This post is for a friend of mine who is a first time mom who was so sick that she didn’t feel like taking care of herself, more of less a needy infant. Instead of giving up, she sought help and advice and made it through to the end. She’s a champion!
Breastfeeding when you are sick is HARD! When you don’t feel like you have the strength to get up and go to the bathroom, the thought of nursing a baby for 30-40 minutes just sounds like too much sometimes. It’s especially hard if you are all alone with no other adult help. You know that it will not last forever, but right in the middle of it, it sure seems like it!
Sticking with it though is the best thing you can do for your baby and you just have to make yourself do it! You pass along antibodies through your milk that will help the baby to stay well or not get as sick, which you really don’t want a sick baby. There are several things you can do to help you survive the ordeal.
First thing is take care of yourself! Don’t try to keep doing everything or you are going to make the sickness last longer and make things worse for you and your baby. I know that some things are unavoidable, but to the best of your ability take care of yourself and get as much rest as possible! Even if you are unable to eat, keep drinking as much as you can possibly get yourself to drink. Keeping fluids in your body will help keep your milk coming even if you can’t eat. I have noticed that when I’m sick my milk does not come in as well, but we have always been able to tough through it together.
Next, if at all possible, don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help! If you have a relative or friend that can come over and run a load of dishes or even just hold the baby in between feedings while you take a nap, that can be very helpful. Most of you have friends that would be willing to bring you some soup if you just ask. Swallow your pride and ask for help if you need it. Don’t try to go it alone if at all possible. My wonderful husband has taken a sick day or two just to take care of me and the kids when I was too sick to do so. Even when I wasn’t sick, when I had my first baby, I had a good friend who would come over to hold and help with the baby while I threw some laundry in the wash or took a shower and it was a welcome break! Even though I’m giving this advice I have to admit that I have a bit of a pride issue and have trouble doing this myself. Last year when I had pneumonia, my sister came and stayed for a week to take care of me and the kids and it was definitely a blessing!
Remember! There are some medicines that you can safely take while breastfeeding! If you are really sick, talk with your doctor to see if there are any medicines that you could safely take that could alleviate your symptoms enough that you can function and take care of your baby. There are natural things like honey, cinnamon, vitamin C . . . that can also help you to a quicker path to recovery as well. Don’t just suffer in silence and make it last longer than is has to because you are trying to tough it out. Trust me, been there, done that, not fun or pretty. Many tears of despair cried. You’re body is already under a lot of pressure trying to sustain two people and sometimes it just needs a little help.
Don’t despair, this will not last forever. Things will get back to normal (well if there is such a thing as normal after a baby!). You are a breastfeeding momma therefore you are tough! It’s ok to cry, it’s ok to wish you were not going through this, but hang in there tough it out, find a friend’s shoulder to cry on and just focus on taking care of that baby and getting better! I don’t have the answer to everything, but I welcome any questions or even if I can send some encouragement your way, feel free to comment.
If you have a story about breastfeeding through an illness please post your story and let us know what helped you to make it through! Next time I’ll talk a bit about nursing a sick baby! Thanks for reading!
Succeed when you breastfeed 