10 Things I Wish I Had Known About Breastfeeding

Viactiv Calcium Soft Chews are available in milk chocolate or caramel flavors at major retailers including CVS, Rite Aid, Target, and Walmart, as well as supermarkets nationwide. 

This is a product-provided, sponsored conversation on behalf of Viactiv that contains affiliate links. I received Viactiv Calcium Soft Chews for my own personal use. This post is not intended to address or diagnose any medical conditions. 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. If you are pregnant, nursing or planning on becoming pregnant, speak with your healthcare provider if you have any specific health questions or prior to taking any dietary supplements.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Viactiv.

My Facebook memories are full of status updates and pictures from five years ago, right before I was about to give birth to our first child. It’s funny looking back on the memories and reading my thoughts. I was counting down the weeks with no idea that she wouldn’t come on or before her due date, but waiting another entire week before she made her appearance. I remember some of these thoughts vividly, while others are more comical. One thing that I remember most was that I was simply “going to try to breastfeed”. I only had a goal of 6 weeks. Who would have ever imagined that I would have breastfed that tiny little baby for over four years? As I reflect on my time as a mother, I wanted to share with you some things that I wish I would have known then.

What I Wish I Would Have Known About Breastfeeding

1. I would never be prepared enough for those first few weeks.

   • I had stocked up in nipple cream. We attended La Leche League before even having a baby. I had a breastfeeding pillow and I read so much about breastfeeding that I could have written my own book. And yet I still wasn’t prepared. I wasn’t prepared for what it truly meant to feed on demand or be engorged. While we pushed through and we made it, those first six weeks were the hardest part of parenting. Even though it’s hard to remember everything, I know those first few weeks were the toughest.

2. Breastfeeding does hurt, initially.

   • Everyone said to me, “if it hurts, something is wrong.” “It’s never supposed to hurt.” “If you have pain, something is off.” The truth – you can have a perfect latch, and great positioning and no tongue or lip ties and still have discomfort in the beginning weeks. It may feel like your nipples are going to fall off, but I like to compare it to not having exercised in forever. The initial time you exercise, you will be sore, but it doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. It’s just something new.

3. It’s not just your breasts that are going to hurt.

   • WHYYYYYY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT UTERINE CONTRACTIONS AFTER BIRTH!? Not a single person told me about this. I remember the first time that it happened, I screamed out in pain and Andrew jumped up. I learned afterwards, that breastfeeding is actually one of the ways that the body heals after birth. Breastfeeding stimulates contractions to get the uterus back to normal size. A heads up would have been nice though.

4. You’ll be hungrier during breastfeeding than you were pregnant.

   • Breastfeeding hunger is like no other. Friends did tell me to have snacks at my bed stand in case I got hungry, but no one told me by “snack” they meant an entire large pizza with a side of fries. Never had I eaten more food than I did in the first few months of breastfeeding. So. Much. Food.

5. Newborns nurse all the time

   • Newborns nurse ALL. THE. TIME. Whoever came up with a 2-3 hour “schedule” was full of it. Just because your newborn nursed 10 minutes ago, doesn’t mean they don’t want to nurse again. Don’t take it as a sign that you’re not supplying enough milk either. A lot of time they just want to constantly be attached to you for many reasons – establishing supply, comfort, warmth, etc.

     • 

6. Leaks happens

   • I remember when Serenity was a few weeks old; I told Andrew I was going to run to the store for milk even though I was terrified of leaving her for the first time (even though it was just a few minutes). Then when I was at the store I remember I heard someone’s baby cry and to my shock, I started leaking. It quickly helped me learn to remember my breast pads, to have extra clothes on hand for myself, and always been aware of other babies.

7. Uneven supply is normal

   • With both girls I noticed that they preferred one side over the other. However, I remember the first time I pumped that my left side pumped significantly more than my right side. It continued even until today. It doesn’t mean that anything is wrong or that I can’t keep up with supplying my children’s nutritional needs. It’s actually quite common.
     

8. You need to make sure you are getting proper nutrition

   • While you are going to be hungrier than ever before, do not take this as the time to only eat large pizzas, nachos, and french fries 24/7. You still need to make sure you are drinking plenty of water and getting adequate nutrition for you and your baby. Drinking enough water and ensuring you are taking in enough essential nutrients is crucial. It’s recommended you continue taking your prenatal vitamins (or grab a post-natal) after having your baby, but even then you need to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need (like calcium).
   • It’s important to note that according to the National Institutes of Health, studies have shown that women often lose 3-5% of their bone mass during breastfeeding. Therefore, it’s important that you’re getting the recommended amount daily (many prenatal vitamins only contain 20-30% of the calcium needed daily).
     Taking just two Viactiv Calcium soft Chews (available in caramel or milk chocolate flavors) can provide you the 1,000 mg of calcium recommended per day.
     

9. What’s true for one mom isn’t necessarily true for you

   • My mom told me she could only breastfeed for a few months. My sister said she needed to supplement from day one with one of her kids. That didn’t mean that either of those scenarios was going to be true for me. Every mother/baby dynamic is completely unique and it’s so important to following your own plan and no one else’s plan.
     

10. It’s okay to hate breastfeeding some days

    • This was the biggest thing I probably wish I knew. I thought breastfeeding was going to be hard, but eventually would be some sunshine and rainbows once we got the hang of it. Truth was that there were many days that I absolutely hated breastfeeding. Some days I wanted to throw in the towel and never breastfeed again. Luckily, I realized this was normal and that tomorrow was a new day.

Breastfeeding definitely isn’t easy, but it’s so rewarding and 100% worth it to us. These are just a few things I wish I knew, and I’m sure there are more! Leave a comment below and let me know what you wish you would have known before you started breastfeeding.

PS…How am I about to have a FIVE year old? Time really does fly.

Speak with your doctor to see if you’re getting enough calcium and supplement with Viactive Calcium Soft Chews!

• Each chew has 1/2 the calories and 1/2 the sugar compared to the leading calcium gummy supplement
• Each soft chew has 500mg of calcium, so you take 1-2 depending on your daily need
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Ready to #BumpUpYourCalcium with #Viactiv? Which flavor do you want to try? Milk Chocolate or Caramel? Leave a comment below and let me know!

Disclosure: Thoughts and statements in this post have not been evaluated by the FDA. Thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. As always, you should speak to your healthcare provider if you have questions and before taking any supplements.

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