The truth about breastfeeding

• The feelings of pride and achievement that breastfeeding gives you. You look at your growing baby and think: I did that, I am feeding that wonderful little person all by myself.
  
• It can take a while – longer than bottlefeeding. Think of it as bonding time for you and baby, and valuable rest time for you. Those moments cradling your baby to your breast will never leave you. Breastfeeding is the stuff memories are made of.
• It will probably hurt at first. As you get breastfeeding established, the let-down reflux can be knee-crunchingly painful, like a sharp stabbing sensation. This pain should not last more than a couple of moments; if it does, your baby may be incorrectly latched on.
• Milk squirts out surprisingly fast and powerfully. Make sure you have a muslin or hand towel close by to catch any excess.
  
• You may find it hard to get your baby to take a bottle later on – what’s the attraction of a plastic teat when you could enjoy sucking on a sweet-smelling nipple?
  
• The thirst of a breastfeeding woman knows no bounds. Stay hydrated by keeping a bottle of water to hand at all times.
  
• Your diet affects the taste of your breast milk. Some babies are very accommodating, while others may protest if you go heavy on the chillies.
  
• Breastfed babies have much less stinky nappies than bottle-fed babes.
  
• Breastfeeding isn’t forever. If you’re finding broken nights and long day-feeds a chore, remind yourself that this is a very short period in your and your child’s life. Even if you manage to breastfeed for a year, you will soon have forgotten about the temporary inconvenience.
  
• Breastfeeding means not having to worry about sterilising, heating and cooling milk while your baby screams her head off, or going out for the day armed with feeding paraphernalia.
• Don’t be afraid to seek help. Ask other mums about their experiences to get the real picture about breastfeeding. Find out the phone number of a local breastfeeding counsellor and keep it on hand in case you need support or advice.
  
• Taking baby abroad? You don’t need to worry about the availability of local milk supplies if you are doing it yourself. Breastfeeding in a hot climate keeps your baby perfectly hydrated and helps boost her immune system so she’s less likely to fall ill.
  
• Worried about breastfeeding in public? Don’t be. Breastfeeding should be - and can be - a public non-event. A delicately draped muslin, scarf or coat can make it a totally private event. Once you’ve established breastfeeding and feel that you know what you’re doing, there’s really no reason why you can’t breastfeed anywhere. Don’t feel you have to retire to a public toilet to feed your baby if you’d rather be sitting in a café drinking a cup of tea.
• You don’t have to completely cut out alcohol just because you’re breastfeeding. You’ve already spent nine months or so on the wagon – treating yourself to the odd drink here and there will not harm your breastfeeding baby. But having a heavy night’s drinking might leave you dehydrated and reduce your milk supply so it’s probably best not to go too mad.

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