The warrior's guide to survival

Another one from the archives, originally published in 2011: When I planned to breastfeed my son, I really had little to no idea what to expect. Most of my peers bottle fed after a few weeks and I’d heard horror stories of pain and discomfort and not being able to produce enough milk. I attended a breastfeeding tutorial as apart of my antenatal course but the only plan I really had was to go with the flow and see what happened. I suffered a dreadful depression in my pregnancy and I doubted my ability to feed my son as well as doubting my capabilities as a mother in general. After an enormously long labour and assisted delivery, my baby lamb was put to my breast and miraculously latched on with little assistance. The first few days in hospital were a blur – remember they kept me in because my son wasn’t feeding properly, though I can’t really remember any serious problems other than he slept for a long time the first night, and so would I, if I’d been on a journey that...

Here I'm adding a blast from the past, an old blog post from my other blog ( links may not be current): A friend is due to give birth soon, so I promised that I’d put together a breastfeeding kit list.  Breastfeeding is hard work, but these few things made my life a bit easier.  I’d also like to offer some advice, to all new Mums and that is: listen to your instincts.  That is the best advice my midwife told me and it has been the most valuable to me in the past three years. People will offer you advice, but listen to your heart, and listen to your baby and you won’t go far wrong.  Your baby is unique to you, and whilst you can always ask for help and tips, you need to adapt them to the very special and one-of-a-kind human being that you have just created. Breastfeeding made my boobs feel horrid. Hot and sticky, uncomfortable, painful and milky.  When I won an Emma Jane nursing bra my bosum finally felt as though it could breathe again.  Thou...