Breastfeeding, Pumping, and How I Make It Easier on Myself

It's only been 13 days since little London Rose came into my world officially. Each day is something new, funny, and exhausting when it comes to her and my own recovery process. London's mild trauma has corrected itself into a perfectly shaped little nose, no more swollen head, and her bruising is all gone. Now, Mommy's progress is a little slower and some days are better than others of course.

The Day Before London Joined Us! 8/29/13

Having decided to breastfeed, the food I put into my body is just as important if not more so than when I was pregnant. The vitamins and nutrients that I pass onto London are an essential part of her development. Sadly her latching ability was affected by her mild trauma (she's got a really high palette that prohibits a good  latch). So that means I pump every 3 hours - let me tell you that being attached to that machine for 40 minutes every time is exhausting and definitely putting a little strain on me. But I'm sure my tolerance will build as time progresses. The benefits to breastfeeding is numerous but as someone who was formula fed (and my husband was too!) I am not going to lose any sleep if for whatever reasons we need to switch to formula for London. We all turned out just fine. I will supply her with as much breast milk as I can for as long as I can though.

Here are some of the breastfeeding/pumping tips I've come across that have definitely helped me:

• Hydrate! I try to drink at least 3 liters of water every day - that's 13 cups. And trust me I can tell when I'm low.
• I have a designated place that I pump and I make sure I have a pillow, blanket, my iPad, my iPhone, and the remote control so I can stay distracted if need be.
• Set a timer. I pump for 20 minutes on each side but will go longer if I'm in the middle of a let down.
• Use your hands as well as the pump. The warmth of your hands and massaging motions help to get your milk flowing.
• Avoid greasy foods - it hurts your supply and just makes me feel gross in all honesty.

What tips and tricks have you heard? What worked for you? I'm always looking for more help and advice!

And another bonus is the amount of calories you burn from breastfeeding which I'm 100% sure with how well my after baby weight loss progress is going. Let me break it down for you:

Starting Weight: 219

London's Birthday: 247

And Today: 225

So far I'm down 22 pounds of the original 27 that I gained. I am amazed how fast this has fallen off and I am beyond grateful. As soon as I can start working out again I will start easing into it and hopefully continue to weight loss to my goal weight of 150.