A customer writes this message to us…
“I just wanted to share my story of breastfeeding second time around. After a difficult start with my first daughter with damaged nipples (having to go to the physio department for Ionozone treatment) and lots of curled toes from pain of latching, I finally sought help from a Mum-to-Mum trained breastfeeding support person through my local Parents Centre. Whoa hoo – pain free breastfeeding – she changed my life. A few weeks later I got some advice from a lactation consultant which helped perfect a more comfortable breastfeeding position and I successfully breastfed my daughter for 15 months.
Roll on two years and my second daughter was born. I was very confident this time that all would go smoothly – how could it not – I know how to breast feed – afterall I had 15 months of practice…………..
It turns out that every baby is different and my new daughter and I had to learn how to do it together. I spent alot of the first nights in hospital, so distraught that I was having difficulty doing it again! The midwives were helpful but by the time I left hospital after 2 days my nipples were grazed and painful already. But this time I was armed with information about lactation consultants and had the number ready. I was up to see her the next day – at last, painfree latch again….. phew.
But then another obstacle, my breasts started to hurt really badly. I thought it was just the engorged breasts but then I started to get the shivers. A breast infection……. something I had avoided the first time around. A night of showering before every painful feed to cope with the pain and then the antibiotics kicked in and the infection cleared. I started to feel a bit more positive about the whole breastfeeding thing again. However, after the antibiotics finished, I ended up getting another infection. I was feeling like this was never going to go right. Back on the antibiotics.
My daughter is now four weeks old. Now that the antibiotics have cleared my system, she is settled and feeding well. Yes it still hurts sometimes when she latches on (especially towards the end of her cluster feeding period) but it is starting to get back to being an enjoyable time for me (like I remember from my first daugher).
I just wanted to let other second time mothers know that breastfeeding might be difficult second time around – I didn’t ever expect it to be, so it was a bit of a shock. But it has come right and so all is happy in our household, well except for the lack of sleep but that is a whole different issue!!
Thanks, Kerry “
