Breastfeeding is hard. We need to know that.

When I think back to my breastfeeding intentions, I think about all of the good advice I received: moms gushed about how beautiful the bond between mom and breastfed baby grew.  They told me that breast is best, and I was inundated with facts about antibodies and allergens.  I heard about the convenience of breast - no bottles to cart around, no formula to mix.  What's not to love?  I was so devastated when I didn't experience these things.  I blamed myself: what was wrong with me?  Only now do I know that there wasn't anything wrong.  The truth is: breastfeeding is a gruelling, emotionally taxing endeavor.  It is hard.

I wish I was told the bad stuff right away.  I wish I was told about the rough spots, the tough times.  I wish I knew more about both the physical and the emotional struggles that every breastfeeding mom confronts in those tough early weeks. I wish I knew that I'd have to endure those hard times in order to reach the beautiful, blissful experiences I had come to expect.  I would have been better prepared to confront my own emotions.  I would have realized that it isn't just me, that I'm not defective or incapable.

Imagine if you went into your birth not knowing that contractions are painful, or not knowing that sometimes vaginal delivery isn't possible.  How shocking would our birth experience be if you learned the "dirty details" only when you were in the thick of your labor?  We educate ourselves as best we can on birth, but on breastfeeding first time moms remain largely in the dark.

Moms who intend to breastfeed should know:
1.  Breastfeeding is hard, physically:  Engorgement, sore, cracked nipples, latch issues, thrush and clogged ducts.  Put all of that pain on top of the general recovery from birth and the exhaustion of being a new mom.
2.  Breastfeeding is hard, emotionally.  When all you want to do is capture a few moments of precious sleep, it is hard, so hard, to be the only source of comfort and nourishment for your new baby.  It is hard to feel like your body, the body that has been a shared vessel for so many months, still isn't truly yours yet, not fully.   
3.  Breastfeeding can be isolating.  As a new mom, I wasn't comfortable breastfeeding in public.  Jack didn't latch well and getting him to eat often required a certain amount of juggling and a lot of crying.  I may as well have stood up and shouted "hey world, I'm trying and failing at breastfeeding over here!"  I found myself retreating to an isolated room of the house, away from stares and questions.  And I felt so, so alone.

Moms who intend to breastfeed should also know:
1.  It can get better.  No promises, but it can.  And if it does, all of those wonderful things: the bond, the convenience, they all come together.
2.  Your body can do it.  Even if your friends, your family, even your physician makes you feel like you need to second-guess your decision, trust your body.  With few exceptions, our bodies really do this well.
3.  When it seems too hard, when you feel too alone, when you are ready to give up, step back a moment, and reach out to others, to those who have been there and who can be your mentor.  If you have no one, call your hospital to talk to a lactation consultant.  Look for a local La Leche League.  Ask the Internet.  I've seen beautiful calls out on Twitter asking moms to offer encouragement and advice to a mom struggling with breastfeeding.  Help is out there.

So mommas:  share your stories, even the bad ones.  Show off your war wounds.  Let us see.  Help us prepare for what lies ahead by using your experiences, the good and the bad.

Good luck, mommas.  If you need encouraging words, I'm here.  And there's lots of me out there.

EWW I saw a nonsexual boob today!

Here's a little window into my personal world:  I had no idea who Kim Kardashian was until today.  I've heard the name Kardashian and I was vaguely aware that there were some Kardashians on television, but I had no idea who they were and why they were famous.


I just read the Wiki entry about her, and I still don't know why she's famous, other than a sex tape with some singer that I've also never heard of.  But at least having read the Wiki I can put this entire thing into context.

The #lactavists of the Twitterverse were all, um, atwitter tonight about Kim Kardashian's recent Tweet:  

Really?  I get being skeeved out by the tabletop diaper change, but clearly her "EWW" was also directed at the act of breastfeeding. 

Just so we're all clear on this:  Kim Kardashian, who apparently made a rather nasty sex tape with some singer, was disgusted by the sight of a woman feeding her child without a cover.


How screwed up are our priorities if, as a culture, we believe that breasts are fine for sex toys but disgusting for breastfeeding? And how do we change this?


For better or worse, Ms. Kardashian is in a place to be a role model for women.  She has a much bigger voice than so many of us.  Yet this is the message she chooses to project with it.


EWW, indeed.