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Breastfeeding is a beautiful and fulfilling experience. It can also be intimidating, overwhelming and exhausting. Five Breastfeeding mistakes I made and what I learned from them.

Five Breastfeeding Mistakes I Made and What I Learned From Them

Since I was a little girl I always knew that one day I would be a mom. I dreamed of what my little girl would look like and how much I would love her. Yes I always knew my first baby would be a precious little girl.

As I became an adult and the idea of becoming a mother became a reality I knew that I would be breastfeeding my baby. I did my research and after learning all the great benefits for both baby and mom there were no questions. I would be a breastfeeding momma for at least the first six months of my baby’s life.

Breastfeeding came super easy for both my newborn daughter and I. The day she was born I asked the nurse if she thought the baby was ready to eat. The nurse said yes got up from her seat and by the time she made her way to us, Emma was already eating. As soon as I put Emma on my breast she latched on with no problem and started eating.

The day she was born I breastfed her 5-6 times with absolutely no issues. It truly felt completely natural and effortless. Overall my whole experience breastfeeding for the first time was uncomplicated, comfortable, and amazing. For the most part that is.

As much as breastfeeding came so easy for us, nothing is perfect and I did encounter some issues in our journey. Here are five breastfeeding mistakes I made as a first time nursing mom and what I learned from them.

Five Breastfeeding Mistakes I Made as a First Time Mom:

1. Didn’t start pumping right away

When I was pregnant my husband and I attended a breastfeeding class. One of the things we were told was that for the first four weeks after the baby was born I couldn’t pump or bottle feed my baby. The reason for this was because they want to make sure that breastfeeding and latching is completely established before the baby is introduced to any other feeding methods. At the hospital when my baby was born I was told the same thing. I wanted to make sure that nothing interfered with me breastfeeding my daughter so I did as I learned from the class and the hospital.

When we got home from the hospital breastfeeding was still going smoothly. About three weeks into it is when we encountered our first problem. Every time I would try to feed Emma she would latch on and start choking. She would cry from what seemed a mix of discomfort, hunger and frustration. As a result, she then started to refuse to latch on. I immediately went online and started doing some research to figure out what was going on.

At this point my breast were super engorged and I was in pain and a high level of discomfort. From my research I learned that Emma was going through a feeding strike. This was due to the fact that my milk flow was too much for her to handle and due to the choking she was refusing to latch on again. I was overproducing milk and it was too much for my baby.

This is when I realized I had made my first of my five breastfeeding mistakes; and that I should’ve started pumping days prior. Right away I took out my breast pump and pumped until my breasts felt relieved. Then proceeded to breastfeed Emma who again latched on with no hesitation. I felt so bad for my baby but was glad to have figured everything out very quickly and solved the problem we came across.

What did I learn from this?

To pump immediately instead of waiting for four weeks. Latching wasn’t an issue for us so I didn’t have to wait that long. I could’ve started pumping right away and prevented a scary and uncomfortable situation for my baby, myself and even my husband who didn’t know what to do or how to help. Next time I will start pumping right away and not wait for my breasts to get engorged. Resulting in having my baby go on a feeding strike.

2. Didn’t introduce a pacifier right away

As I was told to not pump or introduce a bottle to my newborn baby for the first four weeks, subsequently I was also told not to introduce a pacifier for the same amount of time. This tactic also backfired because by the time I attempted to introduce Emma to a pacifier she was not having it. I would place the pacifier it in her mouth and as soon as she would realize there wasn’t milk coming out, she would spit it out and cry out for the real thing.

Now that she is a toddler it’s a good thing that I don’t have to go through the whole process of trying to get her off of a pacifier. However, as an infant it was very hard to have a baby who didn’t find comfort in a pacifier. Anytime she needed that comfort she would use me and I quickly became her own personal human pacifier. Which is why I feel like this was one of the breastfeeding mistakes I made as a new mom.

Pacifiers are great for babies since it helps soothe them and give them a sense of calmness. Those times when she was feeling under the weather, tired, teething, etc. I was the one who had to provide her with the means to soothe herself until she fell asleep.

What did I learn from this?

As I learned from not pumping and introducing my baby to a bottle right away, I now know the same for pacifiers. However, I’m not so sure this is something I will do. Like I said I do like the fact that I never had to go through having to deal with getting Emma off of using a pacifier. On the other hand it would be nice to get a break when I have a fussy baby who just wants to get comforted. I guess I will have to wait for the next baby to come and get a feel of their personality and see where we go from there.

3. Stopped keeping track of the last breast I fed my baby from

One of the first things you learn as you start your breastfeeding journey is to always start the next feeding session with the last breast you fed your baby from. This way it keeps them even and prevents one from getting fuller than the other. As I got more comfortable with breastfeeding I started to become more laid back with keeping track of what breast I was feeding from. This is probably one of the biggest breastfeeding mistakes I made.

This quickly came with consequences because my right breast became way too engorged. Due to this I developed a clogged duct. This was really uncomfortable and pretty painful. My breast was tender from the inside out and I was afraid that it would get worse and I would end up with an infection.

I researched how to unclog a clogged milk duct and found many different suggestions on how to go about it. I tried a few of them but the only one that worked for me was feeding my daughter from it. It was extremely painful but I just got through the pain and finally felt a pop in my breast and almost instant relief.

What did I learned from this?

Obviously I learned to always keep track of which breast I last fed my baby from. If I would’ve done that I would’ve avoided a lot of pain and discomfort. Aside from this I also learned that no matter how long I do this breastfeeding thing it’s important to not get too comfortable and follow the simple “rules”. It’s all trial and error and no one ever really becomes an expert. This applies to every concept of motherhood and parenting as well.

4. Threw away milk thinking it was spoiled

This one is one that still burns! I can’t believe I made this mistake and there is always going to be a part of me that’s going to be annoyed with myself every time I think about it. I should’ve done more research right from the beginning rather than panic and jump to conclusions.

It all started when I gave my husband a bottle of breast milk I had pumped the previous night to feed our baby. I noticed these bubbles on the top so decided to taste and smell it. It had both a sour taste and smell. I assumed the milk had somehow spoiled. Maybe I didn’t refrigerate it fast enough? The fridge wasn’t cold enough?

I had no clue but I decided to throw that bottle away and try another one I had in the fridge. The second bottle had the same taste and smell. They all did. Even milk I had frozen from days before and thawed out. That’s when I finally decided to call a lactation hotline and ask.

When I spoke to a nurse on the phone she told me that this smell and taste is normal. Breast milk contains lipase which is an enzyme that breaks down fats so that babies can easily digest them. The sour or soapy taste and smell is caused by this. She told me I could try a process called scolding which is basically lightly simmering the breast milk to get rid of the taste. However, leaving it as is is perfectly fine and safe for the baby. Wish I would’ve learned this before I dumped over 20 oz of breast milk down the drain! Yes it still stings!

What did I learn from this?

This one was a huge lesson for me. Not only did I learn about lipase and scolding (which to be honest I should’ve learned in the breastfeeding class I took), I also learned to not freak out and jump to conclusions. I learned to trust my babies judgement too and that they know more than we think.

The nurse I spoke to on the phone also told me that if there really was something wrong with the milk my baby would know and would refuse to drink it. I’m so glad I called the lactation hotline and wish I would’ve called right away. Will do this for sure next time I breastfeed and have a serious concern like this one.

5. Doubted/second guessed myself all the time

I think all first time moms go through this in every aspect of becoming a mother. Dealing with taking care of a little human who completely depends on you; and who you love with all your heart can be very overwhelming and bring a lot of doubts. I wanted to make sure that I breastfed my daughter for at least the first six months of her life. So I constantly second guessed myself and doubted what I was doing wasn’t enough.

I constantly questioned whether I was feeding my baby enough? Pumping enough? Did I have enough milk in my freezer? Was my supply declining? I was driving myself crazy and always felt like I wasn’t doing enough.

I think a lot of this had to do with how traumatized with my birth I was and postpartum depression. My birth experience didn’t go as I had planned. There were some complications and after hours of labor and four hours of pushing I had to have an emergency c-section. I had not planned for a c-section and was not mentally nor physically prepared for this experience and the pain and recovery that came after.

I felt like a failure because I was unable to have a vaginal birth and many times even felt as if I wasn’t a real mother because of the way I had given birth. Not that I even considered it as I had given birth. This led me to fall into postpartum depression and become obsessed with not “failing” at breastfeeding as well. In my mind I had already “failed” at giving birth so I couldn’t “fail” at this too.

What did I learned from this?

These psychological issues that resulted in my birthing experience were something that I’ve had to deal with and overcome with time. It’s been a long process but I have come a long way since then. It has taught me a lot and I’ve learned to not be so hard on myself. There are things you just can’t control and at then end I had to do what was best for my baby and myself.

What I learned overall from making these Breastfeeding Mistakes:

I have learned to not let myself get in my head and enjoy these precious moments with my baby. Breastfeeding was one of the most beautiful, rewarding and amazing experiences of my life. I still miss it sometimes and can’t wait for one day do it again. The way I bonded with my baby girl from day one has been so special and breastfeeding had a lot to do with that. Next time around I will make sure to focus more on the time I’m spending with my baby while nourishing them and less time doubting myself so much.

Are you a nursing momma looking for more breastfeeding tips? You may also like these other posts:

• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies
• Papaya-Banana Lactation Smoothie
• Building a Self-Care Routine
• 6 Fruits and 6 Vegetables To Introduce To Your Baby
• Why Homemade Baby Food?

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