My opinion? If you can get through the first week you're golden! The first week is absolutely horrible though.
It first starts in the hospital. As you're trying to learn how to feed your baby you are also in an extreme amount of pain. Not only does it hurt when your little one is sucking on your nipple your body also decides this is a great time to start contractions. The contractions are great because it's your uterus going back to normal size, but it HURTS like a BIOTCH! So picture your tiny baby basically pinching your nipple, you being frustrated about attempting to hold them with two hands, and to top it all off pain that feels like horrible cramps... great... Just attempt to get through it. The cramping feeling left me at 1 week and the nipple pain was a lot less by then too.
Hmm nipple pain. Definitely feels like pinching. What sucks is the pinching usually ends up with blood too. Your nipples will have like scabs on them. YUCK! My suggestion is nipple butter. Get a jar to keep in every area that you'll be feeding your baby. Put it on every single time after you breastfeed for at least the first week. It helps A LOT! Also this stuff is much better than Lanolin because you don't have to wash it off before feeding.
There's good and bad things about the first couple days of breastfeeding. Your actual milk hasn't come in yet so your boobs still feel normal and you can even not wear a bra to sleep. Then it happens... you wake up one day and feel like your boobs are going to explode. And then they start leaking, Like you get out of the shower and try to dry yourself off and you keep feeling like water is dripping on you. It's water right? o no it's not.... it's milk... gross. Quick grab some breast pads and a bra before it drips everywhere!
Also my advice on breast pads. Just get the disposable ones. It's nice to attempt to save the earth with washable breast pads, but remember those scabs I was telling you about? Ya washable breast pads will stick to those scabs, meaning every time you take out your boob to feed your baby you're pulling off a breast pad which is now stuck to your painful scabby nipple. Even after those scabs so away your nipple will still stick to the washable breast pads. Definitely horribly painful. I use the Avent Disposable Breast Pads. Get them on Amazon, get them on subscribe and save, then it's 60 pads for only $5.74. AMAZING! Also I just use the "day pads" for both night and day. The night pads are a little bigger and bulkier, just depends upon how much you're leaking.
Another thing no one tells you about... Oversupply or fast letdown. WTF is that??? Everyone always says you might not make enough milk so be sure to get some formula and be prepared. No one ever says you could have too much milk to the point where your little one is CONSTANTLY spitting up. Like projectile getting everyone and everything messy spitting up. Like 4 outfits a day spitting up.... for you and your baby. Basically I make too much milk. Therefore my baby has been eating too much milk for his little self and then the projectilling happens.... Yes I just made that word up... Luckily if you do have this problem by 4 weeks they tend to grow out of the massive amounts of spitting up. So life is much better for our clothes and stomachs these days.
So far there's my life of breast feeding. A whole 5 weeks! Time is definitely flying by and my little one is getting super chunky and cute! Hope my trials of breastfeeding can help you too!
