Breastfeeding

I've been told for a couple of years by many mother-friends that breastfeeding is very hard at first. Somehow, in the midst of all that well-intentioned advice, I missed WHY breastfeeding is such a challenge. I think I had the idea that new mothers had trouble adjusting to the time that it took or the way it tied them down or something like that, which seemed like a non-issue to me. About six hours after Caleb was born, I knew exactly why breastfeeding was going to be difficult for me. Caleb, in his precious innocence, spent most of his first few breastfeeding sessions chomping on me rather than suckling. Not only were his efforts ineffective in obtaining milk, but they left me with raw, cracked and bleeding nipples from the first day. During the next seven days, his 8-12 feedings were charactized by excruciating pain. At the suggestion of Caleb's pediatrician, I actually started using Lamaze breathing to cope with the pain as he latched on and began nursing each time. There were several late nights when I, an avid breastfeeding advocate, actually longed to give up. Marcus encouraged me and reminded me how much I would regret it if I did, which he was 100% correct about. Anyway, I eventually began to heal and breastfeeding became less painful. Caleb is eight days old today, and I'm beginning to enjoy our feeding sessions, as I know I will continue to in the days to come.