Thank you to Colief Infant Digestive Aid for sponsoring this post. I received a bottle of Colief Infant Digestive Aid for my own personal use. All opinions, text and experiences are my own. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Most everyone can agree that being a new mom can be tough. It can be even harder if you have a baby that suffers with colic. My oldest had mild colic for the first few months and then, luckily, it got a little better. The first few weeks were rough though.
I couldn’t nurse him because my milk took a week to come in and I didn’t even have colostrum to entice him with. By then he’d already become accustomed to a bottle and had little interest in nursing. As a first time mom, I had no experience with breastfeeding. I had been exposed to it, but I soon discovered it’s really something you can only learn by doing. All the information I’d been given wasn’t even a little bit like my first experience. If I had done a little more research and been better prepared, I think I would’ve tried a little harder and maybe a little longer to breastfeed. These are three things I wish someone would have told me about breastfeeding as a new mom.
1. Very first, I wish someone would’ve told me that not breastfeeding your baby doesn’t make you a failure or a bad mom. My entire pregnancy, all I’d heard was how breastfeeding was picture perfect nutrition for that brand new bundle in your arms and that the bonding that happens during nursing sessions was crucial for both mom and baby. Yes, there are many benefits to breastfeeding and I wholeheartedly support it; but, not breastfeeding doesn’t diminish the quality of your mothering. Nursing sessions are not the only way to bond with your new baby and the infant formulas on the market will sustain your baby and help them grow into happy and healthy children.
I felt like a complete failure when I decided to stop trying to breastfeed. I had spent three days trying to get my baby to latch longer than the time it took him to fall asleep, and then pumping to try to increase my supply. I was taking herbal supplements to help increase my milk production, I smelled like an IHOP and I was exhausted from getting up every two hours to pump. Everyone has a breaking point and, sitting on my kitchen floor with tears streaming down my face and a breast pump painfully attached, I’d reached mine. While I didn’t want to formula-feed my new baby, I was more than ready to stop failing at, and hating from my very core, breastfeeding. I wish someone had told me that if breastfeeding isn’t working, it’s okay to stop and you are still a great mom.
2. It might hurt. It might hurt a lot. Especially at first. I was horrified when my milk finally came in and my breasts grew three cup sizes. Seriously, three cup sizes. Even more horrific, they were as hard as rocks. Engorged breasts are painful breasts. Then you add in the whole someone suckling on your nipple every two hours; those get raw and tender too. To top it all off, I have a very strong letdown and it can be painful too. And no one ever mentioned the after birth cramping that happens when you breastfeed and your uterus contracts as it’s shrinking back to its normal size. I expected none of this. For nine months, I’d been told: your milk will come in, your baby will take what he needs and your body will make adjustments on a supply-and-demand basis. Sometimes, letdown feels a little tingly. Breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt.
The truth is sometimes it does. But there are usually things you can do to help it not hurt so badly. Meet with a lactation consultant to address your specific struggles. I spent a week wondering if I was broken or just a sissy because I thought breastfeeding hurt worse than labor! I wish someone would’ve prepared me for this possibility so I could’ve mentally prepared myself better to take on the issues I had with breastfeeding.
3. It gets better. I attempted to breastfeed my oldest for two months before I reached my limit and gave up. He is a bright, happy, healthy boy who turns six years old tomorrow. He is awesome. I breastfed my second baby for eight months, four of those were exclusively breastfeeding. He’s adventurous, fearless and will probably give me a heart attack someday, but he is so confident he can do anything. My third little guy breastfed for nine months, seven of those exclusively. He is curious, loves to explore and at 17 months is already a tease with a great sense of humor. Whatever struggles you might have with breastfeeding, just know this: It gets better.
You’ll learn technique and your instincts will develop more strongly as you become more confident in your ability as a mom, and not just for breastfeeding. You will bond with your baby and being a mother will forever change your life. Parenthood can require some big sacrifices, but the rewards can easily be one hundred fold.
You got this momma! And write down those moments that make your heart swell because, with your foggy mommy brain, you might not remember them. And, someday, you’ll wish you could remember it all.
Colic affects approximately one in five infants born in the United States – about one million new babies annually. Be prepared before baby arrives and add Colief Infant Digestive Aid to your baby registry. If you find your baby suffers from more than just breastfeeding challenges and is one of the more than 20% of infants with colic, try Colief Infant Digestive Aid to give your little one (and you!) some relief. It’s a digestive supplement that you give your baby when you feed them. Different from other colic solutions, Colief Infant Digestive Aid is not given directly to the baby, but added to the formula or breast milk before each feeding, making it easier for them to digest the milk by breaking down most of the lactose. There are directions on administering to breast and bottle fed infants, so no matter how you feed your baby, you can still give your baby the relief you both need.
Colief® Infant Digestive Aid is a gluten-free dietary supplement for the reduction of colic-associated crying resulting from temporary lactose intolerance (TLI) in infants. Colief Infant Digestive Aid may help reduce the crying time associated with colic by breaking down the lactose in breast milk or infant formula, making it easier for infants to digest. To learn more, visit http://us.colief.com or LIKE the brand on Facebook.
This is a product-provided, sponsored conversation that contains affiliate links. All opinions, text and experiences are my own. Colief Infant Digestive Aid is a dietary supplement to provide relief due to colic-associated crying from temporary lactose intolerance (TLI). These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
You can find Colief at your local Walgreens or get it online and have it delivered to your mailbox. If you want more information on Colief, check out this YouTube video or the Colief website. Find out what another mom has to say about Colief in this video. Or join the Colief community on Facebook.
Enter the Share Your #ColiefMOMent Giveaway now for a chance to win a $500 Walgreens gift card, a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag of your choice, or be one of five weekly winners to receive a package of Colief Infant Digestive Aid! Enter before 8/14/15.
Colief® Infant Digestive Aid is a gluten-free dietary supplement for the reduction of colic-associated crying resulting from temporary lactose intolerance (TLI) in infants. Colief Infant Digestive Aid may help reduce the crying time associated with colic by breaking down the lactose in breast milk or infant formula, making it easier for infants to digest. To learn more, visit http://us.colief.com or LIKE the brand on Facebook.
This is a product-provided, sponsored conversation that contains affiliate links. All opinions, text and experiences are my own. Colief Infant Digestive Aid is a dietary supplement to provide relief due to colic-associated crying from temporary lactose intolerance (TLI). These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
