Breastfeeding: early challenges

I'm logging my experience with breastfeeding so I don't forget it, and in case I can help others in the future.  Feel free to continue reading if you are interested in that topic, or skip if you're just here for the baby pictures!

Owwwwaaaah!!!  Breastfeeding is hard!!

I remember a conversation I had with a doctor at our synagogue, when I was pregnant (summarized and editorialized):

Dr.: You are planning on breastfeeding, I hope?
Me: Yes, that's the plan.
Dr.:  GREAT!!!!  YAY BREASTFEEDING OMG!!!!
Me: We're going to give it a lot of effort and see how it goes - I know it is really hard for a lot of women.
Dr.: Don't think like that!  Think positively!  It will be great!  Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, women have been doing it for centuries!
Me: [attempts to push back tactfully on the idea that thinking positively solves all problems, as well as the idea that mothers who fail at or choose not to breastfeed are somehow lacking] 

So, I suppose it is theoretically possible that had I completely refused to entertain the notion that breastfeeding would be challenging, the stars would have aligned and it would have been cake.  But I think far more likely, that approach would have left me completely unprepared and I would have given up pretty quickly.  Of my many friends who recently had babies and breastfeed, I think only three of them had an easy time at the start, and two of these later had other challenges with it.

I didn't really set specific goals at the start, but I have nearly reached an important milestone of exclusively breastfeeding Eden up until I go back to work.  But it was not easy, and I'm glad I was mentally prepared for that.  Some of the difficulties I had with breastfeeding early on:

• She was separated from me for 6 hours due to a breathing issue (which turned out to be nothing), so we didn't even get to get started until well after birth.  I started pumping at 3 hours after birth.
• Baby had trouble latching, and when she did she was ravenously hungry and angry that there was no milk.  She would scream and punch my boob.  This was pretty traumatizing at the time, though in hindsight her little bright red face with blazing eyes was really cute.
• Shortage of lactation consultants at the hospital, conflicting advice from nurses and lactation consultants - feeling that each shift change I had to start over learning to breastfeed.
• Weight loss reaching 10%, and hospital staff insisting on supplementing with formula.  At that point I was fine with it, so traumatized by my hungry, angry baby and hoping it would help her latch to drip formula on my boob.  We didn't let anyone feed her with a nipple, just syringes.  
• My milk didn't come in until day 6, and I didn't really feel like I was getting much colostrum in the meantime.  I'm pretty sure this was due to stress from the hospital/birth experience, and possibly due to the supplementation with formula (though she still seemed to want to eat all the damn time, so I'm not sure supplementing made a difference there).
• Breastfeeding was painful when it did occur - latch was shallow and positioning was awkward.  I didn't care at the time, because I was just so grateful to get her to latch at all.  One thing I don't think made a difference was pain from the C-section - I didn't feel like I had trouble positioning her because of my own surgery recovery.
• The nights were particularly difficult - I didn't mind waking up to feed, but with the latching difficulties, not having any clue how long it would take, how much she would scream, etc., I would deeply dread trying to feed her.

We made it through the first two weeks somehow, but there were a few more complications in store.  Stay tuned...