My 4th trimester experience

𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗉𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗌 𝖺𝖿𝖿𝗂𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗏𝗂𝖽𝖾 𝗆𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝗌𝗆𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗂𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗍 𝗇𝗈 𝖾𝗑𝗍𝗋𝖺 𝖼𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎. 𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀!

Here I am on week #17 postpartum. It feels like i‘ve been running a slow marathon up to this point, there has been so much joy mixed in with the hard moments. One thing I don’t think enough of us talk about are our after birth experiences, so here are a few things i’ve learned this far.

I’d like to say, if you’re going through a similar experience, have recently gone through it, or are about to be please share you thoughts in the comments. Sharing our experiences can really help others to learn and not feel alone if you are going through the same struggles.

𝖶𝗈𝗈𝖽𝗏𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾 𝖣𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗆 𝖯𝗁𝗈𝗍𝗈𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗉𝗁𝗒 "7 𝖽𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝗉𝗉"

Let’s talk about breastfeeding, some people are all for it and some not so much. The lactation consultants have a saying- “breast is best” to motivate you into keeping it going but, I like to agree with “fed is best” because it’s more inclusive since not everyone can or wants to breastfeed.

Since I made my decision to exclusively breastfeed, the next few paragraphs are about that.

Any way- they say if it hurts, you aren’t doing it right, which is only true to a point and let me explain;

If your baby isn’t latching on correctly you are in for a rough ride unless you correct it immediately. There are many different factors as to why your baby isn’t latching correctly;

You aren’t in a good supportive position

Your breasts are engorged and baby can’t get a good enough mouthful, baby needs practice and to be taught. These issues are all 100% normal and can be corrected with some time, patience and practice.

check out this bf for beginners video

My baby and I struggled with latching the first few weeks, this happened with my first too, which resulted in not only just cracked nipples but a full blown deep cut on my right side which than got infected and lead to mastitis.

Yeah, not fun.

I healed with the help of a great lactation consultant, antibiotics, neosporin and lots of ibuprofen and Tylenol. Now I’m -almost- a BF pro!

After all my struggles and experience feeding not one but, two kiddos from my body there are a few items I swear got me through the early stages.

First, is a good nipple cream to protect your sore nipples from rubbing on your shirt or bra.

Earth Mama organics nipple butter is my life saver, especially after the tiny tube of lanolin from the hospital ran out.

Second, if you’re dealing with the issue I described above you’re going to need some extra protection and something to soothe the pain. My sister in law brought me these medela tender care hydrogels and I ended up buying 5 more and they have saved my poor nips life! Lol

Another boob saving tool I came to use is a vitamin called Lecithin, you can get this at any grocery, cvs or health food store and of course online! Lecithin is a phospholipid, which has both hydrophobic (affinity for fats and oils) and hydrophilic (affinity for water) elements. It's thought to help prevent the breast ducts from getting plugged by increasing the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the milk and decreasing its stickiness. 𝖲𝗈𝗎𝗋𝖼𝖾: https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/lecithin-breast-feeding

Another struggle in the early weeks was diaper rash! Which is something most babies get at some point and is completely normal for a newborn to experience. I once read in a recent study, that modern babies gut bacteria is no longer tuned in to fight off diaper rash.

More information on that subject here

The two products that saved my littles booty is Triple paste and when the rash improved I switched to Aquaphor. Both products work like a charm! I hope you’ve found some of this information helpful, let me know what you think by leaving a comment and don’t be afraid to share with a friend.

Hang in there momma’s you’re stronger than you think and this too shall pass. 💜

-Alex

𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗀 𝗂𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗆𝖾𝖽𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝖺𝖽𝗏𝗂𝖼𝖾, 𝗂𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗆𝗒 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝖿𝖺𝗆𝗂𝗅𝗒, 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗌𝗎𝗅𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗆𝖾𝖽𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖿𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗇𝖾𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝖽𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗌𝗎𝗉𝗉𝗅𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖽𝗂𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖿𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝖼𝗎𝗋𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗆𝖾𝖽𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌.