I didn't really understand "love" before i was a mother.
I didn't really understand "tired" before i was a mother.
I didn't really understand "joy" before i was a mother.
I didn't really understand "relentless" before i was a mother.

And i'm pretty sure now that once i have #2 i'll realise i didn't really understand them all now either...

Bindy i'd read a couple of books with step by step attachment pictures of BFing before bubs was born and i think this was the key to me getting it right when she was new. I had a homebirth so i was only shown once, right after birth, how to attach her (and their method wasn't so hot for me in fact) by the midwives but i just knew what i was aiming for (good mouthful of boob taken, nipple deep in bubs mouth, breast touching chin and cheeks, baby's gums on the outer regions of the aerola, not on the nipple, and no sensation of rubbing or moving - the nipple is still while baby sucks and not moving in and out) and tried different things out until i had a good method for us both which worked. I have giant boobs so i found support during a feed was very important. DD fed no problems. Yes, feeds took a LONG time at first and if i felt i wasn't SURE the attachment was great, i'd take her off and give it another go, but no, i had no real issues. My nipples are flat so the first few seconds of a feed were a bit toe-curling as she sucked it into the back of her mouth and stretched it out, but nothing awful, and so fleeting, and after 2 or 3 days i'd stretch them by hand (because i could be gentler) and that solved that. I had no blisters, no cracks, no mastitis (nearly once but averted it with frequent massage-and-feed sessions and plenty of rest). I loved my BFing time and am only keen to do it again, i anticipate no problems.

Bx