It's Sunday. I spent the bulk of my day attached to my daughter's mouth, on and off, for about 5 hours. This is what is called 'cluster feeding'. You'll learn about this interesting phenomenon, along with other breast feeding delights when you have our own little one. I've been asked about what my experiences have been breast feeding, so here we go. To the men in Internet-land, you may want to read this post as well - it will help you understand what your lady will go through soon. What follows below isn't meant to scare you, but to provide real insight into what it's like to put the commitment towards breast feeding. It's a joke among moms, but yes, there are times when I felt like I spent the whole day on the couch, nursing my daughter, flipping channels and reading news on my iPhone. Things got better, but I continue to have daily laughs.

I never second guessed wanting to breast feed. Not only is it the most nutritious for your baby, but it's pretty darn cheap. I was told that breast feeding was challenging, but nothing prepared me for what things would really be like. When Lily was born, I nursed right away - which brought its own challenges. Babies need to 'learn' how to feed, so not only was I getting the hang of positions (cradle, cross cradle, football hold), but Lily had a hard time latching on to me - and my nipples paid the price with some bleeding. You won't get milk right away, either. Instead, colostrum will supply the needing food your baby will need. This is natural. In a few days, your milk will come in - as will the tense, hard feeling of your breasts becoming engorged. More on that, in a second.

On Day 1 of being a new mom, I had my mom in the hospital room with me. We noticed that Lily kept crying and didn't seem to get enough of my colostrum. Luckily, Northwestern had formula in the room, which we used to supplement. It was also important for the baby's weight. It wasn't until a few days later that we learned that Liljana had jaundice (which is common). The jaundice made her tired and irritable, which explained her not getting enough food from me and dropping in weight more than we wanted.

Once the jaundice was clear and my milk came in, I entered the world of being a breast feeding mom - and it ain't easy. Trust me, if you would like to breast feed, give yourself three weeks before giving up (Note: I know many woman whose milk didn't come in, so using formula is more than OK!). Why do I say three weeks? In the first few weeks, my breasts would get so engorged and be in pain if I didn't feed my daughter or pump. Speaking of pumping, yes, you'll need to have some sort of apparatus around the house to pump out the access milk and store it in the fridge or freezer.

Psychologically, I had a rough time for the first 10 days. I felt like my only purpose in life was to be a cow. My mom and Michael would tell me to sleep and wake me up to feed Lily. If I wasn't sleeping, I was racing to get stuff down around the house until it was time to nurse. It was exhausting. I also leaked - alot. Breast pads were (and still are) my best friends. Yoga pants were all I wore because there was always a chance of the milk leaking on my leg during a feed or falling out of the breast pump shield, should I be sitting the wrong way. Eating became a whole new sport because a balanced diet, full of REAL meals, were vital to giving the little one a hearty feeding - and kept my milk supply up.

It was important for me to leave the house (as it will be for you) to clear my head, see the world and change up my routine. Oh sure, this was fine, but the tightness I would feel in my breasts in a few hours were a constant signal to me that I needed to dump my milk somewhere. I remember being at a tech event with a room full of guys and my boobs were in a state of major engorgement. I didn't have my pump with me and endured an hour of stinging pain. Lesson learned:). Now, when I leave the house, I ensure Michael has a full supply of mama juice, should I be out longer than expected. We drove to Detroit and I managed to stop along 94 and pump in a Panera parking lot while Michael did the feeding.

Today, I'm back in the office. I get up early, get my showering and primping out of the way and pick up baby around 7. I give her a solid morning feed, then am off to work. I take the pump along with and spend about two sessions a day pumping, Blackberry in hand. I come home, place that day's extraction in the fridge and get ready for another day.

Is it difficult? Yes, but getting a heckuva lot better. I publicly fed Lily once and getting the hang of doing this out in the open more (with a cover, of course). Seeing the progress of Lily's weight gain, knowing the bulk (we always keep formula in the house for those times my supply is low or she's super hungry and Michael is sans my milk) of it is from me makes everything worth it.

Most importantly, those moments I get from nursing Lily and seeing her big eyes stare up at me is a connection that can't be replaced. :)
Don't give up!