What I wish I knew before I started breastfeeding…

There are two things that helped me get through the first few weeks of nursing which turned out to be very painful and trying thanks to my lack of knowledge; first was reading and learning all I could about breastfeeding and second was actually an add for breastfeeding in a parenting magazine (I can’t remember the name or the exact words) basically it was a mom talking about having a very painful experience nursing and promising her husband to keep it up for the first 6 weeks and by the time that came around it was hurting much less and at two months she was completely healed and loving nursing. I decided after reading that I could stick it out for two months and it was true, at two months nursing was no longer a painful sacrifice I was making for my child it was actually an indulgence and something I loved doing (especially when my daughter would fall asleep at my breast).

Now here’s my list of what I wish I knew before I started breastfeeding:
Nursing doesn’t always come naturally so learn all you can about it before you start.
Get support, any nursing mom would love to give you advise or tell you it’s going to be ok, there are groups too and I highly recommend joining and attending meetings with your local Le Leche League group.
It’s ok to ask for help and cry, if only I’d known this. I was such an emotional wreck and so clueless I didn’t seek out support and ask questions until my daughter was 1 year old.
It will take time, but if you figure how long it takes to get a bottle ready and then clean them after nursing is big time saver, not to mention the milk comes pre-warmed at 246am.
Don’t set a time limit for how long you will nurse, originally I said three months and that’s it. My daughter is 18 months old and we still both lover our nursing sessions. If you do the other four steps you’ll find it will be worth going as long as possible.
Hide the clocks for the first few weeks. You can sleep whenever you baby sleeps so don’t worry if it’s 246am and this will work even better if you co-sleep.
The house will get dirty so stop fussing. Nursing is such a commitment on your part that other things have to be let go or you just can’t keep up and something will give. Ask a relative to help, or just stop worrying about it. There will come a day when your house is always in order and spotlessly clean and you will miss the days when it was a disaster because you were spending all of your energy and time holding a brand new baby.