8 Helpful Truths for Breastfeeding Moms

I decided to write about something near and dear to my heart this week... breastfeeding. As some of you may or may not know, I gave birth to the most perfect human being in May this year (I might be a little biased). While I was pregnant I made the choice to commit myself to breastfeeding. I say commit because dang, is it hard! There's so much you don't realize... latching, sore nipples, waiting for your milk to come in, worrying about supply issues... it can be pretty stressful. Having gone through almost four months of it now, I am by no means an expert... but I do feel like I can share some of my hard earned wisdom. I came up with 8 ways to make breastfeeding a little easier for yourself.

1. Drink a TON of water. I can't stress this enough. If you want a good milk supply this might be the key. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate... and when you think you can't hydrate anymore... hydrate some more. You should be drinking at the very minimum half of your current body weight in ounces. If you weight 140 that means you need a minimum of 70 ounces per day.

2. Eat. Hopefully this one shouldn't be too much of a problem for you. Breastfeeding makes me feel like a bottomless pit. I seriously feel like I could eat us out of house and home. But, sometimes life gets busy and you forget to eat or you start thinking about that baby weight you gained and you're tempted to diet. DON'T DO IT! Listen to your body and eat when you're hungry. Keep healthy choices at home and get rid of the junk. Your baby will thank you.

3. Don't be afraid to ask for help. This is huge. Like I said before, breastfeeding is a commitment. There will be plenty of times you want to quit. That doesn't make you a bad mom, it makes you normal. If you're not sure it's going right or your baby is having a really hard time with the latch find other moms to ask, look up local Le Leche League meetings and go to one, hire a lactation consultant... do whatever you need to do to get help before you throw in the towel. 

4. Get yourself some good nipple cream. Real talk: getting your nipples sucked on almost 24 hours a day can freaking hurt. They might get chapped and bleed and crack and it will suck (no pun intended). Get lanolin cream for your nips.

5. Know the symptoms of a clogged duct. Trust me, you're gonna want to catch these suckers early on before they get too bad. If your breast is hot to the touch, feels bruised and nursing is painful... you might have the starts of a clogged duct. It also can come with a slight fever. If you catch it early on,  hopefully it won't develop into mastitis. The best thing to do is exclusively nurse on that side and pump the other side until it's cleared up. You'll know when it's better, promise.

6. Give yourself time. Don't expect to have it figured out overnight. In fact, don't expect to have it figured out for the first three months. Yes, I know... that sounds like a long time. Don't get me wrong, it starts to get easier before that, but something really clicks around the third month. When you go out in public plan on keeping the trips short because in the beginning when you're learning how to feed wearing shirts is tough. I think I spent a good portion of those first months topless. Once they get head control and the latch down public feeding becomes way easier... and so does wearing a shirt. 

7. Write everything down. Between little sleep and taking care of a tiny human my brain is mush. Don't rely on your memory to remember when your last feeding was, write it down. I have a fancy app on my phone that helps me keep track and some days it's a sanity saver. I know they say you'll learn your baby's hunger cry but... mommy confession: in the beginning all the cries sounded the freaking same to me. 

8. Give yourself some grace. As a new mom you're going to have so many things you have to learn all at the same time. There's tons of trial and error involved... and lots of tears too. It's normal. You'll have break downs, you'll have a messy house, you'll lose track of when you showered or brushed your teeth last. It's 100% okay. I think as moms we don't always talk as openly as we should about the struggles. Being a mom is hard. If you have a bad day, it's okay. If you have to supplement with formula, it's okay. You're doing a good job, even if you feel like you're not. At the end of the day if your kid is still breathing, I'd call it a success. 

Just in case you're wondering... the picture was taken by my incredibly talented friend Jasmyn Smith. You can view more of her work on her website: www.jasmynmarie.com 

- Leslie

It's a boy.

Warning! This post has absolutely nothing to do with nutrition. I just really wanted to take some time to talk a little about my pregnancy, hope you don't mind. This is a heavier post than I normally share.

For those of you that don't know, I went through a miscarriage this past January. I wish I could explain the magnitude of the experience to you. It was so unreal to have something so precious and then have it taken away from you. The physical process hurt, the emotional process hurt worse. The amazing part was the amount of people that really reached out and shared their stories of loss with me too. It was so sobering and healing. I decided then that I wouldn't be someone who suffered quietly, I wanted people to know what we had been through so that I in turn could help others who were maybe going through the same thing.

One thing the lost pregnancy confirmed for us is that we wanted to be parents. Fast forward 9 months and we find out we get a second chance. I can't even tell you how scary those first few weeks of pregnancy were. I held my breath every time I had to go to the bathroom, scared of what I might find. Every weird movement, every not right feeling scared me… even if I didn't voice it. And it scared my husband too. I will never forget him having to be the strong one when we made our way to the hospital for my miscarriage. I'll never forget sobbing so hard that I couldn't even tell the front desk worker what was wrong, and I'll never forget him fighting back the tears as he tried to explain what was happening. I don't know what was worse for him, the loss of the baby, or seeing me like that. Either way, there was no way either of us wanted to go through that again.

Luckily, our doctor is one of the most caring people I have ever met. He had us in every two weeks in the beginning of this new pregnancy and gave us an ultrasound every time so we could see our little baby growing. I'll always remember the first time we heard the little heart beat, it was magical. Once we hit that second trimester it was the most amazing sigh of relief. We made it. We could relax a little.

Last week we found out that we are having a beautiful baby boy. I am so scared and excited and every other emotion you can think of to be this little guys momma. We decided to name him Tobin Lee. Tobin means God is good, and I couldn't think of a more fitting name after the year we have had. It was one of the toughest things we have gone through but I honestly wouldn't change a thing. I believe whole heartedly that everything happens for a reason and God knows what he's doing. My husband and I have always had a great relationship, but there's something about hitting rock bottom together that brings a closeness that you won't understand until you've been there too. I don't think either of us have ever been more ready for this baby boy. Grant it, I have no idea what I'm doing, but hopefully Tobin, my husband and I can fake it til we make it.

A lot of you that are reading this are our friends and family. I hope you know how much we appreciate you guys. You all helped us get through a really tough time whether you knew it or not. And the excitement and joy you share for our unborn child is honestly one of the most heartfelt things I have ever experienced. Thank you.

Tobin, we are so excited to meet you. You already make me want to be a better human. I think about you all the time. What you'll like and dislike, the things that will make you happy and sad. I am so excited to be your momma. I'm even more excited for you to meet your dad. I may be biased, but I'm pretty sure he's one of the greatest humans ever, and he's going to be the most amazing daddy.

This post wouldn't be complete without some ultrasound pics. I'm sorry for those of you that get weirded out by them, but to me they're the most beautiful things in the world.

Thanks for reading,

Leslie