Bras aren't the only things that provide good support for your breasts

I went to a breastfeeding support group yesterday which is held at my friend's hospital. I'm not sure if outsiders are supposed to attend but hey, I didn't see any rules posted. It was a pleasant experience, I wasn't sure what to expect. Basically you get to weigh your baby before and after nursing, breastfeed for an hour, commiserate with other breastfeeding moms and talk to LC's if needed.

I went to get more hands on help with J's latch (secretly my main reason for going was to see if other moms still have big, black nipples or if theirs went back to normal yet). Of course he was latching on pretty good at that time, damn him for being so cooperative. He wasn't that hungry to begin with, I was trying to plan his meals around the time but it didn't work out as well as I hoped. He did eat but he's so efficient that he rarely nurses longer than 5 minutes (thank God)so by the time the LC got to me, he was pretty much done. He wouldn't even suck on her finger for her to feel what he's doing. She did help me with the latch as much as she could but it wasn't as easy with a baby who wasn't that hungry. Big Boy weighed 13lb - 3.5oz before eating and 13lb - 4.2oz after. He's 6 weeks/3 days old, I love my big chunk of babe! He's gained 1lb - 5.5oz (I think, if I did the math right) since his 1 month check-up 2 weeks ago. She said he's just a pound over what they want to average, of course he started off big too.

I dragged my friend along, the one who told me about it. I wanted someone with me incase I walked in and it was like an AA meeting where I had to introduce myself and shit like that. I was very thankful she went and now I believe that this happened for a reason. She's a very experienced breastfeeder but her 14 month old gave her some lacerations a little while ago because of teething pain. She eventually became numb to the pain but decided to show the LC's. You know something is wrong when LC's who've seen all kinds of nipple trauma GASP when they look at your nipple. They also told her they want to use her for educational purposes right before they sent her off to her OB immediately to have them taken care of. Fortunately the OB is very pro-breastfeeding and helped her in a way that would allow her to keep nursing. I really believe she went with me for a reason, there could have been some serious long-term damage if she didn't get them taken care of then.

Overall it was a very nice day. After the group we went and had lunch, went to a park then I watched her kids while she got her nipples repaired. J really is such a good baby, I swear. He just went with the flow and didn't get mad when I kept putting him in and out of the car, dragging him all over, in and out of the car seat, into a sling. A couple of times I tried to leave him in his infant seat so not to disturb him so much but he wouldn't stand for it. He wanted his sling, damn it! Of course my boss had to call and ruin the good flow. I hate being like "yeah, yeah so ready to come back bullshit, bullshit, bullshit" right after she tells me how much work they have waiting for me. Are you trying to make me quit? Because it's working...I am, just not before my benefits run out!