had some guidance in the hospital, but overall the initial learning phase was pretty easy. Our patience with each other through that learning process certainly helped us through it.

Fast forward to our first week home...breastfeeding IS hard work! It is painful and time consuming, and makes sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time very difficult. It amazes me that something so natural would be so difficult (and hurt so much those first couple of weeks!). But knowing that I am able to provide something for my daughter that no one else can is quite an empowering feeling, and I'm so glad I've stuck with it.

I have started pumping so that Jon can help with some of the feedings to give me a little break, and so that we are ready with a supply for when I go back to work in a few weeks. Amelia took to the bottle right away, and we haven't had any problems switching between the bottle and the breast.