Quick look for the sign of the beast!!!(funny story part 6)

Abbygail Hailey Sochocki was born on Dec 6, 2005. I knew that breast feeding was going to be a snap and even the Lactation consultant remarked on what a good coach I was. Oh how quickly the tide turns.

Nothing I had read could prepare me for what my daughter had in store for me. I knew that hungry babies cried, I had no idea that it sounded like a cross between a steam whistle, fingers on a chalk board, and the T-Rex from “Jurassic Park”. This was the first of what would become many things that the “experts” in the books would be wrong about. The books had covered cracked nipples, but not nipples that had been split down the middle and looked like a power tool had been taken to them. Black tea bags had done nothing for this (Again the books were wrong). The books had said “Your significant other may experience mood swings due to her increase in hormones”. They never covered your significant others head spinning around and vomiting pea soup. Everything I had read touched on being tired, and feeling a lack of energy. Try more like feeling as if you had been run over by a truck and feeling like you have lost the will to move. No wonder the books say a benefit to breast feeding is losing weight. We never ate!!! Any free time was spent sleeping, not eating. According to the books a post partum mother’s milk should come in, within 3-5 days. 7 days later we had our T-Rex screaming and my wife yelling at me. I learned two valuable lessons that day. One is, the the books aren’t always right. Two is never, ever, tell a post partum mother that she must be doing something wrong because the books say her milk should be in. “Just give me the baby and lay back I will show you how to latch her on correctly”, I then started to dodge all those books that I had put so much faith in. At that point I deicided to try another approach.

I tried to call the local experts and couldn’t reach a single on a Sunday night. I believe my wife’s message on one of the machines was “Your motto of breast is best is all bullshit” We finally reached the local La Leche and talked to someone who calmed us down. We had the free clinic nurse come over and show my wife some improvements to her technique. This I realized was what my wife had meant by support. So all you expecting fathers learn from my mistakes. Support your wife in this time of need and just be there. I should know I am the only male member of the La Leche league and the local male Fairbanks breast feeding expert