No it’s not a typo. Breastfeeding is an entirely different beast, alas one we do not hear enough about. I remember my first meltdown took place a couple of days after returning home with our baby. We couldn’t settle him at night and we weren’t sure if I had been producing enough or any milk. We literally didn’t know what to do and decided that formula would be the only answer. Now bear in mind I was naively prejudiced about formula, kind of like how a parent might label their daughter or son who tried smoking weed, as a junkie! The problem is that we didn’t have that drug in the house! Why? Why did we not think of buying a stash of drugs (formula). Why didn’t anyone tell us to have it, just in case. Turns out nobody tells you because if they did, anyone would just give formula to babies instead of trying and enduring the beast that is breastfeeding! We also cannot expect to be ready for this life changing experience from just attending a local breastfeeding afternoon class. We didn’t find it so straight forward to find a local lactation consultant who would put our minds, and my boobs, at rest. I had to make multiple phone calls to try and pin down someone available for a home visit. I’m sure this might have been an isolated case, as I have also heard of many other moms getting the advice and supported they were expecting.
I know every woman has a different experience and in some ways it might be better not to scaremonger soon to be moms by telling them that not only they have just completed the toughest marathon of their life, they are also going to have to lie on a bed of nails. Face down to be specific! I personally would have wanted to be more prepared because dreading the moment your baby is going to feed to a point that you stop having motherly instincts towards them is not a good feeling. I had a completely locked neck postpartum and tensing up like a rock at every feed, didn’t help releasing it. I didn’t want to give in and though in retrospect (and after switching to formula at 9 months!) I would have been less hard on myself, at that point I felt very lost. I had a couple of friends who had gone through the same experience who really cheered me on and shone a flashlight to the end of the tunnel for me. I will always thank them! Despite the hard rock breasts which literally felt like they could explode, the incredibly strong let down that made him often throw up, the months of strategic dressing with breast pads being an absolute must otherwise I would drench my bra and top, despite the insane hair loss, I would probably try and do it all over again. And that is really saying something!