Fear - fear of breastfeeding in front of people, fear of not being perfect, fear of our instincts, fear of the unknown, fear of asking for help, fear of failure... the list could go on and on.
Fear will rear its ugly head at all milestones of our life. Breastfeeding is no exception. Think of other big events; say, a job interview. If you haven't been to a job interview before you may not know what to expect. You could read books, ask for advice from friends/family who have been on interviews before, ask professionals for pointers, etc. OR... you could just show up and wing it.
Sometimes the latter may work, but chances are better if you have tips, tricks, and a support network to get helpful ideas and solutions. Agree?
The more information you have going into this milestone in your life, the better your chances are of being a success. Now, that's not to say you need to somehow obtain your masters degree in breastfeeding, but going into it with some knowledge already in your head and lots of resources already built in at your fingertips for when/if something isn't working right is going to drastically increase your chances.
Breastfeeding is a natural and normal thing, but we've lost touch with our instincts of overcoming common challenges, especially since our little F friend (you know, formula) was invented. If breastfeeding isn't going well, people are very quick to offer up that F word. And it definitely has it's time and place in some situations. I am most certainly glad it is available for moms to truly need it. But more often than not it could have been avoided had mom been given XYZ advice instead.
Those first few days are so important to creating/building your supply and having baby learn how to receive the shipment. Just remember that their stomach is about the size of a marble - it does not take much to make them full. You have time to gather advice from all your resources and try lots of different solutions before your baby falls into that failure to thrive category. And chances are they won't. Rally up your troops and stay strong mama!
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