This is so interesting! Your profile caught my eye–I’m actually a fellow young wife! However, I’m not a mother yet. Reading through these tips was interesting to me because, as you said, no one tells you these things! I’m so grateful to know that my mother breastfed her three kids and that she’ll be a resource for me to go to as a mother when that time comes. Thanks so much for opening up and sharing this! I truly feel like I got a little preview into your world!

P.S.– I’m actually Katelin, too. 🙂

I am not promoting formula over breastmilk, but saying that it’s not the end of the world if breastfeeding doesn’t work out. Just like if you had to, you could also live off of tin food for six months too. Not gonna recommend that, but you will survive just fine eating only canned foods for six months. Worse things have happened, like having no food at all.

It is awesome that you’ve had such great luck with breastfeeding! I love it! I am very pro breastfeeding and love nursing my own children. It’s always interesting though to hear the struggles that women have with it, like you with pumping. When I pump, I have no problems getting several ounces. Thankfully, I don’t have to do it often, as I don’t like pumping at all. Some babies cry and fuss and spew with breastmilk. I know two of my daughters have.

Keep doing what you are doing for your kids as it feels best and right for you. 🙂 <3

I tried again years later to pump, and it was the same. Maybe a tsp of milk came out. I was successfully tandem nursing at that point!

Only thing on the list I disagree with is the formula part. My brother and I were supplemented, and we vomited every time. Not just spit up, but we spewed. The one time I was forced to give one of my girls formula was in a hospital. Less than 24 hours after birth, milk hadn’t come in, and they wanted to test her peeing skills with 1 tsp of formula. I let them (it’s not rat poison, right?), and that poor baby cried from the time it hit her stomach till the fowl smelling, peanut butter looking poop emerged. She got bloated and gassy, and for the first time one of my baby’s poopy diapers stunk to high heavens. My breastmilk never made them cry. It never gave them tons of gas. Poopy diapers have no odor normally besides that of a day old breast pad.

We are taught that formula is good enough, but good enough is not what I want inside of my children’s bodies. Good enough is Geranimals sneakers instead of Nike. When it comes to what powers everything in their body, I’m not going to settle unless I have absolutely no other choice.

Thanks for you comment! It absolutely gets better! At least it always does after those first few initial weeks. Bravo for sticking through the pain and figuring it all out! I totally think it’s worth it in the end.

Double electric pumps are super expensive! And yeah as a full-time working mom, a single manual pump really isn’t going to do the trick for you, is it? I hope you can figure it out and get SOME help from your insurance, or maybe your employer?

Of course you are right. One class can never teach you everything. And nothing can ever quite teach you as well as real life experience.

Interesting! I have never heard of D-MER! Thanks for letting me and my readers know about it.

I’m about to have my second child, so I really appreciate Gale’s note that Benadryl is not safe while nursing–I did not know that!