Simple Gift - Stories from Breastfeeding Mamas

A Breastfeeding Story - Part Two!

2011-04-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

Breastfeeding & Exercise—The Journey Continues

If a Mom is physically able to breastfeed, there are so many reasons to continue nursing for as long as possible. We know human milk is optimal for infants because of its nutritional value and immune-building benefits. It’s also important to note that Mom’s health can improve too. The Federal Government Source for Women’s Health website says, “mothers who breastfeed have a lower risk of some health problems, including breast cancer and type 2 diabetes.” Obesity is a growing concern for both adults and children. Plus breast cancer is the second leading cause for death among women ages 30-50. Wouldn’t we want to do everything we could to prevent both obesity and breast cancer?

The Best for Babes organization believes both breast cancer and obesity are “somewhat preventable” by implementing two lifestyle choices: 1) breastfeeding and 2) exercise. Their website says: “For every 12 months of breastfeeding, a woman can lower her breast cancer risk by 4.3%. This is cumulative, so that a mother who has two children and breastfeeds each for 2 years can realize a 17.2% reduction!” And a woman with a family history of breast cancer can reduce her risk of pre-menopausal breast cancer by 59%. In addition, the BFB website states that if Mom is breastfeeding girls, her daughter’s “risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime is lowered by 26%-31%!” In general BFB concludes that, “Breastfeeding’s associated protection against being obese and overweight — major risk factors in adult diseases — buys your baby girl or boy extra protection against developing certain cancers as an adult.” Breastfeeding is a wonderful way to combat disease and encourage healthy mothers and children.

Although Emma’s days of breastfeeding are over. (At least from what I think—I’m wondering if she’ll want to go back to the breast after her twin sisters are born!) I know my breastfeeding journey will continue. And I will continue to learn as a mother. I’m wondering if the twins will mimic Emma’s behavior when it comes to me working part time and teaching my Pilates inspired program for parents: Asobi Sport™ Family Fitness.

During the first day of my Asobi Sport™ classes, Emma wanted to breastfeed during the first half of the class. Dismayed, I thought, “Not now!” But finally, I decided there was no fighting this girl’s appetite. The solution was to let her eat. Thankfully I knew what to do. It wasn’t the first time Emma’s ferocious appetite came at an “inopportune” time. I threw on my BeBe au Lait nursing cover and used the Moby Wrap to position Emma at my breast. Once she was securely latched, I looked up at my group of Momma’s and somehow resumed teaching. I even figured out shortly thereafter I could exercise while tending to Emma’s feeding needs! This was a huge discovery for me.

Not only could I continue teaching, I could share this knowledge with other active Moms. They could learn to improve their postural awareness, strengthen their deep pelvic floor with Kegel Exercises, and build core strength—while they breastfed! My Jia-Yo! Philosophy (exercising while you parent) was developed thanks to Emma’s constant demand to breastfeed. I wanted to show Moms they could meet their wellness goals and simultaneously nurture their child. They didn’t have to leave their child to workout or replenish their energy.

I do, however, caution any Mother who chooses to perform these Pilates inspired movements while they breastfeed to focus on their child’s needs first. When Baby is hungry, the goal is to make sure Baby gets fed. Exercise is secondary. So as long as exercising isn’t impeding a child’s nutritional intake, then exercise can be performed and even encouraged during breastfeeding or bottlefeeding. Ideally, Mom will see Asobi Sport™’s form of exercise as relaxing and replenishing. She can take these moments while seated to focus on deep breathing, Kegel Exercises, and postural awareness. The breathing techniques can even be meditative and calming. While Baby is nourished with unbeatable food, Mom is nourished with oxygen and newfound energy.

Before Mom should try exercising while breastfeeding, it is imperative that a) Baby has a
correct latch and b) Mom’s milk letdown has occurred. In order for Mom to let her milk
release, she will need to relax. The deep Pilates breathing is very helpful to accomplish this goal. She can also sit in Neutral Spine (the natural curvature of our back and the safest position for our spine) and raise her postural awareness.

Of course, if any of my Asobi Sport™ participating Moms were to suffer from a reduction of milk production and Baby isn't getting fed, then we would remove exercise all together. There is never a need to exercise while breastfeeding. It is simply to allow Mothers a way to nurture their well-being while they nurture their child’s—especially if their child is anything like Emma and enjoys taking her time while eating!

I guess if our twin girls do exhibit their big sister’s eating patterns, I at least have a sense of what to do. Of course nursing two at once will be a whole new ball game! If I’ve learned anything about this endurance sport I call “parenthood,” it’s all about staying in the game. And that means going with the flow and being open to learning along the way. I’m excited to combat the risk of breast cancer (for both myself and our daughters) with breastfeeding and exercise. I look forward to sharing our Asobi Sport™ Family Fitness DVD with other Moms so they too can learn how to simultaneously nurture themselves as well as their children.

Sarah, Mom to Emma - 2.5, & Soon-to-be mom of Twin Girls!

Giveaway {Undercover Mama}

2011-04-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I have a fun and fabulous giveaway going on my regular blog. It is hands down one of the best nursing gear products on the market. So check out my review - and then head over to Family and Life in Las Vegas - for your chance to win an Undercover Mama Tank!

I first saw Undercover Mama at the 2010 ABC Kids Expo here in Las Vegas. I was SO impressed. It was another moment of: Why didn't I think of that? At the time Squishy and I were coming to the end of breastfeeding, but I wished I had had one from the very beginning.

So what is Undercover Mama? It is a tank top that turns any shirt into a nursing shirt! It is so easy to use - just slide it on to your bra strap or use the new hook and loop attachment!

The Tanks come in many different colors, and a wide range of sizes! They are made from 95% cotton and 5% spandex, and best of all, are long enough to keep ALL of you covered while nursing. Whether you tuck it in or leave it out for the layered look, you won't have to worry about your stomach or back showing while you are nursing! I really LOVE the extra length.

SMALL 32A/B-34D
MEDIUM 34D-36C/D
LARGE 36E-38C/D
XLARGE 38D-40C
XXLARGE 40D-42F

Check out this video to see how it works!

Even though I am not currently breastfeeding - the fact the Undercover mama is so easy to use, allows you to wear more and still feel confident nursing, and that it is so comfortable, Undercover Mama has earned a spot in my Must Have baby products. This also means it gets a rating of EXTREMELY SQUISHABLE! (10/10)

My Breastfeeding Story Part 1

2011-04-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

A Breastfeeding Story Part I

Time to Wean

It’s hard to believe that only three months ago on January 8th, I stopped breastfeeding my daughter, Emma. It was her second birthday and we were four months pregnant with twins. I was advised to stop as soon as we learned we were pregnant, especially considering this was a twin pregnancy.

The doctor warned I would need all the energy I could get to ensure a full-term twin pregnancy. Plus, this pregnancy would be different from my first. This time, I would be looking after (more like chasing after) my very physical toddler by day and waking up with her by night. Emma still had trouble sleeping through the night and occasionally I resorted to breastfeeding her back to sleep.

I had mixed feelings about weaning. When Emma was born, I aimed to breastfeed her for a year. I never thought I could go longer than a year. And I certainly didn’t ever think I would want to continue after she turned two! But part of me wanted to breastfeed for as long as she demanded it.

It was hard to hear her whimper “Mommy’s milk, milk!” while she looked longingly at my shirt and slid her hand under my bra. The breast was her source of comfort. I enjoyed being able to feed and soothe her with a simple touch and a complex design of the body. Whenever she fell down or got an “owie,” it was off to the breast we’d go. She never took a bottle, even though I tried. Goodness knows, I tried! My husband’s business travel schedule didn’t allow him to administer the bottle regularly. And when I tried to give her a bottle, she was too smart to take it. She could smell the real deal. Plus, I’ve concluded, if given the choice, babies know there’s no substitute for human touch.

Those first six weeks of learning to breastfeed were tough as I experienced cracked and bleeding nipples. Emma kept falling asleep while feeding. And when she’d stay awake, she became what my Mom calls a “gourmet eater.” She would nibble a bit, pull off, look around, and then want a bit more. Feedings that were supposed to last twenty minutes could sometimes take up to 1.5 hours! That meant feeding her every two hours was like feeding her all day long! And without a bottle, there were very few breaks for me. I had to figure out how to go about my day AND satiate my daughter’s “gourmet” appetite.

To this day, Emma still showcases her “gourmet eater” techniques. Meal times are never quick and easy. Thankfully, having my Mom (who is a Lamaze teacher and certified doula) attend Emma’s birth and stay with us weeks after Emma's delivery helped establish my positive breastfeeding journey. Discussions with my Mom, meetings with a lactation consultant, and reading a wonderful resource that my cousin (who is a Mom and a psychiatrist) recommended, Breastfeeding Made Simple transformed the daunting chore of breastfeeding into a welcomed privilege for me.

Of course I knew when the doctor advised me to wean Emma, it was ultimately my decision. I didn’t need to stop breastfeeding Emma if I didn’t want to. Many women nurse through their pregnancies and even continue breastfeeding both their newborn and toddler post delivery. Of course most of these women aren’t pregnant with twins, running a small business, still unpacking from an out-of-state move, and shooting a fitness DVD. Part of me wanted to continue breastfeeding, but I knew it was time to stop.

Two reasons helped make my decision: 1) I finally concluded this was not the time to be “super woman;” I actually did need more energy to focus on the twin’s pregnancy. And 2) it was becoming increasingly painful to continue nursing Emma as my breasts grew more sensitive with the pregnancy. I always enjoyed breastfeeding (well, after going through the 6 week learning curve) but when Emma’s near two-year-old latch consistently started to feel like a vampire sinking her jaws into me, I decided it was time to stop. So on her second birthday, I pulled the plug.

It felt like the end of an era. (Of course, who am I kidding? Our twins are due in 11 weeks. I know I’m going to be breastfeeding two at once for a long time to come!) However, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones. Or maybe I just couldn’t believe two years had come and gone so quickly. Emma was undoubtedly growing up and our time of nuzzling together in the Moby Wrap or on My Brestfriend or under a Bebe au Lait nursing cover was coming to an end.

Breastfeeding had become such a daily routine for us. I identified with other Moms who breastfed on demand, whose children never took a bottle, whose toddler did gymnastics while they nursed, and whose growing child could ask for “Mommy’s milk.” Although I knew it was the right time for me to wean my daughter, I couldn't ignore my sadness. I would have to give up this wonderful source of nutrition for my daughter and excellent natural self-defense for my body. But I guess every chapter has to end. And every Mom has to let go at some point. Part of letting go is recognizing the anticipation of starting something new, whether she's ready to or not.

Stay tuned for Part 2 - coming soon!!

Sarah owner/founder of Asobi Sport Family Fitness - Mama to Emma (2) and twin girls due in June.

Welcome!

2011-04-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hi All!
We have quite a few new followers here, thanks to the Ultimate Blog Party (not too late to link up) over at 5 Minutes for Mom. I wanted to take a moment to say welcome.

I hope you will consider sharing your story. It can be anything you want as long as it is breastfeed related. We don't pass judgements of any kind her at Simple Gift.

Just send your submissions to simplegiftstories(at)gmail(dot)com. I look forward to reading your story.

And - if you do share your story - you will get a $10 off coupon to LaDy LaDuke Feeder Frocks! They are awesome and stylish!

(You are also welcome to include a link to your own blog if you have one, or your facebook page if you would prefer.)

2nd Time is Not a Charm

2011-03-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

After a successful 15 month run breastfeeding my first child, I expected things to go well with my 2nd... they didn't. I was cracked and bleeding while still in the hospital. I was in so much pain every time I'd try to get her latched on, that I was happy to try a shield for the first time. It definitely helped and I'm glad for them, but they were also the source of so much frustration.

I read and talked to everyone I could about things to try to get off the shields and everyone from her pediatrician to the LC said I should wean off them as soon as possible.

I tried. Everyday, I tried. And everyday I turned into a sobbing mess because she wouldn't latch and I had to turn to a shield again. I felt like I was trapped since breastfeeding in public is not easy, but it's even harder w/ a shield.

I finally after several weeks found an actual encouraging website and realized that if it wasn't for the shields, she would not be getting any breast milk at all and she was growing wonderfully, so what everyone had said about my supply suffering was not happening at all. I would stick the shield in my bra and go- that took care of where I should put it when I'm out and about.

I am quite sure the only real issue with her was a small mouth because at the ripe old age of 3.5 months, she was being silly and unlatching and looking up at me and smiling over and over. I decided that this was a good time to try my daily no-shield latch attempt. To my surprise she went for it! I knew because of a good run with my older daughter that it would be worth it in the end and sure enough it was all worth it.

She's now over a year and we're still going strong!

Angela

mom of Macy 1 year and Sadie 2.5 years

"My Breastfeeding Freak Out."

2011-03-05T09:33:00.000-08:00

I breastfed Sully, and to be honest? I kind of hated it.

I know, I know. Breastfeeding is beautiful and natural, and for some women, it's easy-peasy, warm and fuzzy, and makes them feel like they're snuggled in a blanket of marshmallows.

Or something like that.

Yeah. That never happened to me. I could blame the hospital for my poor start. When Sully was born, I asked the nurse if I should try breastfeeding. She responded, "Well, I guess. They're usually not hungry for awhile." Umkay. So I tried, but she didn't show me how. Later, I asked for a lactation consultant to come make sure I was doing okay. She never showed. I left the hospital with blisters (yes, as painful as it sounds), and a huge bruise on my right nipple. Joy. I also found myself seriously engorged and feeding a baby every hour and a half. My boobs were bigger than DDs. I'm 5'3 (erm...5'1ish), and I looked like Dolly Parton on crack. Sully had what his pediatrician referred to as "barracuda latch" which basically meant he attacked my boobs like a fiercesome, toothy fish. Again, every bit as pleasant as the name implies. Breastfeeding hurt like hell for about four weeks.

Sully latched relatively well. Except when he didn't and would root back and forth in frustration. And he ate well. Except when he got tired of it, and he would instead, cluster feed. He would eat for a few minutes every few minutes. Which meant for me, having to go through the pain of latching over and over and over. I would leak everywhere. I constantly found myself out in public with huge wetspots on my shirts despite trying every kind of breast pad to prevent it.

And the pump. I despised the pump with every piece of my being. I realize that many women exclusively breastfeed and never give their babies a bottle. I commend them because ladies, you are stronger than I. I wanted to have a night or two (or maybe a few more) where I could have a couple glasses of wine and then sleep for more than an hour. On those nights, I loved having some milk stored in the freezer, and my mom would help by taking a night feeding. Or she would take Sully on Saturday mornings for a morning feeding while I rested. Thus began my relationship with the Medela Pump In Style. Nothing can prepare you for seeing your nipples be sucked into an unnaturally pointy shape into hard plastic cones over and over. Nothing. The suction was anything but comfortable. Instead of a sweet baby making me feel uncomfortable, I was dealing with a plastic machine and a motor sound. Luckily, I only used this demon contraption once a day or so for the six months that I breastfed.

Today, I bought a new pump. I decided to go with the Ameda Purely Yours after reading a bunch of reviews. Apparently, it's about as effective as the Medela, but it's a closed system, which means milk can't get into any of the motor on accident. With the Medela, milk was sucked through the tubing into the motor and MOLD grew. I just found the mold yesterday and about vomited in my mouth, so it was time for a new one. I fear this machine, but hopefully my experience will be better than last time.

The only reason I continued to breastfeed as long as I did was because I knew it was good for Sully. I also was loving the fact that all my baby weight was gone in a mere twelve weeks. Selfish, no?

I plan on breastfeeding again, and I would love to make it to six months again. I wonder if it will be more difficult for me this time around. If I'll want my body to myself sooner. If I'll want to not view my boobs as a food source. If chasing a toddler and breastfeeding an infant will be more difficult. At least this time, I'll be more informed. I know to ask for help more assertively if I need it. I know of countless women who breastfed at least a year, and many beyond, that I can use as a resource if needed. I know who to lean on for support when it gets really tough.

Mrs. Trophy Wife, Mom to Sully (15mths) Baby Dos (Due Aug 2!)

Making it Work For Me

2011-02-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

Like many other soon to be new moms, I had made the decision to strictly breastfeed our son. While I have heard good and BAD breastfeeding stories, I was bound and determined to make it work for me.

Our son arrived just recently, January 14th, 2011. As soon as I saw him I was in love. I now understand the want and need to provide everything possible for this little man- this includes breastfeeding. Since baby B was breech, we had a scheduled C-Section, which was a bit scary since this was our first baby. Knowing we were going to have the C-Section I wasn't sure how the breastfeeding would begin, since I would be a little out of it after he was born. This is where our nurse came in.

We were lucky enough to have our baby class instructor as our nurse and lactation consultant- which made both my husband and I much more comfortable with the whole birthing and breastfeeding process. She knew of my want to breastfeed and my concerns about the process. She reassured me she would help me latch baby B as soon as I was comfortable after surgery. And she held true to her promise! Within 30 minutes of being in recovery our baby was latched on and getting his first taste of Colostrum. Again, if it were not for her, I wonder how easy this breastfeeding would have been for me.

As we approached the day of leaving the hospital, I was nervous about several things, but mainly about continuing the breastfeeding process. It all seemed to be going off without a hitch- baby B had been latching extremely well, on his own, since the first time we attempted. I wondered if it would continue to be that easy......

It was that easy, for the first week and a half, but then for some reason he began to fuss and fight breastfeeding. While I generally have a high patience level, this threw me off! I became frustrated and began doubting myself and my ability to successfully make it through this new adjustment period.

Desperate to make breastfeeding work for him and I, I began researching different holds and techniques--finally settling on using the boppy pillow, which was difficult right after surgery because of my incision. With this new technique, we have regained our consistent ability to breastfeed! He seems to be more comfortable and I seem more relaxed again, knowing I am providing him with what he needs.

My story, I am sure, is like many new mothers- uncertain and questioning her abilities to provide the most natural food for her child. With all the questions, uncertainty, pain, struggle, I know my son is receiving the best nutrition possible!

Patricia Mom to Baby B - 1 month

My 16 Month Experience With Breastfeeding

2010-12-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Before R and I had even met, I knew that I wanted to breastfeed my future children. My mom was a huge inspiration since she nursed me until I was 9 months old. I also knew about all the health benefits for the baby and the extra calories it burns for the mother post partum. So when M was born, without a doubt I knew I wanted to breastfeed her right from the start.

A pregnant woman's body goes through so many changes from the point of conception, through the pregnancy, during labor, post partum, and during breastfeeding. I think that every single inch of me changed in some way at some point during it all. And just one of these many stages of change in preparing for baby is the production of colostrum. Yes I know it sounds weird and icky to a few people, but colostrum is truly a wonderful thing! In fact, when I first noticed a little bit around week 26 of my pregnancy, I texted my mom that "my boobs work!" Of course I had no idea at the time whether the colostrum would continue and turn into true breastmilk after M was born, but I had high hopes. I was already so proud of my body and natures way of providing nutrition for a baby.

Fast forward another 14 weeks and I was thrilled when my milk came in. And OH BOY did it come it! This was the most painful part for me. The first few weeks of breastfeeding were most painful when I had gone more than 2 hours between nursing or pumping. I was so very thankful that M had a great latch from the beginning, but what made it difficult for both of us was that I had a bit of an over supply. I became a bit of a squirrel {as R called me} because of the stash of breastmilk in the freezer. I was obsessed with adding to it every day.

Yes it is time consuming, yes it can be painful, yes it may restrict what you can eat, but I knew all that before I found out I was pregnant. Now it was time to face any difficulties thrown at me so that I could provide the best I could for my daughter. I took such pride in nursing her and did so on demand, thankful that I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home-mom and continue with this {lack of a} schedule for M.

For R, he never expressed difficulty with not having his own bonding time with her. He had his own special daddy things. I know that some fathers have a tough time with not feeding their child, but we thankfully worked things out so that he never felt left out of creating that special bond with M as well.

At 10 weeks I did hit a slump in my supply and I was devastated! I was pumping around the clock again, even getting up every two hours throughout the night. I took a couple fenugreek capsules every day with breakfast and dinner, drank mothers milk tea throughout the day, and consumed more oatmeal than anyone should. All these things definitely helped and in no time {although it seemed like forever} I had an over supply again. As much as that over supply hurt like hell, I wanted that more than the loss of breastfeeding because I wasn't willing to work on it as hard as I did. It truly involves A LOT of work! As long as you are committed to breastfeeding, no matter what your reasons are, I believe you can get through any of those difficulties and breastfeed for as long as you choose to.

When M was 6 months old, we started her on purees and she LOVED them! I knew that feeding her solids could possibly take a hit to my supply but I kept on nursing her on demand and pumping as needed to keep up my supply. If I ever felt a dip then I would restart the fenugreek, tea & oatmeal in mass consumption. Again, I was so very thankful to have reached the 6 month point! It was my main goal before M was born. Now on to 9 months. Then to 12 months!

With only a slight hiccup over Easter weekend when I ended up in the ER twice with a severe case of hives and not knowing whether my medications were safe for breastfeeding. I nursed M for an entire year and was on cloud nine. I knew that this was a huge accomplishment and I was so very proud of myself for sticking with it no matter what was thrown at me. It was now time to decide how to introduce cows milk into M's diet and how much I desired to continue nursing. Most importantly though were what M's needs were in relation to breastfeeding.

Neither of us were ready to be done. I continued nursing her 3-5 times a day during 12 months and while we slowly introduced cows milk. I then dropped our afternoon nursing session and was mostly nursing 3 times a day when she turned 13 months old. At this time I contemplated fully weaning her. I even set a schedule for it and an end date. But I couldn't follow through. I knew that M wasn't ready yet and when I acknowledge my inner feelings about it, neither was I. The only change I made at this point was to nurse her before both nap time and bed time. Yes, at 13 months old I was still nursing her to sleep. I saw no problem with it though and ignored any articles or comments against such things. Every situation is different and nursing M to sleep after a year old was right for us.

About a month later I dropped nursing M to sleep at nap time and made sure to drink a lot of water so that I could keep my supply up just enough to nurse her just at bedtime. I knew it may not work, but I wanted to try. Neither of us were quite ready to be done. I kept nursing M at bed time up until 1 week ago.

While on vacation visiting my parents, I made the decision to end our single breastfeeding session. I knew that M was only nursing at this time for comfort and that she was no longer getting much breastmilk at all. My thought was that if I was to have our last nursing session away from home and from our beloved nursing rocking chair {which is seriously the BEST chair ever!!} that it would be easier for both of us.

Now that 1 week has gone by without breastfeeding, I am feeling good about my experience and the manner in which I ended it. At bedtime now I am cuddling and rocking M for a few minutes before putting her to bed and I do not feel as though we have lost that special bond what-so-ever. My memories of breastfeeding are happy ones and I greatly look forward to nursing future children.

Elle 26 - mom to M - 16 months old

"Thank You, Aislinn".

2010-12-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

I am a mother of 3 children, ages 7, 5 and 1. When I became pregnant with our 3rd child, all I wanted to do was get the chance to nurse her.

See, I didn't nurse our first 2 children. With our 7 year old, the hospital was understaffed and there were other mothers in labor. When they gave me our daughter I put her to my breast and she screamed and screamed every single time. So, the nurses just gave me a bottle to give her. I was only 23 and had no support from anyone. No one in my family had nursed a baby and my husband had no clue what to do, so we just accepted it and continued with formula.

When I gave birth to our 2nd child, I was so happy to be able to try to nurse again! Again, he wouldn't latch, he wouldn't take a bottle anything. We put sugar water on my breast, nothing same with the bottle. Then they gave me a pump and I was able to pump enough for him for 3 weeks. Then my supply started to drop and I couldn't provide for him anymore, so we went to formula again.

When I saw the double pink lines on my pregnancy test, I prayed to God to be able to nurse this baby, to not feel like I failed again. 9 months later, I met my beautiful baby girl. I was so nervous (and excited!) to try breastfeeding. I put her to me and she didn't scream like her sister, she didn't refuse me like her brother, she looked at me and just latched on! I cried with so much happiness! I think I cried every time she nursed for the first month. I began pumping after 3 weeks so my husband could assist with her feedings, at 4 months she refused her bottles, but I continued to pump. I had so much extra breast milk, that I was able to donate over 600 ounces to Mother Milk Bank of Austin.

My baby just finished nursing, the day after she turned 1. She was nursing 5 times a day still, morning, nap and bedtime and twice on the overnight. So when she stopped, I was so shocked! I felt all postpartum again and man, did my breast hurt! But now, I can be in a room with a breastfeeding Mommy and not cry, just reminisce about how I was able to give her the best possible thing for a year and a day. Don't get me wrong, I totally miss that bond, but I know that GOD answered my prayers with her and helped me provide for premature and critically ill babies by giving my an amazing surplus of milk! I Love that I was able to nurse her, it was truly an amazing year of my life!

Thank you for letting me share my breastfeeding story with you!

Brooke, 30 Mommy to Aislinn, 12.5 months

Just Do It!

2010-11-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

Today, I stumbled across this article entitled Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple. The article talked about all the "rules" that have been developed in recent years to help make breastfeeding easier for mother. Hold the baby this way. Move their head like this. Make sure they are latched like this. But in all reality, are the "rules" really helping to make it easier for mothers?

I knew that I wanted to breastfed from day 1 of finding out I was pregnant. I read lots of books on breastfeeding and went to a breastfeeding class. I felt prepared. I was ready to go. BUT then reality hit. When I tried to breastfed my newborn son, in the back of my head, I couldn't get out all the "rules" that I had read about and heard from other mothers. I was getting "rules" thrown at me left and right from nurses and lactation consultants who tried to help.

Kolt and I had our struggles starting out. But I wonder how much of it could have been avoided if I had simply trusted my motherly instinct and breastfed. You see, all our troubles and hardship stopped when one nurse said this, "Stop everything else. Just put him to the breast, and let him breastfeed."

Mothers are made to breastfed. God gave our bodies the ability to nourish a life inside our womb for 9 months and then outside. Perhaps if we forgot all the "rules", relaxed, and just did it, more mother's would be successful at breastfeeding. I am so lucky and blessed to have been able to provide such wonderful nutrition for my son for 11 months and counting!

Marah 23, Mom to Kolt, 11 months

blog: Diary of a Devil Dog Wife
facebook: Facebook
twitter: mmumma

October 20th, 2010

2010-10-21T23:09:00.001-07:00

Just over 2 years since we found out we were expecting the sweetest squishiest baby ever.
16.5 Months since we had said Squishy Baby.
500+ days of our lives.
Easily over 3000 Nursing sessions.
Hundreds of hours of bonding time.
One formally 10lb 2 oz baby, Now a healthy 26+lb 33inch Toddler.
Cracked nipples.
Un-totaled amounts spent on nipple creams, nursing bras, breast pads and other breastfeeding paraphernalia.
Pinch marks.
A million sweet smiles hidden sweetly behind my breast.
14 teeth.
A few bite incidents.
Countless public boob flashes.
A place where sleep kissed both of our eyelids from time to time.
Sweet Hands on Mama's Face.
Soft baby skin for me to rub with love.
A lot of hard work.
A lot of love.
An end of a chapter.
A healthy beginning.
A sad and sweet moment for me.
A reminder of Roots and Wings.

My son has been fighting his only nursing session of the day. The past few weeks, nursing has only been frustrating for him, and work for me. Last night I nursed for the last time. I am thrilled to have made it this long. I am counting my blessings. I am sad it ended this way. I always thought it would be him nursing, gazing into my eyes, me knowing it was our last time nursing. A tear or two. A sweet end to a rough beginning.

Instead I knew it was the right thing to do. My son self-weaned himself. I had gotten him to a point where he was ready to be done. I just thought it would last longer, and end different. I am kind of numb to it right now. Despite the fact that my son was ready, my breasts are still feeling full having not nursed in over 24 hours. I knew being a mother would be filled with ups and downs, but I never realized it you could be filled with such sorrow at the same time as you are proud to have made it this long.

I Can't Believe What I Am Hearing!!

2010-10-04T00:02:00.000-07:00

I love breastfeeding. While I try to keep an open mind about the many different opinions regarding the matter, I get highly discouraged when I hear someone being negative about breastfeeding. I always knew I would breastfeed. I had a great experience with my first child. I did research, I learned the laws in different states, I mentally prepared myself to defend my position on breastfeeding knowing not everyone felt the way I did about the matter. I nursed my first baby for 17 months, until I had complications with my second pregnancy. Who knows how long I would have nursed him if I didn't have to stop.

Luckily, in those 17 months I never had to defend my position on my choice of nutrition for my child. (Though I did have one horrible, degrading, infuriating, instance during jury duty when the judge and everyone in the courtroom laughed at me when I asked if the breaks would be sufficient enough for me to pump for my 3 1/2 month old....but, that's a whole other story!)

My second child is just under 13 months old and while I have had the mental preparation to defend breastfeeding for the last 3 years, I began to think I would probably not have to do so. How wrong I was!

About a week ago I came down with a nasty little cold, which turned into a sinus infection. I tried several things at home to kick it, but the pain was becoming unbearable. I don't have time to take a day off work to make an appointment at a doctor, so I decided to go to a quick care after work one day. During the appointment the doctor walks in the room, does his very quick look over and sits down to write the prescription.

Typing on his notepad, the doctor asks if any antibiotics are not good for me.

I respond by saying, "No, as long as they are safe while nursing."

He stops typing, says, "Oh," pauses for a moment and then asks how old my baby is.

"He's one. Well, close to 13 months, so one."

"He's one?"

"Yes."

"How often does he nurse?"

"Well, it really depends on his mood...."

Cutting me off he says, "It's time to stop."

Taken aback I slowly say, "No...it's not."

The doctor says pointedly, without looking at me, "He is one. It's time to stop."

Now, I hate confrontation....like HATE with a capital H.A.T.E! But, I was shocked at this! A DOCTOR is telling me I should NOT breastfeed longer than one year? What right does he have? Out of anyone, a doctor should know the benefits of breastfeeding. Obviously not this one!
My stomach started twisting as I fervently said, "NO! It's NOT!"

He stops typing again, looks at me with a look that seems to say, "is she seriously talking back to me?" while he asks, "It's not?"

Here it is...the moment I have been prepared for for the last 3 years..."No. I enjoy it, he enjoys it, and it is still nutritionally healthy for him." Pause to keep my composure. "Besides, the World Health Organization recommends until 2. And the world average is 4."

I stopped right there, but oh how there were so many other things I could have put out there. It was so hard to bite my tongue.

Under his breath I can hear him mumble, "Really."

As though I'm making these random statistics up! He then asks how many children I have. I tell him two. I held my tongue because I wanted so badly to tell him off! I wanted to tell him how long I nursed my first son and how that wasn't even long enough. How I plan to nurse this little one for longer than the first. I wanted to say so much more, but I didn't.

I suppose it's good I stopped when I did, because as it was, I really ticked him off. He didn't look at me for the rest of the very short appointment. When he was finished typing out the prescriptions he said, still without looking at me, "I'll be back with your prescriptions." A moment later, he walks back in, hands me two pieces of paper, says, "Here they are," and walks out. No "hope you feel better," "thanks for coming in," "take care".....nothing! How rude.

I walked out of the office, baffled by what had just happened, and called my best friend. Who was just as shocked and angry as I was. Before heading over to the pharmacy, I mentioned I thought I should talk to the pharmacist just to make sure all of the prescriptions were safe. And, it's a darn good thing I did. Because, here's the kicker to it all.....the doctor gave me a prescription that is in a class not recommended for breastfeeding mothers. Oh, but wait for it....the medicine was for something I didn't even need! I have a SINUS INFECTION! You know, nasty, thick, yellow, mucus with intense pressure in all sinus cavities that gets no relief? Sure enough, the prescription I didn't need was for allergies. Which, let me remind you, I am NOT suffering from during this fall season. Can someone with a doctorate degree really be so.... [trying to pick a nicer word] idiotic?

You know, even through the anger I was feeling, I'm almost glad this happened. It made me feel stronger, a little taller, and in a way, accomplished. I can stand up for what I believe.

I felt proud, too. Not just that I could stand up to someone with differing opinions than my own, but that I was making the best choice for my child. I felt proud to know I was a part of this amazing group of women who choose breastfeeding. I felt proud to know that there were a huge group of women out there that would back me up. I felt proud to know there were women who would probably be just as angry, or even more so, than I in this situation. And it felt really good to know there were places I could go to get support and backup on my position on breastfeeding.

Probably, nothing will ever come of this experience for that doctor. But, I hope he does a little more research on breastfeeding and realizes he was wrong. I hope he never puts another woman in the position he put me in. We should never have to defend our breastfeeding to anyone, but especial never to a doctor. Yet, even though we shouldn't ever have to, we do. And I suppose, that's why I felt I had to prepare myself with a defense three years ago when I first started breastfeeding, and why I'll do my best to be prepared to do it again. Because, if I have to, I will. Because, for me and my children, I have decided that regardless of what anyone else has to say, breast IS best.

~Cami 27, mom to CJ 3 and Caed 13mo

Agony and Bliss

2010-09-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Let me just start by saying I think this blog is brilliant. I truly hope that every woman who finds it shares it with someone because breastfeeding might just be one of the hardest things a woman will ever do.

At 37 weeks of my first pregnancy, my water broke. We rushed to the hospital and I was immediately put on antibiotics (I was group B strep positive) and pitocin to induce labor. Just 8 hours later, I was holding my beautiful baby boy. There were no complications and he latched on like a pro. The nurses were amazed that everything came so naturally for my son and me and that nursing was so easy.

Within a week, I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming in pain every time he latched on. His latch was proper, and he was staying latched right throughout the nursing session, but my nipples were cracked, bleeding and pain was shooting through my breasts during and after every feeding. After doing hours of research online, I went to a lactation consultant who suggested either prescription medication or gentian violet for thrush.

Thrush is a yeast infection. Some of the symptoms are pain in the nipples, cracked or bleeding nipples, burning during or after nursing in the breasts, and shooting pain during and after nursing. The symptoms may be cyclical with periods of no pain (for me it was a week on and a week off of pain). If you have any of these symptoms, please for your own sake look into thrush! Especially if you were put on antibiotics during labor, which throw off your body’s natural balance of good and bad bacteria and allows yeast to grow, look into the possibility of thrush.

Being poor college students at the time, I decided to try gentian violet. If you haven’t ever used it, try not to…it’s a mess. You have to rub it on your breasts and throughout the baby’s mouth after every feeding, and it stains anything it touches. I still have a purple towel from this experience. After over a week there was no improvement.

My sister in law knew my pain and suggested going to the doctor, who gave my nystatin cream. This did not work either. Nor did the oral medication. Nor did the natural treatments found online. Finally, I called the doctor in tears after another painful nursing session and the nurse suggested Newman’s Ointment. Because my pain was cyclical, giving me periods of respite from my pain, I kept thinking it was done, so I would press on. After literally months of struggling with thrush and the associated pain, I found relief…Newman’s Ointment did the trick.

The joy I was finally able to feel in nursing my child was amazing! I went on to nurse for a year before I chose to wean him. Was it worth all the pain? Yes, in the end, for me the benefits of breastfeeding far outweighed the negative aspects. Is it the same for other mothers, no. Breastfeeding is a very personal choice!

Know your options…know your possibilities. If nothing else, ask other mothers. Ask if they have had this problem. Nursing is still such a controversial issue that it’s not really talked about unless someone brings it up. You have to ask to learn! If you have struggled with nursing, there is no need to be ashamed! Help other mothers get through their pain and struggles by sharing your story!

If you would like to read more of my story, please join me over at What I Live For !

I love your blog! Thank you so much for providing a place to spread the word about breastfeeding. No one tells you how hard it might be. No one tells you of the pain, the insecurity, the embarrassment! Thank you for telling others!

Judy, 24, K 3 and C 18 months.

Why Breastfeeding was the Best Choice for Us

2010-09-21T00:40:00.000-07:00

Today I realized that we may be closer to the end of breastfeeding then I thought. While I have a million reasons to be sad about that, I am only feeling happiness. My son is 15.5 months old now, and considering our beginning to breastfeeding, I am thrilled to have made it this long. If you haven’t already done so, please check out my story about beginning breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding wasn’t easy for me, and I realize there are many situations when breastfeeding isn’t possible. Whatever your choice for not doing it, I would never judge you. My theory on parenting choices is two fold – Your baby, your body, your choice. And Happy Momma = Happy Baby. Please know this is not a post about formula vs. breastfeeding. This post is about me, and my baby and our choice to breastfeed. For me, Breastfeeding was the route I wanted to go, and best for both Squish and Me.

There are many benefits of breastfeeding. Here are the ones that have made breastfeeding such an amazing experience for us.

The bonding time was/is indescribable. The first time he smiled at me while nursing, or the way he would touch my face, play with my hair, or simply just stare at me. The softness of his skin and hair that I got to stroke as he ate in the wee hours of the morning. Those are moments I would not trade for anything in the world.
I suffered from Migraines prior to getting pregnant. Once I got pregnant my migraines all but disappeared. I feared after I had Squish they would return, but they didn’t (well I have had 3-4 since getting pregnant, but not nearly as severe or often as they used to be.) When I asked my OB about it, she told me it was the chemicals released during pregnancy and by breastfeeding those chemicals continued to keep my migraines at bay.
While I didn’t lose my baby weight right away, I did lose all of it in a decent amount of time, with not dieting. I did start to change my eating habits after I had lost the baby weight, but the initial lose I attribute to breastfeeding.
I love the convenience of breastfeeding. Once I got comfortable with it, and figured out what worked for us, I never looked back. Not to mention the money saved.
For me, breastfeeding didn’t keep illness at bay. Squish was sick plenty. But we never did have any ear infection issues, and when he was sick I knew that I could always turn to breastfeeding as a source of comfort.
Finally, (well there are many more things I loved about breastfeeding, and things that made it clear it was the best choice for us) but I loved that for 7 months my Squishy thrived on only my breast milk. He was constantly at the top of the growth charts. There was a real sense of accomplishment knowing I was able to satisfy my son’s nutritional needs.

While I don’t think breastfeeding for us will end tomorrow, or next week, I can tell that the end is close. Squish is down to 2 nursing sessions a day. One in the am, and one before bed, and honestly he could easily drop the bedtime nursing. I am so glad I stuck it out, and pushed through the hard times in the beginning. The moments I nursed my son are moments that will be with me forever.

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You can also find me on my family blog at Family and Life in Las Vegas.

My “Baby Nurse” Story

2010-09-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

“Baby Need Nurse” - one of the most common phrases heard throughout our house. Maggie, 3, and Emma, 2, are some of the biggest fans of nursing I know. Every time Baby Zylie (Zion), 5 months, cries or even whines or whimpers, they come to tell me that “baby need nurse”. Here’s my tale of breastfeeding continually for 4 years.

I married my husband, Jeremy, while I was 24 and he was 29. We were blessed to get pregnant either on our honeymoon or a few short days afterward. I never gave much thought to how I would feed the baby. I just took it for granted that I would breastfeed since it was what my mom had done and it was healthy and cheap. (We do like cheap around here.) Come delivery day, Oct 1, 2006, everything went well, not as natural as I had hoped but good nonetheless. Maggie nursed well from day one and never had any problems. When my milk came in I was slightly engorged but that subsided and other than a few leaking problems there was never any problem with breastfeeding. She nursed every 2 to 2 1/2 hours (including nights) almost until she was 12 months old. *Sigh* That’s a lot of nursing.

We found out that we were pregnant with blessing #2 when Maggie was 13 months old. I had had one cycle prior to pregnancy and yes were trying and had been since Maggie was a few months old. We want LOTS of children. I decided not to wean since she was still nursing so often. I was blessed to never have any breast pain or discomfort. I never noticed a change in milk, supply or type, throughout the entire pregnancy. Maggie never nursed any different. We did night wean her during the pregnancy so I could get some much needed rest. With baby #2 we decided to have a homebirth. For several reasons but one being that I had never been away from Maggie and she was still nursing and I could go on and on with others reasons.

Emma was born June 28, 2008 at home in a kiddie pool with no power during an electric storm in the “veil” with a head full of red hair. It was truly amazing. Total testimony to the way God intended birth to be. She nursed to sleep shortly after delivery and then Maggie came and snuggled in the bed with us and nursed to sleep as well. It was one of the most fulfilling moments in my life. She weighed 8 pounds and 8 ounces and was 22 inches long. One of the best things about nursing a toddler after having just given birth is that there is never (or at least not for me) a time of engorgement. It was wonderful. We never skipped a beat. Emma gained weight just fine throughout our time of tandem nursing. Maggie self weaned when Emma was 3 months which means Maggie would have been right at 2. There were never any complications while nursing Emma.

We found out we were pregnant with blessing #3 when Emma was 13 months old (sound familiar) and like before I had had one cycle and yes we were desperately trying to get pregnant. Just like before I never noticed a change nor did Emma have any reactions. This time we were planning a home-birth but I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 30 weeks so we decided to use a midwife at a local doctor’s office who does hospital births. She was great just for the record. The plan was to just have the baby in the hospital and then come home within 24 hours. Yeah, so much for plans. My water broke at 37 weeks 2 days and I didn’t go into labor. Long story short I had to be induced (nasty nasty business, this induction stuff) Baby Zion was born weighing 7 pounds 6 ounces 21 inches long (I think) and had poor muscle tone and very immature lungs and was rushed off to the NICU where he spent the first 11 days of his life. Horrible horrible horrible. We were not able to touch him the first day and not able to hold him until he was 4 days old. I was not able to nurse him until he was 9 days old. I pumped and I pumped until the hospital frig and freezer were full and they ask me to start taking the new milk home. : ) My 21 month old made a PERFECT breast pump for the extra milk. Once I was able to nurse he did just beautiful except for when his oxygen saturation levels would plummet while he was gorging himself on milk.

Finally when little man was 11 days old we were able to bring him home. He was back up to his birth weight on the day of our departure from the NICU and quickly started gaining.....and gaining. For a period of a couple of months, he gained a POUND A WEEK. Eck. Pure breastmilk, nursing about every 2 hours. When he was about 3 months old (which is when Emma self weaned, right before her 2nd birthday) I started trying to stretch his feedings out to about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. With this guy, I have had all kinds of pain, lumps, blisters. He’s been such a challenge even during pregnancy. Thankfully he is very laid back on this side of the womb and such a smiling happy baby.

Right now he is 5 months and weighs a whopping 21 pounds and 3 ounces. He is strictly breastfed but don’t think that there aren’t days that I battle with supplementing. He’s my first baby that will take a pacifier (thank you NICU) and he will also take a bottle (with breast milk). I must admit that it is a challenge to carry around a large baby since I myself am small boned and not very muscular.

I have loved nursing my three children. I loved nursing throughout both pregnancies. I have loved nursing two bundles at a time but should the Lord bless us with another pregnancy I do not plan to nurse throughout this pregnancy. I would like a break and I would like to wear a dress (not a skirt and top) without first thinking “how am I going to nurse in that dress”. But who knows the Lord just might change my mind. There is nothing quite like looking down into that little face (or in this case big face) while they nurse and play with your hair, knowing that you are giving that baby the very best that you have to offer.

Should you desire to see this sweet and LARGE baby boy that I speak, or the red head born in the water, or the big sister to the circus, you are welcome to come and visit us at our family blog, Ponder The Path.

~ Emily, 28, mommy to Maggie, 3 (almost 4), Emma, 2, and Zion ,5 months, and Lord willing many more to come

My Story: Nursing Through Pregnancy, Triandem Nursing, Child-Led Weaning & Milk Donation

2010-08-31T10:57:00.000-07:00

Breastfeeding has been an AMAZING journey for me and my babies. It has offered me so much, and I feel so blessed to have had this time with my children and look forward to it with future ones. Even though I've been blessed with a massive milk supply (though I share!) and have continued nursing my babies well past toddlerhood, we've still had our share of struggles...but it's been worth every second, even in the difficult times. And while I feel like my experience has been quite easy compared to what some mothers and babies have to go through, my story is also one of the more uncommon, which often translates to less support. I don't know anyone (personally) who nurses through pregnancy. I only know one person who nurses a child over 3 years old. I don't know many people nursing 3 children. I don't know many people who pump for donation. And many of the people that I DO know seem to think that what I do is odd...sometimes they even imply that it's wrong. So the internet has been a HUGE support and encouragement to me, because this is the one place I've been able to find common ground with other breastfeeding mothers. And that is the reason I want to put my story out there as well.

My husband and I got married when I was 18 and he was 21. We wanted a baby whenever God would give us one, but it took 18 months and we had several miscarriages along the way. But during that journey I had a lot of time to "plan out" my parenting. I never gave much thought to feeding though. I remember asking my husband what he thought we should do, and he said, "You'll breastfeed, of course." LOL (He comes from a family of 6 kids where each was breastfed for at least a couple years) So that made my decision for me, no qualms about it. Clearly I wasn't very concerned either way at the time.

So when my first daughter, Miss I, was born in February 2006, we began our breastfeeding journey. I was very blessed to have it come easily and naturally for both her and I. There was that normal, toe-curling discomfort for the first week or so, but we got the hang of it. I never really had any issues while breastfeeding my daughter alone. We had a short bout of thrush at about 4 months but it cleared up only days later, and around 7 months I started to get really sore when she'd nurse for some reason (still not sure why that was), but that was about it. Pretty uneventful!

When Miss I was almost a year old, my sister-in-law had a baby girl. 2 weeks after she was born, my sister-in-law got an infection and was hospitalized for another week. God was able to use me and I went and nursed my niece since her mommy couldn't, and she wouldn't take formula. I am very grateful to have been able to provide that for her.

I got pregnant again when Miss I was 18 months old. I continued to nurse her during my pregnancy, even despite my fear of miscarrying again, though I knew God had it all under control. I chose to nightwean her during the early weeks, primarily because I was SO uncomfortable laying on my side in bed that it made for a miserable experience all night long when she wanted to nurse. It took us about 2-3 weeks but worked out well in the end. My milk turned to colostrum at 16 weeks, but there was still enough to satisfy my daughter for the rest of the pregnancy. It went pretty well until the last 6 weeks or so, at which point nursing became VERY painful. We toughed it out though, and it was a blessing in disguise because when my new baby, Miss B, was born at home, we didn't experience ANY of that "new nursling discomfort". So we just sailed smoothly into our tandem nursing experience.

Nursing my two girls went very well. They were both nursing champs, very efficient (neither one of them ever, even from birth, nursed for more than 5-10 minutes per session and emptied the breast(s) each time). Miss B, however, slept through the night (we're talking 6-8 hours at a time) a LOT during her first 5 months of life and even though most mama's would consider that awesome, I didn't feel that way! I had read so much about deep sleep and increased SIDS risk and it worried me! I wasn't quite as worried about my milk supply though, since I still had Miss I nursing, but I would still try to wake her at times in the night to see if she'd nurse, and she just had no interest. So I learned to accept it, and lo and behold she started waking again to nurse throughout the night before she hit 6 months of age.

When Miss B hit 6 months I started to pump milk for donation. I feel like that if God has given me so much milk, even more than what I "need" for my own babies, it's only right that I should make it available to other moms and babies who haven't had as much success with breastfeeding. Most people are still getting used to the idea of donated breastmilk, but to me, it's only natural that we offer up human milk first! I hadn't done much in the way of pumping before, but with a simple Avent Isis manual pump I was getting 6-7 ounces per session and after a few weeks I had quite the stash built up. It took me a while to find someone to offer it to, but eventually I found a couple local mom's who needed milk and was thrilled to be able to share it with them.

Shortly after that time, when Miss B was about 9 months, I had to have my wisdom teeth out. I wasn't concerned about how it would affect nursing, because it was a short procedure and I was able to nurse immediately prior to it and as soon as I got home from it. However, the one thing I wish I never would have done was accept the antibiotics. I am not a fan of them (at least not used as often as they are), because of how they truly do so much damage to the gut and it's colonization (and therefor having a domino effect on the rest of the body), but for some reason I opted to take them after my procedure. And that's when my first big breastfeeding struggle began. We ended up with thrush (despite me taking quality probiotics regularly even prior to the procedure). Badly. After 2 weeks I was just starting to get on top of it, but then I got an infection in one of the tooth sockets and ended up going BACK on antibiotics, despite knowing there were many natural alternatives I could have tried (I guess the desperation got to me?). Of course the thrush came back with a vengeance. It took me 3 months to get rid of it, and even though it was gone for the time being, the damage the antibiotics did has stuck with me...I've struggled with candida issues ever since. (If anyone is interested I do have loads of information and natural treatment regimens and dietary changes for candida/thrush) It was an extremely discouraging and painful time.

I got pregnant with my third child when Miss B was 13 months old. At this time she was still nursing regularly throughout the day and night, and Miss I, who was 3, was only nursing maybe once or twice a day, and sometimes she'd even skip a few days in between. Just by chance, Miss B ended up sleeping through the night (completely) one night early on, and so I just went with that and choose to use that as the beginning of our nightweaning experience. Normally I wouldn't nightwean a baby under 18 months but since she sort of started on her own (and did well continuing with it), we chose to go ahead with the process.

I ended up dealing with thrush several more times during the pregnancy. My natural treatment regimen usually cleared it up. The girls nursed well and normally the rest of the time (again my milk turned to colostrum at about 16 weeks), but once again, about 6 weeks prior to delivery, I started to get VERY sore during nursing sessions. Just like last time, I sucked it up and just dealt with the pain, hoping it would lead to another comfortable transition with a new nursling.

I ended up with a yeast infection in the last 3 days of my pregnancy. Honestly, I was terrified. Not because of the infection itself, but because I knew that, because the baby's gut is colonized during delivery through the vaginal canal, it could very likely cause my baby to have candida problems from the start, which in turn would probably mean dealing with thrush. Again. And the thought really depressed me. I treated it and just prayed that everything would be okay. My new baby BOY, Mr. C, was born in March and it was another beautiful home birth. Mr. C was a big boy...born at 9lb 10oz, 22 inches, and a 15.5" head! SO glad I was at home for his birth, as I have no doubt I would have been told I "had" to have a c-section if I was in the hospital because of how things went (and then who knows how breastfeeding would have gone for us!?!). He nursed well from the start, quick and efficient just like my girls (though I did have some longer nursing sessions with him, which were new to me!). Nursing 3 kids wasn't any more difficult than just nursing two of them, and I'm VERY glad I was still nursing Miss B as she was still fairly young when Mr. C was born and it was important that she still have that consistency. Miss I still just nursed once every 2-3 days, sometimes every day, and I was ever so thankful for my older nurslings when my milk came in and I was dealing with painful engorgement.

As I had suspected, we did end up getting thrush. I was able to treat it naturally, but it kept coming back, and eventually seemed to be cyclical. We dealt with it for about 5 months, and even more so than the last time we had it for months, it was an extremely painful, trying and discouraging time. Mr. C is now 6 months and we've only been "thrush free" for about 4 weeks, and unfortunately I have a feeling it's coming back (cyclical, remember?). I am confident that this all began with the antibiotics throwing my natural got flora out of whack, because never in my life had I dealt with these kinds of candida issues until that point. So we're on the road to healing...slowly, but surely. The most difficult thing has been knowing that if we ARE passing it back and forth (though I treat all of us, we all take probiotics regularly (thrush or no thrush), etc), it's so much harder than when just nursing ONE baby since it's harder to pinpoint and more difficult to get under control. I struggled with the decision of whether or not to wean Miss I, and possibly even Miss B, just to lessen that, but I'm SO glad I haven't. I admit I even had thoughts run through my head about weaning all three of them, even my baby Mr. C, and THAT is one of the things that scared me the most, because obviously breastfeeding is extremely important and special to me, and it had to take a LOT or discouragement to get me to that point.

Shortly after Mr. C was born, and before we started dealing with thrush, I started pumping for donation again. This time I was able to use a Medela PIS double electric pump from my cousin, and I was SHOCKED at how well that thing worked. The first time I used it I got 10 (yes TEN) ounces on ONE side (and six on the other that Mr. C had just recently nursed from)- granted, it was shortly after birth so I had loads of milk as my supply hadn't regulated, but wow. I was flabbergasted! Previously I wasn't aware that an electric pump would make that much of a difference. I was wrong. LOL I wasn't able to get more than just over 100 ounces total before the thrush took over, at which point I stopped pumping. I was so excited to have found a young mom to donate to. She was actually located at our vacation destination so we traveled with the frozen milk and dropped it off with her. It was a neat, blessed experience for me. Again, I thank God that I'm able to share what he has so abundantly blessed me with.

And here we are today. Mr. C is still nursing strong, every 2-3 hours (sometimes longer) during the day, and every 1-4 hours (depending) during the night. Miss B, at 2 years old, still nurses 2-3 times a day, sometimes less. Miss I, at 4.5 years old, is still nursing anywhere from once a day to once a week. I have to say, it's been VERY neat to watch the natural progression of child-led weaning. The circumstances that have led to where she's at today have been natural life events, not anything forceful on my part, and I can testify to the fact that they DO slow down on their own, and I know that soon I will also be able to say "they do STOP on their own." I admit it makes me sad to think about. I know we will be ready, but one of the hardest aspects of child-led weaning, for me, is knowing that we won't know that her last nursing session IS her last until hindsight, and I don't want to miss it! It's going to be a milestone for us both when that day comes, as my first baby, my first nursling, will have moved on. I'm SO grateful for the time I've had with her though. It's been absolutely precious.

A few other notes...

All of my babies have dropped over a pound of their birthweight and it takes them about 2.5-3 weeks to regain it. While according to some that might have indicated a need for supplementation, my mommy instincts knew better. It was normal for my babies (especially considering they all have my husbands lightening fast metabolism...wish I could say the same!). I'm so glad I never interfered with that. They had adequate diapers, were alert, still gaining (just slowly at first), very healthy...no reason to add anything artificial into the mix for the sake of numbers.

Cycles..oh cycles... Oddly enough, for me, it seems like more nursing equals less time away from my favorite (sarcasm intended) monthly visitor. Though that's not entirely accurate, as I don't get "normal" cycles back immediately, but with Miss I, I was nursing constantly around the clock, naturally following the "rules" of LAM (co-sleeping with baby, no pacifiers, feeding on demand, etc) and got my first period (albeit anovulatory) at 4.5 months postpartum. I was not thrilled. It wasn't until about 10 months postpartum that I actually started ovulating again, though. Then after Miss B, who nursed LESS during those first 5 months (since she slept through the night so often), but still following LAM "rules," I made it to 7 months postpartum before my first cycle. I hoped for a longer break after Mr. C (considering I'm nursing 3 kids and was pumping for a while too!) but it didn't happen...at only 3 months postpartum I had my first anovulatory period, and it's happened twice since. Despite keeping track of my temperatures and all that fun stuff (think NFP), I am at a loss as to what my body is doing this time around!

One of the hardest things (for me) that I encountered along the way over these last 4.5 years was just the negativity from some people around me. I don't live in an area where a ton of people breastfeed- at least not where it's KNOWN that people do. As I mentioned before, I definitely have never personally encountered anyone locally who tandem- or more, triandem- nurses. Or even nurses through pregnancy. I have, thankfully, met one person who nursed her children until they weaned on their own, both around 5 years old, and she has been such a blessing to me. But it seems like most people are just anxious for me to wean my babies, and are bothered that I'm nursing them past a certain age. I've never figured that one out- my babies are healthy, social, advanced, independent (as much as they need to be), and breastfeeding is doing them absolutely no harm. In fact, they BENEFIT from it. But even as confident as I am in our decision, it's still hard to hear the negativity. I just wish more people were educated on the benefits of breastfeeding (including tandem nursing and extended breastfeeding).

And so that (a novel later) is my story. I realize it's not a typical one, nor is there anything super exciting about it, but it's been my experience nonetheless, and I hope that somehow it might encourage someone else out there.

If anyone ever wants to chat about breastfeeding, or if you need any support or help dealing with thrush (which obviously, unfortunately, I have plenty of experience with), feel free to contact me on my blog (Joy Filled Frugality). I'd love to offer up anything I can!

-Brynna, 25
Mom to Miss I (4), Miss B (2), and Mr. C (6 months)

A Tale of Two Babies: My Breastfeeding Journey

2010-08-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

When I was late in my pregnancy with the Boodge, I remember standing in the shower, looking at my breasts and wondering when I would see the development of a hole to let the milk come through. I guess I envisioned my nipple taking the shape of a bottle. When I shared that with my dear mommy-mentor friend, she laughed and assured me that little holes would open up all over my nipple to let the milk through.
There was so much I didn't know about breastfeeding, but I was lucky enough to know some of the things that would get me off to a good start. I was familiar with the research that outlined the many benefits to mother and babyof extended breastfeeding. I knew that the World Health Organization, Canadian Pediatric Society, and UNICEF all recommend breastfeeding for 2 years and as long as the mother and child want to thereafter, and I wanted to do that. I knew that it may be difficult at first, so I was prepared for some struggle to get started, and was determined to persevere. And I didn't have any inhibitions about nursing in public, which helped me feel free to go anywhere and enjoy social situations with my baby.
But I had no idea how much it would mean to me and my son, and the bond we share. Nursing him as an infant, I gazed at him for hours, falling more and more in love. My ability to nourish him from my body somehow helped me feel that mothering was natural, and gave me confidence in my new role. As he grew, we reconnected at the breast several times a day and we each restored our energy and peace of mind. It was a place where we could both be still in the tremendous changes we were experiencing, and just feel our bond. I was grateful for the way it soothed him when he was upset and gave him vital nutrients, liquids, and comfort when he was sick.
I also didn't know the ways in which it would be challenging, but I expected that as with any commitment in life, it would have ups and downs. Teething and illness brought a constant need to nurse, causing me to boil inside with the frustration of having to choose whether to comfort my child even if it hurt me, or refuse and deal with a wakeful, miserable baby. Nighttime nursing eventually exhausted me, and when I became pregnant again I found I could no longer cope with waking every few hours to nurse. And the first trimester also brought shooting pains that felt like hot pokers inside my breasts, causing me to seriously question whether I could keep nursing.
I didn't know how some people would react to my nursing a toddler, especially while pregnant. Although I realized I was nursing beyond what most women do, I wasn't prepared to face questioning and judgment about a choice that seems to me to be solely between a mother and her child. I didn't know I would have to strengthen myself inside so that the judgment of others wouldn't influence what I felt was right. I'm grateful to have one good mommy-mentor and the many voices on the internet that assure me that there's nothing wrong with extended breastfeeding, and much that is right with it.
As with any commitment in life, the more I have put into maintaining it, the more important it has become to me. Now, it is one of the most precious things I have given to Boodge, and he to me, so far. When I began I wasn't sure I would go as far as "natural weaning", which is when a mother lets the child nurse until he or she is ready to stop, often at around 4 years old. Before I nursed a child, I thought when to stop was going to be something I decided, and I didn't realize that my child would have strong feelings about it that I would want to consider.
Now, I know that to stop nursing Boodge would be to take away something that means comfort, security, pleasure, emotional restabalization, connection to his Mama. Just as it has come to mean a lot to me, it has come to mean a lot to him, and I don't want to take that away from him until he's ready to give it up. Before I nursed a child, I didn't realize that nursing was about so much more than nourishment.
Before I nursed a child, the idea that I may want to nurse two children, born over 2 years apart, never even crossed my mind. If it had, I probably would have thought that was a bit too "out there" for me. Now, I'm committed to the idea, even looking forward to it in some ways. Boodge is still happily nursing a few times a day, and I'm still enjoying sitting my big pregnant body down to rest for half an hour, connecting lovingly with my little boy who will soon not be my one and only baby.
I just don't see any reason to give up something that is so special between us, especially when our connection is about to change in so many other ways. I'm hopeful that tandem nursing will help Boodge adjust to having a sibling, and even, as many mothers who tandem nurse report, facilitate a strong bond between the two children.
Just as with learning to nurse the first time, I'm prepared for it to be hard in the beginning. I'm ready for tears and meltdowns and questioning whether I can do it. Maybe I'll even find I can't. But I'm also prepared for beautiful moments with my two nurslings, and feelings of pride and triumph just as I experienced the first time. Once again, I'm heading into unknown territory. I'm excited to see what it brings. To follow my tandem nursing journey or just enjoy some good reading about my life as a Mommy, check out my blog.

Katy, Mom to Boodge, and one on the way

A Cautionary Tale about Breastfeeding…

2010-08-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Has breastfeeding become the latest status symbol in our culture?

If you’ve read Hanna Rosin’s 2009 article “A Case Against Breastfeeding,” you might think so. After all, she likens breastfeeding – and the length of time a mother nurses – to the same status one might earn by rockin’ a pair of skinny jeans, owning Tom Ford oversized sunglasses, or possessing the sleekest stroller on the playground. Because being a mom is one thing…but being a cool mom is totally different, right? And breastfeeding seems to have become the ultimate badge of motherhood.

A friend alerted me to Ms. Rosin’s article when I was about eight months pregnant with our first child. I was horrified, to say the least. What a terrible example for new mothers, I thought when I read the article. She should be supportive and encouraging, not pointed and judgmental. She sounded bitter, jaded, and a touch hormonal. I threw it aside without another thought.

But this was all before I gave birth to our bouncing baby boy only weeks later. And then I realized, she was right.

About just about everything.

Our little guy Scotty came into this world two and half weeks early, weighing 8lbs, 6ozs. I endured three months of bedrest due to premature labor prior to his arrival, but I spent my time on the couch well – I read book after book I could find about babies, childcare, and pregnancy. I attended two classes with certified lactation consultants (wheeled there by my loving and patient husband) at my local hospital. It was there I was told to my face that formula was “poison” and there was nothing more beautiful or more natural than a woman nursing her child. Good mothers nurse; bad mothers use formula.

In fact, in one of the classes, we watched a video that showed an interview with a pediatrician who stated (and I quote, since I wrote it down), “Women ask me what the dangers are to breastfeeding. I tell them, ‘there are none. There are only dangers to using formula.’”

Famous last words.

We were released from the hospital after 36 hours. But by the time Scotty was four days old, I knew something was wrong. While it felt like he was latching appropriately, he cried…all the time. I began thinking the “sleepy newborn” was nothing more than a myth. At our first ped’s visit on day 4, he had dropped down to 7lbs, 6ozs. Totally normal, I was told by multiple people, including medical professionals. Still, I pressed for a lactation consultantation that afternoon since there were orange and red crystals in his diaper. This is usually a sign of dehydration, per my books. The ped reassured me it “wasn’t blood,” and encouraged me to continue breastfeeding. She even used several personal examples about her own children, all of whom were terrible nursers at first. She wrote on my chart “dehydrated,” “jaundiced,” made a note of Scotty’s weight, and set us up for a five to seven day follow-up.

The LC recommended I open a “breast-araunt” for the weekend (it was a Friday) and come back on Monday. Nurse constantly, she told me. When he cries, nurse him. Keep him at the boob for hours. Let him use you as a pacifier. I agreed, although this sounded like a prison sentence. There was no mention of formula.

For the next two days, I did nothing but nurse. I used my nipple shield. I warmed wet towel to drape over my engorged breasts with the hope of getting the milk out more easily. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat. I didn’t shower. I didn’t do anything other than sit in our new glider with the baby in my lap, with his face up to the boob. And he did nothing but cry when he wasn’t using me as a pacifier. And I did nothing but cry as I felt trapped in the nursery. But I could do this, right? I mean, everyone I know has had a bad nursing experience at first. And they tried, and tried, and eventually, it worked. I considered myself a hard worker, never one to shy away from a challenge, and did it. I bit my lip, swallowed my pride, and chained myself to the glider.

By Monday, we all held our breath when Scotty was put on the scale. It read 7lbs, 8ozs. The LC, a different one from Friday, shook her head with worry. This wasn’t good, and it wasn’t right. She gave us a new plan of action: pump breast milk and then feed it to Scotty via a hand dropper. During the entire consultation, there was no mention of formula.

We stopped at Babies’r’Us on our way home and bought a dropper.

And by Wednesday, things were looking better. Scotty was sleeping more. He was quieter and much more relaxed. I had several doctor appointments that day and each professional commented on what a good baby he was. In fact, it wasn’t until the LC from Monday called Wednesday afternoon to check in did I realize something was terribly wrong.

“What does his poop look like?” she asked over the phone.

“It’s still brown…not the meconium from birth, but it’s really dark and seedy looking,” I told her, exhausted from the day’s appointments, sitting in that damn glider again. My prison cell.

“It’s what?” She sounded startled. I told her again, and it was her tone of voice that sent chills through me. “He’s eight days old…it needs to look like Dijon mustard by now. If it hasn’t transitioned…you need to get him into the pediatrician’s office as quickly as possible.”

Fear hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt blindsided that I missed this. After all, I was just relieved to have a quiet baby. Within minutes, we were on the road back to the doctor’s office. The doctor, too, was stumped and sent us off for blood work. She reassured us that she put a STAT order on the blood so we would receive a call later that night with instructions regarding what to do.

When the call came in at 8pm that night, it brought me to my knees. The doctor on the other line told me that Scotty’s bilirubin levels were at 28. That we needed to take him to an emergency room right now. When I suggested a local hospital, he told me no, go to *** one. It was on the complete opposite side of town, but I agreed immediately. Confused but acting quickly, I raced upstairs to pack an overnight bag when the phone rang again.

It was the doctor. “What is the baby’s mental status?” he asked me.

As a former marriage and family therapist, this question was ridiculously common to me. In fact, it felt laughable that he was asking me in such a manner. I was used to talking about clients’ mental status once upon a time, back when I still had a private practice. Before the bed rest, before the birth, and before this hellish day that just wouldn’t end.

“His mental status?”I repeated. “He’s quiet, lethargic. Extremely sleepy. I can’t wake him to feed him. He won’t wake up.” I was just about to tell him that I think Scotty is exhausted, too, from the day’s activities, when he interrupted me with the most chilling statement I had ever heard:

“You need to call 911 right now. RIGHT NOW.”

I think, at that point, my brain just left. Because I don’t remember feeling anything after that. It was like my heart turned off and my head turned on. I became a robot. I hung up with the doctor. I dialed 911. I told the woman on the other end that I have an eight-day old newborn with a bili level of 28 (whatever that meant) that would not wake up. I had no idea what was wrong, but I knew it was bad.

An ambulance arrived an agonizing seven minutes later, and we arrived at the hospital (lights and siren) in less than 15 minutes.

It seemed like twenty people filled the room immediately, working on my child who was no bigger than a football as he lay on the giant hospital gurney. My husband and I just huddled in the corner, silent, watching the frenzy of action. We recited the events of the last eight days to two doctors who grilled us about our baby’s very short life. We watched as they put the largest blue light on the baby and covered his little eyes with what looked like baby sunglasses. Wires, tubes, and stickers covered his body, no longer than 20 inches. His little doggie onsie, the one my husband had bought just days earlier, sat crumpled and flecked with blood on the bed while Scotty laid naked in just his diaper.

The whole event seemed like an out-of-body-experience.

Eventually, Scotty was wheeled up to the NICU and the nurses told us to go home. It was now 2 in the morning; he was in good care and was stable. They would have more information for us tomorrow. Overwhelmed, both physically and emotionally, my husband and I began the long trek home, unable to speak since both had no idea what was happening.

Over the next few days, we learned a lot. We learned that a normal bili level for an eight day old baby is about 14. In fact, 14 is considered high. Twenty-eight – or 28.9, to be technical – was off the charts. And bilirubin, that substance that is present in the bloodstream of newborns, produced by the liver and excreted by urine and feces, is what causes jaundice, or the yellowing of the skin. I knew Scotty was jaundice – I read the books, attended the classes – but I didn’t understand what the big deal was. 60% of newborns develop jaundice. And none of the brochures, pamphlets, or books mentioned that it was a dangerous condition. All recommended sunlight as a treatment option.

But I understand now. If bilirubin isn’t excreted through urine or feces, it builds up in the blood. Once it hits a certain level (and it depends on the age and size of the newborn), it can cross the blood barrier in the brain. It is toxic to brain tissue.

Toxic. As in, it kills brain tissue…and the tissue doesn’t grow back.

It can cause, among other things, mental retardation. Cerebral palsy. Profound hearing loss. Blindness. And in some cases, death.

Death. As a result of jaundice.

During those few days, we were able to connect the dots. My milk didn’t come in until day 5; since I was told that formula was poison, I didn’t have any formula in the house. I had short-suited myself, intentionally giving away free cans to friends. My child was going to be exclusively breast-fed, remember? Because that’s what I was told. By lactation consultants, friends, the La Leche League, popular media, everyone. Only bad mothers give their children chemicals. Good mothers nurse.

Scotty essentially didn’t eat for the first five days. The colostrum my body produced was enough to sustain him, but not nourish him. When my milk finally did come in, he was already behind the eight ball and was too sleepy and tired to nurse properly. And it became a dangerous loop – too tired to eat, no food to push out the bili. So the bilirubin continues to climb, making him sleepier, making it harder and harder to eat. In fact, breast milk contains trace amounts of bilirubin from the mother, making it harder for the newborn to excrete their own. I later learned that formula is actually recommended when jaundice becomes an issue.

It was the perfect storm of variables. And despite all of my research prior to his birth, not one person or source mentioned this. Not one. And after reviewing six books about breastfeeding, only two even mention the word “kernicterus.” Kernicterus, latin for ‘yellow kernel,’ is the name of the disease given to kids who had hyperbilirubin at birth. Kernicterus kids, more often than not, have the list of conditions listed above: cerebral palsy, hearing loss, mental retardation, etc.

To find this information was astounding. Totally healthy, full-term babies, within days of their birth, develop permanent, chronic conditions that will forever affect their quality of life. All because of high bilirubin. Being “just a little yellow.” And in one study I found, researchers followed kernicterus kids and discovered a shocking 81% were “exclusively breastfed” prior to the spike in their bilirubin. Eighty-one percent.

Why are more people not talking about this? Why are LCs not required to disclose this information to their patients who want to exclusively breast feed? Why doesn’t breastfeeding come with a warning label? After all, we tote our children around in state-of-the-art car seats. We know not to let a newborn sleep on his tummy. Scotty had been given three hearing tests in the first eight days of his life – a non-life-threatening condition – but yet no one explained to us what happens when jaundice goes untreated.

And in the back of my head, during those eight hellish days of breastfeeding, I kept going because I heard a voice chanting, “Breast is best. Breast is best. Breast is best.”

************

Kernicterus can only be diagnosed when the child starts missing developmental milestones, such as head control, eye gaze, and hand coordination. I hadn’t anticipated seeing pediatric neurologists, pediatric gastroenterologist, and multiple visits with my pediatrician, but this was my new reality. I knew that in the event the bili had crossed the brain barrier and a kernicterus diagnosis was imminent, our next step (our only step, really) was early intervention.

I’m happy to report that Scotty managed, by the grace of God, to come out of this ordeal 100% unscathed. He’s a happy, thriving little boy about to turn one in mid-August. He coos, he laughs, he says “dog!” “Dada!” and “Mom!” with reckless abandon. But not all kids are as lucky; there is a Yahoo group dedicated to hyperbilirubin called “newborn jaundice” and the stories on this site are heart breaking. Absolutely devastating. I never deleted my membership, even after we realized Scotty was okay, to remind myself that this condition happens, and it happens all too frequently to be okay.

When Scotty was released from the NICU on day 12 of his young life, I made a vow to myself that if he was alright, I was going to do everything in my power to tell people about our experience. To warn them that sometimes, “breast ISN’T best.” Do what’s in the best interest of your child. Don’t be swayed by the La Leche’s media campaign or overzealous lactation consultants or well-meaning friends. Don’t buy into the playground hierarchy that whoever breast feeds longer is the better mother. I said I would march on Washington if that’s what it came to in order to tell new moms to supplement, use formula and stop the shame spiral that formula feeding has evolved into. It’s not a competition; it’s a life.

And do whatever is in the best interest of your child.

Kim, mom to Scotty (11 months)

It’s Worth It

2010-08-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant with Sweet Thing, I read all the books about pregnancy and birth and even a little bit of parenting! One thing I didn't give a second look was breastfeeding. I knew I was going to breastfeed, I wasn't worried about getting my newborn to latch. I thought it would be a piece of cake.

How wrong was I?

Breastfeeding was a challenge for us from the beginning.

After giving birth, we tried to latch about an hour later, with not much luck, we didn't worry about it. She wasn't hungry anyway. Later on in the day we tried again, and it was painful, and the nurses were trying to help, telling me she's got it, she's doing well. But it was still painful, after unlatching and relatching, I was still in pain, finally I gave up and kept my mouth shut because the nurses weren't helping. Sweet Husband helped me hand express the colostrom to spoon feed our newborn.

We went home the next day.
That night was awful our beautiful newborn screamed for what seemed like an eternity, we tried everything, rocking, bouncing, singing. Anything but nursing. I didn't want to, I was hurt.

Finally we had a nurse come to our house, she then gave me a pump and told me to pump every two hours and 'finger feed' Sweet Thing so I could heal.

I healed and we tried nursing again. It was still painful, like someone pinching my nipple as hard as they could. We tried different positions. Nothing helped. We were told she had a tongue tie and may need to clip it.

A new nurse came a few days later and fitted me for a nipple shield.
Finally after 10 days of pumps and tiny cups and syringes full of mommy milk Sweet Thing was able to nurse, and I was pain free!!
I was ecstatic, I felt like a real mommy!

We nursed successfully from then on with the shield, and only recently have we both been completely weaned from it now at 8 months.

Although the beginning was tough and I had more than my fair share of doubts and not wanting to do it anymore. I stuck it out and I am so glad I did. I now love breastfeeding, it is a nice quiet time for me and Sweet Thing, I love that I am the only one who can do this for her. I love that she was a tiny 6lb 9oz baby girl and and now she is a healthy 18lb 8 month old, all thanks to mamas milk. I am sad that our breastfeeding is slowing down now that Sweet Thing is on more and more solid foods lately. I will not wean her, this is her decision.

I urge every mother to breastfeed, and though you may think you just can't do it anymore, you can! You really can!

Sarah, 21. Mom to 1 girl, Sophia 8.5 months

Helping Them Grow

2010-08-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

There’s a certain feeling of awe and accomplishment that comes over a new mother with the first glimpses of her baby. After nine long months of watching your belly swell, of feeling kicks in your ribs and trying to guess whether this poky bit is an elbow or a knee or a heel, it’s still a shock to see the tiny person that was in there. Those perfect little fingers, soft baby skin, itty-bitty nose all grew ¬inside of you and because of you. You’ve shared your food, your air, and your energy with this child in the most intimate and complete way possible, and now you finally get to cuddle him or her in your arms.

The beauty of being a nursing mother for me is that I get to repeat this moment every day. For the first six months of my daughter’s life, I was able to nourish her as completely as I did in the womb. There was nothing I needed to buy, nothing that someone else made that I needed to rely on—just my breast (although I did go through a few boxes of breast pads in the beginning!)

I always had a special feeling of pride when the pediatrician plotted her increasing weight on the growth charts. I wanted to say to her “You know those two pounds she gained? That was all me!” It was incredible to watch my daughter first wiggle, then roll, then crawl, knowing that every ounce of energy she was using came through me. And as she nurses, I marvel at how the baby who used to curl up on the Boppy now can stretch her long legs almost across our nursing chair. I wonder if I can see her fingers and toes growing when she pauses to look up with her sweet milky face. We’ve definitely had our share of sore nipples (I told my husband that the first few weeks of latching HAD to be the same feeling as for him to get kicked in the crotch!), nursing-marathon nights, skipping out on events because the baby needs to eat, and awkward wet spots on my shirt, as well as my first plugged duct making its appearance this week, but overall nursing has been full of far more ups than downs for us.

We started solid foods about three weeks ago, and I had a moment of sadness the first time she tasted something other than my milk. But I also know that my job as a mother is to help her grow, not just physically but also developmentally. I did that for six months with breastmilk alone. Now we’re still nursing for most of her nutrition, but the avocado and the carrot and the sweet potato helps make her part of the family at mealtimes and sets the stage for weaning someday. And I still watch her with joy after she nurses off to sleep, knowing that over six months after she was born, I’m still helping to grow a person.

~Elizabeth, mom of Amelia, 6.5 months

World Breastfeeding Week!! ~ and other updates.

2010-07-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Did you know World Breastfeeding Week is right around the corner?? Yep that’s right, 2010 WBW is the first week in August. From August 1-7 the World alliance for Breastfeeding Action along side breastfeeding advocates from more than 170 countries are joining together in celebrating the 19th annual WBW. This year’s theme centers around “Breastfeeding: Just 10 Steps, the baby-friendly way”.

Join the World in Breastfeeding Action this year!

• Draw attention to the role of the Ten Steps in improving breastfeeding rates.

• Renew action by health systems, health care providers and communities to make breastfeeding the easy choice for women.

• Inform people everywhere of the risks of artificial feeding, and the role of breastfeeding for children’s development and lifelong health and the health of mothers.

• Enable mothers to enjoy full support for breastfeeding in health care systems and beyond.

So what are the 10-steps?? Well, stop by the World Breastfeeding Week website. There is a lot of great information. You can take a pledge, and even buy a shirt to show off the numbers and initiative.

I hope you will join in the initiative. Numbers speak volumes.
Source for Post.

In other news, if you haven't had a chance to enter yet, I am hosting an EcoMom giveaway on my personal blog. I know you were all open to having giveaways on this blog, but I want to try to keep this site more for breastfeeding and issues related to that. I thank you all for continuing to spread the word. Is there anything you would like to see on this blog that you don't already? Would you like links to breastfeeding friendly articles? Any suggestions are welcome!! Welcome to all our new followers; don't forget to "like" Simple Gifts on Facebook!

Best,
Emily

Cracked Logic

2010-07-27T01:35:00.000-07:00

Item # 482 that no on tells you about becoming a parent: Breastfeeding doesn’t always come easily.

When I found out we were pregnant, there was no question in my mind that I wanted to breastfeed. My mother breastfed all three of her children, I had been around babies since I was little and knew that breast milk was really good for a baby. I also knew formula was really expensive. I had read the research, and never doubted for a second that it was the choice I was going to make.

I read books and articles on how to breastfeed. I learned about establishing a supply, and all the wonderful bonding that goes on between a mother and baby. I educated myself about the added benefits to breastfeeding, like added weight loss for post-partum mommy, reduced risk of SIDS for baby, adaptation of your breast milk for your babies nutrient needs as they grow, lower risk of obesity and diabetes in children, and a reduced risk of breast, ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers for mom. I even took the class at the hospital complete with my stuffed animal we were to bring along to act as a child. I brought a Cow, it seemed appropriate.

I just don’t understand why when you are pregnant people who have been there don’t tell you the hard stuff. Okay, maybe a stranger off the street coming up to you would be odd, but a friend, relative? It’s not like telling someone who isn’t pregnant yet, and then worrying you are the reason that they decided not to have children, we are already past that point. Our bellies are hard at work growing and developing a beautiful little human being. So why keep this stuff to yourself?

After Squish was born, I can’t tell you how many times I would say to a friend who already had children, “I didn’t realize breastfeeding would be so hard.” and got the response, “I know! I was surprised too!” Every time it happened to me, I wanted to scream, “If you knew it was like this, why didn’t you warn me?”

Besides not wanted to freak out a pregnant lady, I suppose people don’t tell you how hard breastfeeding is because they assume there isn’t much you can do about it until the baby is born. Or maybe it is because they think if they tell you that, and then you have an easy time making it work for you, you will think less of them. Either way I really really wish just one person had pulled me aside and said, “Listen, breastfeeding is amazing, but it doesn’t always go smoothly. This is what I found that worked for me.”

So by now I am sure you are grasping the concept that Squish and I didn’t have an easy road into the world of breastfeeding. Squishy was born via C/S at 38 weeks after I had labored for 26+ hours. I had wanted a natural birth, but after 20 hours of my contractions being less than 2 minutes apart, and making no progress with dilatation, I gave into the epi. 6 hours later I still had not made any progress. I was exhausted; Squishy’s head was swollen from being slammed up against my pelvic bone. We went ahead with a C/S. Squish was born 10lbs 2ozs. The first words out of my OB’s mouth were, “Oh My God!” to which I immediately cried, “What’s wrong?!” “He’s huge!” she replied. I was thinking… um hello this is what I kept telling you…

I knew things weren’t quite right when I didn’t really get to see Squish before he was taken to the nursery. I got to give him one kiss, and take a picture, and he was gone. My husband looked at me, and I told him to leave me and go with Squish.

After I was wheeled back into recovery, the pediatric nurse came in and told me that I would not be allowed to see my baby until after they stabilized his blood sugars, and the best way to do that was to let him have a bottle of formula. I wanted to see my child, so I told them to do whatever it took. (I did not have GD while pregnant, so his size and low sugars were a surprise.)

So much for not wanting him to have any formula, and breastfeeding right away. When I was finally able to see my baby, he did latch on pretty well, but he wouldn’t stay awake to eat. It took 2.5 days for his sugars to level out. During which time I was required to give him formula after every nursing session. I took him to the nursery once, because my husband was worried about me taking my first shower post C/S, and having to look after me and the baby at the same time. I fed him and wheeled him over. I told the nurses that he just ate, but if he needed anything to please bring him back.

When I returned 20 minutes later, I was shocked to discover they had fed him a full bottle of formula. I asked them why as he had just fed, and her response was, “You must be a first time mom, babies get hungry.” I think my husband had to pick my jaw off the floor, but I was too exhausted and sore to say anything. (I later told the lactation consultant about this when I came to see her 6 weeks later, and she told me that the hospital had taken a contract with a formula company while she was on maternity leave, and tried to push it on everyone.)

By the time we got home with Squishy, he wouldn’t latch on to my breasts and would scream until he got the immediate relief of the formula. I spent that night letting him take sucks of the formula bottle, and latching him on when he calmed down. By the 2nd day home, we were done with formula, but the damage had already been done. I would later learn that drinking the bottle was like not having to work for it, where the breast took some work on his part. He would latch on right and slowly slip down until he had a bad latch. My baby had become a lazy nurser. But since I didn’t know that breastfeeding wasn’t always easy, I just thought it was normal and let it go on.

When my mom came to visit, she said she didn’t go through what I was feeling, so when Squishy was 2 weeks old, I called the number the hospital had given me to call for questions. They gave me the number to a free lactation consultant. I took Squish in, and we nursed in front of the lady, and she told me he was a great eater. They did a weighed feeding and he was getting 4 ozs off only one side. She said I should try another position besides the one I was using to let my nipples heal a bit. She told me my nipples just had to get toughened up. I left feeling relieved and upset at the same time. If I was doing it right, why did it hurt so much?

I continued this way until Squish was 6 weeks old. I would dread having to feed him. I cried during most every feeding. My husband tried so hard to be supportive, but he couldn’t understand what I was going through. I felt like nursing was supposed to be natural and easy. I couldn’t understand what was wrong. My nipples were so sore. They were cracked and bleeding. My bras hurt, but if I didn’t wear one I would leak milk everywhere. I must have tried every kind of nipple cream on the market; I bought nipple shells to wear so my nipples didn’t rub on my bra. Even taking a shower hurt. I was exhausted and in constant pain. I felt like I must be the only one having this problem, because surely someone would have said something to me. If someone had handed me a bottle of formula right there – I just may have taken it. The guilt that I wasn’t enjoying this special bonding time was overwhelming. Not to mention the fact that my brain kept telling me to quit.

I finally decided I would try one more lactation consultant. And boy, am I glad I did. She realized that Squishy was a lazy latcher. That even though he was getting a lot of milk, he was sliding down the nipple while he nursed which is why it appeared that I had a good latch to start with. She corrected our form and had me stop and start Squish several times until he figured it out. She also advised I take a day off of breastfeeding and pump to let my nipples heal. (For reason even though I was pumping in the morning to create a stash, it never occurred to me to try the whole day.) She recommended Evenflo’s Breast flow bottle because they really required the baby to work for the milk like he did when he was on the breast. Finally a mixture of warm water and sea salt was to be applied to my nipples after every feeding. The sea salt doesn’t sting like iodine salt does, and it sure helped heal my poor cracked and bleeding nipples.

Shortly after that my nipples finally healed. I finally understood how joyful and special breastfeeding could be. I am so proud of myself that I stuck it out, but it would have been a whole lot easier of a journey to this point if just one person who didn’t have an easy go of it had said something. I would have prepared more; I would have bought the nipple creams and started using them right away. I wouldn’t have had it in my head that breastfeeding was natural and therefore easy. I wouldn’t have felt silly for asking for help sooner. Had I known it wasn’t always easy I would have found out that there were so many resources at my fingertips. My first weeks may have still been hard and painful, but at least I wouldn’t have felt alone and frustrated.

I later found out that a lot of my mommy friends struggled with breastfeeding. Some gave up, and were happier because of that, some stuck it out and figured out what worked for them, but not one person shared their experience with me until after I mentioned something to them. It was that feeling of frustration that drove me to create this blog. I wanted a place where women could share all kinds of different experiences in the hopes that it would help one mother to push through or just feel like they aren’t alone.

Emily 28, Mom to Squishy, 13.5 months and Creator of Simple Gift ~ Stories from Breastfeeding Mamas

Oh how I loath, uh, I mean love my pump…….

2010-07-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Before I start I will tell you a little about me. I am determined, decisive, and generally once I decide something that is that. When it came to breast-feeding I always wanted my child (ren) to have breast milk. It is best, and it is free! I thought I would just pop my baby on and bam we would be breast-feeding.

Then came a major curve ball. At our 8 week ultrasound we found out we were have twins. TWO babies??!! My mind wasn’t big enough to wrap around that. How was I going to do this? I didn’t know how to take care of one baby, let alone two! (I had never changed a diaper before my boys were born). What a wrench.

I decided I would try to breast feed, but knew more realistically I would be pumping. Twins are almost always preemies so they have a harder time latching, as that is one of the last skills to develop. Because of the preemie status they almost always go to the NICU straight after birth to be at least checked out. Mine were born at 36 weeks. 3 days and as promised went straight to the NICU. I didn’t get to see them until 12 hours later (because of my c-section and the fact that I gave birth at night). All of these things were strikes against us in getting them to latch.

In the hospital they did latch…kind of. I found pumping less stressful then having two hungry babies and trying to get them to latch. I will admit that I was okay with the idea of pumping; I saw my breast as sexual objects not as vending machines (and, frankly, so does my husband). I thought it would be less conflicting for all involved without their mouths actually on my breasts. So I started exclusively pumping, and decided I wanted to make it at least 6 months. About 30 seconds in, I totally understood why women quit. It H-U-R-T. There was no support except the help I asked for from the nurses. I was surprised they didn’t encourage it more without prompting. My nipples bled. Even still I rented a pump and my husband picked it up before I got home from the hospital.

We went home three days later with one of the boys. I pumped and wasn’t making enough for anyone to have a full meal. We had to supplement with formula. And the guilt began. Did I bring the milk to the baby who was still in the NICU? Did I split it evenly? I pumped every three hours around the clock. Thankfully Baby B came home only a day and a half later. We made a schedule and stuck to it as if our lives depended on it (it very well may have).

Every three hours they needed to eat. I would sit on the floor with a baby on each side of me and bottle-feed. Then I would change them and get them back to sleep. Then I would pump, split the milk in two and put it in the fridge for the next feeding. If my husband was nice enough to get up in the middle of the night and feed them, but I still had to wake up to pump. My teeth didn’t always get brushed, a shower was optional, but I pumped no matter what. For a little while there I did make enough for both of them, and even had a tiny freezer stash. However, soon enough they started eating a lot more and I had to supplement again.

Guilt. Guilt that I didn’t make enough. Pain. It felt like someone was trying to rip my f&(@)#g nipples off. Exhaustion. Sleeping in 1.5 hour stretches is not really satisfying. I fantasized about quitting every time I hooked up that pump. I hated that pump. I wanted to throw it out the window. No one could talk to me when I was pumping because I was straight up angry when I was pumping. During the day I would put the boys in their bouncy seats and bounce them and sing to them while I pumped. I would always be on the internet when I pumped, it distracted me just enough. Did I mention the pain?

Around 10 weeks old my boys started sleeping through the night. I never knew 6 hours sleep would feel SO good! Except on my boobs! They were SO full in the morning. Despite my best efforts I began so see my boobs as food machines for my babies and not as sexual objects. My husband wasn’t allowed to touch them, or even look at them. They were sore. I felt like a cow; hook me up, and pump me out. But I pumped on.

By four months my boys had made it to the 95% in weight and height. They were getting about 50/50 breast milk/formula. Then they hit a growth spurt, and wanted about 40 oz. to drink a day. I couldn’t keep up so we started solid foods to get them down to 32 oz. a day. I felt good about the results. I felt like I accomplished something, that the breast milk helped get them where they were. I was still determined to make it to 6 months even though I still fantasized about quitting every second of it.

Then they got RSV and again I felt guilty. I felt like maybe if they had gotten 100% breast milk they wouldn’t have gotten sick. (I know these are not logical thoughts, but I am pretty sure mommy guilt is not based in logic). Still I kept pumping. Then I got a clogged duct. Oh, the new fresh pain. I massaged, I sat under the shower and rubbed. My husband offered, in jest, to help me rub them…. I almost hit him. I had no sense of humor regarding the pump or my boobs anymore. It finally unclogged. My poor poor nipples. Pump pump pump.

By six months the boys were wearing 12 month clothes, and still in the 95% for weight and height. They were eating solid foods by now and they were eating a lot! But I made it 6 months! On the one hand I gave myself permission to quit, on the other I had….you guessed it….GUILT! I had made it this long, why not keep going? It is still the best thing for them. I started to reduce my pumping times, from 15 minutes, to 13 to 10 to 8, etc, until I dropped a session.

I loathed being tied to the pump; “Nope sorry, I have to go home so I can pump.”, but I loved giving them breast milk. I loathed the discomfort, but I loved the free milk. I loathed my husband touching about or thinking about my boobs. I loathed/loved the pump. Even though I had started to wean off the pump, I had a really hard time finally giving myself permission to quit. It was at this time I got another clogged duct, and I had to start pumping more again to unclog it. It took a few days, but it finally unclogged. (Sitting in the hot tub one night cleared it up the best). Over the course of the next few weeks I weaned off the pump. The boys didn’t mind, after all they had been getting formula the whole time. We started going through a can of powder every 3-4 days! Yikes! That is about $60/wk on formula. I started fantasizing about starting pumping again. But I didn’t, and instead I returned the rental pump.

Even though it was so bittersweet, I had made it! I was proud of myself for making it that far, and at the same time ashamed I didn’t make it further. I could have done a year if I had tried, but I hated it so much. I was done, and it was over. I decided to just not think about it anymore. What’s done was done.
Once I stopped pumping my boobs deflated like a pair of old balloons left out in the sun. I have never been big or full-chested by any means, but what was left on my chest looked like the before picture in a plastic surgery picture. The kind that are so sad that you don’t wonder why the woman had the surgery. I was so depressed. Even though my husband was glad to have his boobs back, I still wouldn’t let him touch them because I was so insecure about them. I had never felt so unsexy (yes, never). He told me he loved them, that I was beautiful. Blah blah blah.
Slowly my nipples healed, slowly the guilt faded. (It did not go away; it never goes away.) Slowly I decided that I should listen to my husband. (Even though I still thought he is lying). Slowly I began to see my boobs again as the sexual objects they used to be (PS-I now know what Victoria’s Secret actually is). I can once again claim my body as my own for the first time in a year and a half. That feels good. I think it is no coincidence that when I stopped pumping, I started doing my hair again, wearing make up again, and worrying about plucking again. I no longer had to get up early to pump, or stay up late to pump. I got more sleep, I felt better.
I have decided that pumping is a mind over matter situation. For me it was my stubbornness (aka determination) that served me well in this venture. I absolutely understand why women quit. I didn’t have to go back to work so I could sit home and loath/love my pump. My husband was beyond supportive even when I was sitting there barking at him while I was pumping. My babies were both calm and quiet and gave me time to pump while they hung out in the swing/bouncy/play mat. If any of these things hadn’t lined up I don’t know if I would have made it.

My boys are 9 months now and wear 24 month clothes. They are off the charts in height and in the 90% for weight. They are still doing great, even without the breast milk. Although, as I reduce the amount of formula I give them, my thoughts still turn to the fact that I would be making enough breast milk to not have to give them formula at all at this point. I am hoping that I can stop thinking about it all together when they turn one, and they can have cow’s milk.

But knowing me, I might just be sitting here when they are 18 thinking they might have gotten better scores on their SATs if I had pumped more.

Lisa 28, Mom to Identical Twin Boys – 9 months

A Night Weaning Story

2010-07-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

Callum and I have just recently passed our 18 month mark in nursing (as have the other half of Becoming Mamas – Holly and Gavin!). And I feel pretty confident that we have many months still ahead as nursing is still something very important to both of us. When I first started nursing, I had only a vague idea that I might like to nurse a year but that I’d probably wean shortly after that. As Callum got older, a year seemed much too young to wean – and I started thinking seriously about how our toddler nursing relationship would play out.

For the last 6 months, I’ve continued to nurse on demand – day and night. Until recently, Callum had never slept more than a 5 or maybe 6 hour stretch (and those were not frequent). Still, I’ve never considered him a “bad” sleeper – he would wake up, nurse a bit, and go right back to sleep. Because we co-slept these night wakings had little impact on me as well. Even so, I’d been pondering the possibility of night weaning for some months. Right around Callum’s first birthday, I started reading about the Jay Gordon method of night weaning; this seemed like an appealing alternative to many “sleep training” methods as it advocates still being there for your toddler (very importantly Dr. Gordon does not recommend forcing night weaning prior to one) and providing night comfort in other ways. Also important for me is the fact that it doesn’t hold out an unreasonable expectation that your child will sleep 12 hours straight without ever needing a parent’s comfort and notes that the “time” to night wean should be a family decision, not one made because of pressures from family, friends, society, or even doctors.

Even though I felt like this was a night weaning plan that would work for us, I still waited. At one, Callum was still quite dependent on night nursing and would “eat” quite a bit during the night. Over the next few months, that need slowly lessened and he began to sleep longer stretches on his own (as in I didn’t particularly do anything to encourage this). We had set backs of course – teething does a huge number on sleep! So, I just played it by ear. Around 14 or 15 months, I realized that I was starting to wake Callum up when I came to bed – or when I got up in the middle of the night for the bathroom or a drink of water. So, my husband and I decided that it was probably time to move Callum to his own bed.

I could write a whole other post on why we decided to go for a futon on the floor instead of the crib or toddler bed (and maybe I will!), but long story short we wanted a solution that would allow me to still sleep with Callum if needed and that would allow him the freedom to come to us if he felt he needed us. When we first started our new sleeping arrangement, I would sleep with Callum the second half of the night – after he’d wake to nurse somewhere between midnight and 3. But then suddenly he started sleeping longer stretches – even sleeping all night (or at least until 5!) without needing us. His night nursing habits had changed as well. He wasn’t “really eating” anymore – just comfort nursing to get back to sleep. Not that there’s anything wrong with comfort nursing at all; in fact, I think it’s an important part of a nursing relationship. But, to me, this meant that he needed comforting back to sleep as opposed to being hungry in the night – an important difference.

Even though I honestly feel that Callum was indicating he was “ready” to night wean, I also had a selfish reason for pushing the issue. I’m still waiting for my cycle to return and would like to try for another baby. While night weaning is no guarantee, it does kick start things for many women (and I’m hoping to be one of them!). This was certainly a factor in my decision. However, I think the timing of our night weaning struck a good balance between my needs and Callum’s needs – it felt right for our family.

I had intended to follow Jay Gordon’s plan but ended up doing things a bit differently. The first night, Callum nursed some and definitely didn’t like it when I offered cuddles instead of milk when he asked for more. Gordon reminds night weaning parents that a baby who is used to being comforted back to sleep with nursing will be angry when the expected comfort (nursing) isn’t offered – but angry and scared are two different things. It helped to remember that, but it was still hard to know that I was denying Callum something he really wanted and had always had in the past. After a few minutes of being mad, Callum came over, snuggled beside me, laid his head down, and went to sleep – and we snuggled until morning when he happily nursed again.

The next night my husband gave things a go. We’d had a brief period where he would rock Callum back to sleep when he woke the first time in the night – and that did work well for a while. We’d agreed that he’d try the first night waking and then if Callum woke after that or if he got really upset, I’d go in. After quite a bit of rocking and soothing, Callum did go back to sleep – daddies are pretty good at night snuggles too. We tried this for the next few nights and each night Callum went back to sleep with less rocking needed.

Since then we’ve had some nights where he goes all night without needing us and others where he still wakes a few times. When he does wake, one of us goes in to soothe him back to sleep. I still sometimes sleep with him the second half of the night if he seems particularly unsettled (those darn teeth again!). And I don’t expect him to go 12 hours without nursing. Generally, he nurses around 7 or 8 (before bed) – if he wakes any time after around 5, we nurse (and if it’s closer to 5, he usually goes back to sleep for a bit).

Like many parenting decisions, it’s hard to know if you’ve done the right thing for your kid. In this case, I feel like we did make the decision that worked for us at this point in time. Some kids will be ready sooner and other later. Some parents may choose not to “force” night weaning at all but let the child decide. Some may night wean while still co-sleeping full time and others may do so longer after kiddo has been in his own bed. For me the key to respond to your child’s cues and to make the transition with gentleness.

Part of me feels sad about this transition – although full weaning is still down the road, this is a reminder that it is coming. But just as with other milestones, I find it more helpful to look ahead at the new than to regret the passing of the old. It’s pretty darn cool when Callum comes scampering in our room in the morning to wake me up – he even hands me my glasses and climbs in to give me a kiss. I like that I feel we have the flexibility to co-sleep when needed. I also like that Callum knows he can still come to us for comfort in the night when needed.

We started the slow path to weaning when Callum began solids a year ago (yet another post!); this marks another step in that direction. I’m not sure how the rest of our nursing time will go…stay tuned to find out!

Meredith, age 31, mama to Callum 18 months

"Nursing a Toddler"

2010-07-08T01:40:00.000-07:00

I am going to start from our beginning because it really did have a huge impact on our nursing relationship and honestly, my opinions on breastfeeding.

I was an NYU bound 18 yeas old when I found out I was pregnant. I was a senior in high school and a baby was obviously not in the planned future. Still, my parents were very supportive and they really were my rock. My father had ONE request. DO NOT GET MARRIED. At 18, I had zero interest in getting married. I won't get into details about the Dad-to-Be at the time, but...marriage was simply NOT something I wanted.

So, I was 18 and pregnant. Sounds bad right? Yup, not ideal. The thing is, I wanted more than anything to be a good mom. I listened to doctors and my mother mostly...but I read a lot too. One thing I didn't read much about was breastfeeding. My mother asked me if I planned on breastfeeding and I remember thinking "Um, yeah” I grew up around babies...not all of which where breastfed, but I never really paid attention one way or another. I figured it was natural and something I was supposed to do. I talked with the midwife at my OB's office and she gave me lots of tips...none of which I really absorbed. I was young and didn't pay attention to the challenges that could arise. I wanted to try for a natural childbirth and wanted to do what was best for my baby....breastfeeding really seemed like the natural thing to do, but it didn't seem THAT important to me. When asked how long I would breastfeed...I didn't have an answer....I heard from my grandmother that she worried about having enough milk and all the other things you often hear. She also made comments about teeth, NIP and how old a baby should be. So, I didn't really have a plan. I was going to go with the flow. If my parents were my rock, my grandmother was the exact opposite. She did have me convinced that I would never NIP and that I would probably not nurse when my baby had teeth...and that I would introduce a bottle early enough so she took one...because my cousin never took a bottle and THAT was awful. I did however have a rule at my hospital. No pacifiers, no bottles...no artificial nipples. NONE.

I had Mya on Halloween of 1999. I caved and had an epi, but my labor was easy. I pushed for 15 minutes and had a healthy baby girl. I nursed her moments after she was born...and I was SO happy to nurse my baby.

Sadly, later that afternoon I wanted a shower. The nurse brought me in, and left me to shower. This was my first time standing and less than six hours after giving birth. My legs collapsed, I hit my head on the glass shower door...which knocked me out and fell through the glass door. I needed over 130 stitches in my back!! I still have a huge scar. I was also unable to lift my baby for a month! :( It took hours to stitch me up, hours that I could not hold Mya because I was covered in glass. During this time the nurses insisted on giving sugar water and a pacifier. Both things I didn't want, but was so emotionally wiped out, I didn't know what to say. My parents asked me what I wanted and in the end, no binky, no bottle.

The recovery was hard, but we found it was easiest for me to nurse laying down. We had a great latch and she was a STRONG nurser. I had bloody cracked nipples, but really...our latch was okay.

Then I started getting sick about one week after she was born. I had a fever and my left breast hurt more than my right. I thought it was from the cracked nipples, but I felt like garbage. So, we went to the OB and sure enough I had mastitis. I took my meds, started getting better...and listened to my grandmother (who lived with us) nag me about how I should stop if I have mastitis. She also would sit in a chair and cry because she couldn't give Mya a bottle. I was overwhelmed.

Then steps in my Dad. He was so good to me. He asked what I wanted; he encouraged me to stick with it and bought me books on breastfeeding.

Then I got mastitis again. Took meds, it cleared up. Then I got it AGAIN. Days after I was off the meds. This is when we had lactation consultant’s step in. Everyone at my OBs office, lactation consultants and even pediatricians could not figure out what I was doing wrong. Mya had a strong latch, but a good latch. I was always positioned right...it was frustrating. Then came the Thrush. This was the one time the doctor said I might have to pump and dump for awhile. When I burst into tears...he figured it out for me and we nursed through the thrush. (I can't even remember what meds he put me on at the time) So...I kept getting mastitis...I would go into the ER in the middle of the night because it would go from perfectly fine to BRIGHT RED in hours. So bad that I remember sobbing (not crying...SOBBING) when she would latch on. It was hell. Nobody warned me that it could be so bad, but in all fairness, I never researched it. I pulled out the books, called LLL, talked with my LC and kept hearing the same thing "nursing through the mastitis will clear it up quicker" So...that is what I did.

When she was about six months old...I pretty much stopped getting mastitis. I think I had it a couple other times during her first year, but it was minor and pretty pain free compared to what I had dealt with.

Oh, and she started getting teeth when she was five months old. Mya bit me ONCE. That was it. She was such an easy baby....and even with all the mastitis, even those moments where my hair curled as she latched, she would look at me with her big brown eyes and I was so happy nursing her.

Then the questions started coming...when are you going to wean? What if she starts biting?

After all I had been through, there was no way I was going to wean. I fought to nurse my baby and she never once had a bottle...not a drop of formula. Why on earth would I give that up? Still, no matter what I said my pediatrician said, I was told I should stop. My mother encouraged me to go for a year....but never once said to stop then. My dad said to nurse as long as I could.

I started researching, talking with other moms...and yup, became a bit of a lactivist. I didn't mean to...it just happened that way. She turned one, and I could not imagine weaning her...and we just kept going with it.

Mya eventually started calling "nursing" "Nu" She figured out how to lift my shirt and would attempt to nurse no matter where she was. If I am completely honest, I can't remember how many times a day she nursed at that point...I know at times she would go nearly the whole day (this probably didn't start until she was close to two) and other times she would want to nurse more frequently. She was a really good eater, loved veggies...but would often finish with a quick "nu" and run off to play.

Times she nursed more frequently...when she was sick, bored or had been really busy. One example I can think of...when she 29 moths old we went to Disney world. We have three or four pictures where she was nursing in random spots. Simply just photos taken where we are in the corner or something...and Mya was nursing. I know a kid pushed her at the playground, she nursed. I know we were waiting in line for a long time to get on a ride, and she nursed while I stood up carrying my toddler... (Got looks for that one) and I know she would nurse for a LONG time after we got home. The plus side to all of that is that it was really hot when we were there that year and she was well hydrated! She was hardly ever sick, but when she was sick, hydration was never an issue. I was able to nurse her in public and be somewhat "discreet" about it...we had nursing down. It was just something she did. However, if I wasn't around and/or I couldn't nurse...95% of the time she was fine. She didn't NEED to nurse. I could hold her off most of the time.

The biggest difference...she understood that there would be times that I couldn't drop everything to nurse her at THAT MOMENT. I could fix myself a snack and tell her "Hold on honey, Mommy will be there in a few minutes" and she would wait...or get distracted and not want to nurse at that moment. Family members stopped thinking it was weird and became supportive. Mostly because she was hardly ever sick and probably the least clingy child in the world. She also talked early, and was just a fun kid. My grandmother now gives all the credit to Mya being breastfed for so long. :D

Mya stopped nursing one day when I came home from work. She asked to nurse and I was doing a few things before I could sit down to nurse her. I told her "Not right now" and she was fine with it and went on playing. I sat down to nurse her, she nursed for about five minutes and then never wanted to nurse again. I think she was ready, and really...I think I was too. It was still sad.

Really, as she got older...it just became easier and easier. I could hold her off, I could use it to soothe her, help her through a horrible tantrum, fight Disney World stress...but it was soooooooo different from nursing a needy baby. Mya doesn't remember nursing, but for me...it is one of the most important parts of our relationship.

If I am honest, it is why I have a hard time with my MIL. She made many comments about "these people who breastfeeding their toddlers...ewwww” from the time I started dating my husband. (Mya was just over three when we met) and I heard it for nearly seven years. When I told her I was pregnant, she mentioned being excited about buying bottles and asked if I was ready to start mixing formula and cleaning bottles...and changing diapers again. I *KNOW* I had mentioned that I nursed Mya, but I guess she choose to ignore it. She had a lot of negative things to say...mostly that "Some babies just don't latch and I have a feeling you are not going to be able to breastfeed this baby. I hope you are not too upset, but breastfeeding isn't really that big of a deal!!" And "How long did you nurse Mya for? You must have stopped by the time she got teeth right. And you didn’t NIP...right?"

Sigh...I had my grandmother's support, but now I was hearing it all over again...but this time it was worse because I was already a mom. I still feel like she forgets that I have done this all before.

It drove me crazy. For me, breastfeeding was such a HUGE part of our relationship, that I couldn't imagine NOT doing it with Oliver. I fought hard and while I loved nursing a baby, nursing a toddler has it's own special place. A busy toddler often has to much to do to bother with Mom and long lap snuggles. Nursing gave me the chance to snuggle and be close. I think my MIL comes from a very different background and for some reason, is never going to be very supportive of my parenting style. That being said, I think that she has opened up a lot to breastfeeding. Do I think she is "okay" with it past a year...not really? Do I think she will come around like my grandmother did? I also doubt it, but I do think that I will hear fewer comments than I originally did because I have stood firm and been honest. When negative comments came up...I pointed to Mya. She is a good, healthy and smart ten year old. So, at the very least, nursing past a year didn't screw her up. :D

I just can't imagine doing it another way. Trying to wean a one year old seems terribly stressful to me. Part of it is that I am way too lazy for that, but mostly, I don't think either of us will be ready at that point.

I got through the hard parts with a lot of support and by being my stubborn self. I hear so many moms talk about their struggles with breastfeeding and their reasons for stopping. I am not denying that they have their own set of reasons and I support all mommies. Still, I can't help but really hope that all mothers get the same chance I did. I am always willing to hand out advice and try VERY hard to not be pushy, but I am pretty "encouraging"

Really though, the biggest concern I hear from moms with little babies is that they don't want to nurse a toddler as often as they do a baby. I think that it is seldom going to happen. There will be stages where your toddler is going to nurse more often (growth spurt) and I would expect that a sick toddler is going to nurse as often as possible, but otherwise...Mya was always too busy to want to nurse all day.

On Halloween of 2009, Mya got a baby brother as a birthday gift. Nursing him has been a completely different experience. He really wasn't interested in nursing during the first 24 hours. He would nurse for a few minutes and fall asleep. I had a few great nurses sit with me and help hold him on, the next day, he was doing fine. We are now in month 8. He has always been a wonderful nurser, although, a bit more lazy than Mya. He is also more easily distracted. Nursing was pretty much problem free, aside from his reflux in the beginning. I know how bad it was for Oliver and I can't imagine how much worse it could have been if he had been a formula fed baby.

My husband was raised hearing that formula is just a good as breast milk. I brought him to a class while pregnant and he quickly changed his mind when the instructor mentioned that formula companies are always trying to replicate breast milk. From that point on, he has been one of my biggest supporters. He has even gone from the pre-baby days of saying that people should have a cover, to asking me why I was trying to cover Oliver when it was making him so mad! He is now Deployed and talks about breastfeeding with other soldiers who have pregnant wives back home.

Mya is just as amazing. She talks about breastfeeding to classmates and even stood up to inform the her 4th grade classroom that breasts were not only sexual organs (as her puberty class was explaining breasts) but that they were also for feeding babies.

So...I think I covered mostly everything. I have no plans of doing things differently with Oliver. I will most likely let him self-wean. I can see myself being comfortable up to age 3.5-4. But who knows, maybe I will decide to before then....maybe even later (although...I don't know about that)

Krista, Army Wife and Mom living in Germany, Daughter Mya (10) and son Oliver (8 months)

Lactation Consultants!!

2010-07-06T00:49:00.001-07:00

I had no problems nursing my first child and did so exclusively for 5 – 6 months. I nursed my second as well, but got mastitis when she was 24 days old, on Christmas Eve. I had never been so sick. My doctor prescribed an antibiotic. This cleared up the mastitis, but caused a yeast infection – in my nipples. This caused cracks, which lead to a bacterial infection requiring another antibiotic, leading to yet another yeast infection. This cycle continued for about another 2 months. As much as I loved my doctor, I felt like he was at a loss to help. He had me contact a lactation consultant at the hospital, who told me to follow my doctor’s orders. I cried in my doctor’s office and told him I wanted to nurse for a number of reasons: I loved the time with my baby, I wanted her to be healthy, and it was convenient and inexpensive. He told me my baby needed a sane mother more than she needed breast milk. I stopped nursing.

My husband and I did not get pregnant again for another 10 years. I decided I would nurse my son, but only if I did not experience the problems I had with my daughter. I got mastitis when my son was about 3 weeks old and immediately felt defeated. I was with a different ob-gyn practice. I had met their staff lactation consultant (the practice I had seen with my first two children did not have one) at the hospital, but only spent a few minutes with her. When I went in for my mastitis, they treated me but also had me meet with her. I told her about my prior experience, and told her I wanted to nurse as long as I could but I knew this cycle would end my nursing. She promised me she would not allow that to happen to us; and that as long as I was willing; she would be behind me all the way. I nursed my son a little over a year, and I got mastitis several times. The lactation consultant worked closely with me the entire time. She helped me figure out the triggers that were causing mastitis, and how to take care of myself better. I never got a yeast infection, and never stopped nursing, and other than not feeling well, I never had any physical difficulty nursing.

Shortly after I stopped nursing my son, I discovered I was pregnant again. My baby did not latch or eat well in the hospital. The hospital's lactation consultant met me with and noticed that he was slightly jaundiced (none of the nursing staff had noticed). She worked with him and me until he finally latched and nursed well. After leaving the hospital, I noticed he was making me sore on one side but not the other. I met with the lactation consultant from my ob-gyn who pointed out that he was tongue-tied and that I was shaped different on one side from the other. She estimated that he was not able to latch well on one side. His pediatrician scheduled a procedure to clip his tongue. He is now 7 months old and nurses with no problems.

All of this is to say this: I did not see the value of lactation consultants by the time I had my second child. I had not needed assistance with my first. While I was determined to find a solution to my difficulties with my second child, everyone encouraged me to stop nursing. I don't know if it is that the profession has changed that much in the ten year gap between my children or if I was just with the wrong practice. I am so thankful for the lactation consultants I have had the great fortune to work with since my two sons have been born. My children's current pediatrician is also a lactation consultant. What a wonderful profession! They have been so helpful, and I feel like I have my own cheering section. I would encourage any nursing mother to take advantage of the knowledge that a lactation consultant has, even for the seemingly simplest of questions. I could not have made it through the last 3 years and 2 children without mine.

Jennifer, 38, mom to 2 girls (16 and 12) and 2 boys (3 and 7 months).

The Power of the Simple Word.

2010-06-20T00:34:00.000-07:00

I came across this quote today and it touched a place inside me, because I understood it completely.

Who fed me from her gentle breast

And hushed me in her arms to rest,

And on my cheek sweet kisses prest?

My Mother.

~Anne Taylor

If you have something that speaks to you, please share it with us.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend with your families.

Best,
Emily

"10 things people don’t tell you about breastfeeding"

2010-06-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

1) It’s not that simple, but it’s also not that complicated
Alright, we’re mammals, so you’d think breastfeeding is in our genes, but when the time comes, it doesn’t appear that obvious. Can it hurt? Yes, if you don’t do it right, and mostly, if your baby doesn’t do it right. You didn’t get the lactation instruction manual and your baby didn’t either! So see it as the first learning experience you’ll share together. Make your bundle of joy your partner and don’t sweat the small stuff. And there’s always help out there if you need it: through your health insurance, La Leche League, some state programs, etc. My biggest advice is to inquire about your options BEFORE you give birth. You’ll be way too busy and tired after the birth to browse the internet for a lactation consultant.

2) Everybody will give you their personal opinion about breastfeeding
You’ll hear more than your share about breastfeeding versus bottle feeding as you approach the delivery date. Sometimes you almost feel like there’s a war brewing out there… And whether you decide to breastfeed or not, you’ll hear both sides of the discussion. I personally never “made the decision” to breastfeed. For me, it was something I was going to do and made sure I was successful at it, both physically and mentally. I can’t believe how many people kept telling me after I had been breastfeeding for over six months that it was long enough and I could stop now, as if I had nothing else to prove! In a way, it motivated me to continue breastfeeding, as if to show them how little I cared about their advice, but to any mom who is wondering how long she should breastfeed, those comments are very unsupportive. Just do what you want to do, breastfeed or not, for two months or 18 months, and enjoy every minute of it!

3) Your breast size is no indication of how much milk you’ll produce
I was a size A pre-pregnancy and became a size D by the time I started lactating, so all small-breasted women, rejoice! I found out that the key to good production is to stay hydrated yourself. The less you drink, the less milk will come out. And eating throughout the day will keep you from feeling famished and exhausted.

4) Your breast pump bag looks really cool
One day after I returned to work, a male colleague of mine pointed out to my black breast pump bag and remarked how stylish it looked, with its several conveniently placed pockets. I replied, “Thanks, that’s my breast pump bag”. He looked puzzled and inquired, “Your what?”, “My breast pump bag. You know, breast pumping”, as I used sucking hand gestures in front of my boobs. “Ah”, he said as he suddenly blushed. I think that was the last time he’ll ever compliment a lady on her bag…

5) There’s nothing else in the world like night feedings
In the still of the night, when everything is quiet in the house and everybody else in the whole world is sleeping, you get to share some very special one-on-one time with your baby. Both of you feel half asleep, half awake, skin-to-skin, laying in bed. As you listen to the rhythmic sucking-gulping process, you start breathing in a delicious baby smell. Other moms had told you about by that smell, but all they saw what your puzzled look as you thought they were just gone gaga about their babies. It’s all true, your own baby’s smell is the most wonderful scent in the world, and the good part is that it doesn’t go away as they grow up.

6) Say goodbye to baby weight
Breastfeeding is the EASIEST way to lose your extra pregnancy weight without having to run on a treadmill like a wild rabbit being chased by a fierce coyote. Believe it or not, you’ll still be able to eat a good amount of food, as breastfeeding literally sucks calories out of you. For every ounce of milk you make, you lose about 20 calories. I produced about 30oz a day, which equals 600 calories per day. Way better than the 300 extra calories a day needed during pregnancy that we use to justify eating for two.

7) You’re doing in for yourself, not just for your baby
Breastfeeding causes small uterus contractions that help bring your uterus back to its pre-pregnancy size faster. It also reduces your risk of breast cancer by as much as 25%. And it increases your levels of oxytocin (sounds like some good drug name if you ask me!), which is a hormone that helps you relax. Something all new moms could use!

8) You will lose calcium while lactating
The good news is the bone loss is temporary and according to some studies, women who breastfeed lower their risk of osteoporosis in the long run. Take some calcium supplements while lactating, and you’ll be just fine.

9) If you can take on the breastfeeding challenge, you can do anything
I never saw breastfeeding as a chore, or as something I had to do as a mom. I saw it as a challenge and dealt with it every day, until it became a habit. The challenge was to have the baby latch properly, make sure the baby fed enough and that my nipples didn’t become raw meat in the process, and then to repeat every day until I felt it was time to stop. I stop nursing my boys around 9 months, but I continued to pump until they were 13 months old, three times a day, every day. If you can handle that, you can handle most of the inconveniences that life throws at you.

10) You’ll miss it when you stop doing it
Now, you’re probably screaming, are you crazy??? Nope, I’m not. Deciding when to stop was actually very difficult. After sharing a part of me (my milk) for so long with my babies and acting as their lifeline, it was hard to close that chapter. Becoming a mom is a wondering experience. First you grow a whole human being inside your womb, and your job continues when you feed that being from your own body. Sorry guys, but you’re really missing out! Breastfeeding provided me with me-time, especially when I went back to work and I pumped, alone in a locked room for 20 minutes at a time. With only the rhythm of the pump to hear and a good book to read, those were my most precious minutes of the day. It was hard to go back to the lunch room and not have that moment of peace that I so needed to get revitalized for the rest of the day.

To all moms out there, try breastfeeding and seize the day! Kids grow up fast, and the nursing months will end up being a tiny section of their lives.

Milka, 40, mom to two boys (4 years old and 2 and half years old).
http://perfectingmotherhood.wordpress.com/

"Dreaming of Breastfeeding"

2010-06-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a funny story of my first week of breastfeeding my first child. I hope you enjoy.

When we brought Derrick home from the hospital he slept in his pack in play in our bedroom and at night I nursed him in bed. The first few nights went smoothly. We both were getting the hang of nursing and I was ecstatic. I did the classic new mom “check to see if baby is ok” whenever I heard him make a peep or grunt throughout the night.

One night I caught myself dreaming of feeding Derrick. In reality I was ‘nursing’ my pillow, and leaking all over. I partially woke up from my dream and had to go to the bathroom. So I woke up my husband and passed him my new fluffy “baby”. My husband in his semi-awake stupor held my ‘baby’ nice and tight while I got out of bed. When I came back from the bathroom I was more conscious and I asked my husband to hand the baby back so I could finish nursing and go back to sleep. My husband handed me my fluffy ‘baby’ and I began to panic. I woke him up completely and both of us started searching the bed to figure out what happen to Derrick! We dove into the covers feeling all around and checked the floor on both of our bedsides. Panic had fully set in for both us. Right before we were about to flip on all the lights, Derrick made a perfect little baby peep from the confines of his pack and play.

Needless to say I was happy that all of this was just a dream.

Leslie, 28; Derrick 7 weeks

"The Support That Got Me Through"

2010-06-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

When I gave birth to my daughter, it was a scheduled C-section. The doctors were concerned because she was measuring large. So at 39 weeks, I delivered my beautiful, 9lb, 4 oz baby girl. I spend about 2 hours in recovery and then was greeted with a handful of visitors upon my return to my room. I was also pretty loopy from the drugs they gave me.

A few hours later, I was clearheaded enough to breastfeed her for the first time. From the beginning, she had trouble latching. We tried...and tried...and tried. We tried it with a nipple shield, we tried without. She was starting to loose weight and ended up loosing more than 10% of her bodyweight, which sent red alerts to the nurses. Luckily, my pediatrician let me go home with her with a rented breast pump.

The day I got home was also the day my milk came in, and did it ever!!! So here I am with two boulders on my chest (sooo painful) and a baby who will not latch on to drain them! I would try to breastfeed her for about 15 minutes. She would either scream her head off or fall asleep. After 15 minutes of trying, I would then pump and give her whatever came out. I was getting a few ounces so I would give it to her in a bottle. By the time I did this all, it took about 45 minutes. When you feed her every two hours, you can imagine how draining it was. This went on for about 3 or 4 days.

Then it got worse. The stress of being home, this demanding feeding schedule and lack of sleep make it hard for my milk to let down. I would pump and pump and get maybe an ounce! So feeding became fight with her on the breast, pump what I could, feed her what I pumped and then feed her formula to make up the difference. Feeding now was taking about an hour! To top it off, since her latch was so poor, my nipples completely scabbed over. The pain would bring me to tears every time she nursed.

Everyone told me to give up. They thought I was crazy to keep this up but I was determined! I knew how important it was for her to benefit from breast milk. I consulted with an LC. I talked to anyone I knew who had breastfed babies for advice, encouragement and support. The LCs from the hospital I delivered at called me at home to check up on my progress. The best support I got was from my pediatrician, who was also an LC. She sat with me on more than one occasion and watched me nurse. She was the one who finally got her to latch and in her office is where I fed her for the first time without pumping and without her crying afterwards because she wasn't satisfied.

Each day is got better and better. She got better at latching and the scabs slowly began to heal. It was a month before my nipples could touch anything without being sore but nursing became more comfortable. She started to gain weight steadily after that first week and a half and had never stopped. Soon I felt comfortable not pumping after feeding her, but trusting that she was drinking enough on her own.

She is now 5 months and I never thought I would say this, but breastfeeding her has been such a rewarding experience! Now feeding her takes 10 minutes! She nurses until she is full, pops off and looks up at me with the most satisfied grin. I take such joy in seeing her grow knowing that I am supplying her with the best food I could possibly give her.

I am returning to work in a few weeks and I've decided to continue to nurse her and pump throughout the day. I don't think either of us are ready to give up nursing. I never thought I would be able to say that!

I look back on that first month and I can honestly that it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I also am so proud of myself for sticking it out. I truly felt like a mother...sacrificing so much for her. I know if I had given up I would have regretted it always.

I now and will always make it a goal to lend support to any new mother who needs help getting started with breastfeeding. I think as nursing mothers we need to be there to support new mothers. I don't know that I could have stuck it out without all of the encouragement I got. I am sure there are many mothers out there who were pressured to give up if they found it difficult in the beginning and probably have regretted it like I would have. I would love to help someone else know the joy I have experience nursing my baby. It is truly one of life's precious gifts.

Kelly -29, Mom to Baby Girl, 5 months

Readers, I need your feedback!!

2010-06-13T23:43:00.000-07:00

Hey all!
I am taking a break from our regular posts to ask you all a couple of questions, as well as some general comments that I would like to make. Your feedback is really important to me. So thanks for taking the time to read this and respond. I want to continue to make this blog a place where women like me can come to read wonderful stories from other women.

1. To start I wanted to let you all know that if you submit a story and I don't respond to you quickly, please hang in there with me. My husband has deployed overseas for his job (He works for the military as a civilian contractor). I don't have family in town yet, (my sister-in-law will be moving here shortly) so it is just me and my baby. Sometimes life keeps me super busy, and on my toes, and by the end of the day I'm wiped. I do my best to check for new stories as often as I can, but if there is a little delay, I apologize.

2. Recently I had the blog re-designed. I had a reader comment that while they liked the face-lift, it was hard to read. I love hearing things like this from readers, anything I can do to make reading these beautiful stories a better experience I would like to do. Unfortunetly I don't know to what the reader was exactly referrring. I would like your feedback so I can have it fixed. Is it the white background that makes it hard to read? The polka dots? The font color? I appreciate all your kind suggestions. Thanks!

3. Do you think only one story should be posted a day? Stories seemed to be submitted in waves. We won't have any for quite a while, and then boom 3-4. Do you like the one a day rule, or do you think I should just post them as I get them?

4. Please remember to include a title in your submissions, your first name/age, and your child(ren)'s name(s)/age(s). You don't have to include names if you aren't comfortable with it, but I would appreciate any information you are willing to provide. I personally think it helps readers like me connect with the story more. Also I try my best to correct grammar/spelling in the posts, but like any sleep deprived mother I don't catch everything. Please feel free to email me if you see something that needs to be changed.

5. How do you feel about an occasional product review/giveaway? I was recently given the opportunity to review a product and host a giveaway. While it is not directly related to breastfeeding, it is something that most of us mamas with babies would use. I would love to host it here, but don't want to start doing those reviews/giveaways if my readers would be offended/turned off by them. Please give me your feedback.

6. Also don't forget to grab our badge and post it on your own blogs. Anyway to get the word out about this blog so we can have more stories is great! If you have any other ideas on how to promote or improve the blog, feel free to through them out there. I appreciate your readership very much. If there is anything I can do to improve the blog I would love to do it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
Best,
Emily

"I wouldn't trade this for anything."

2010-06-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

As I write this I am not sure what will become of my breastfeeding relationship with my son, almost 9 months old. I have been back to work for 5 months and this boy is loving his bottles more and more. Two back to back ear infections and a cold have recently caused him to refuse all nursing except once around 4am. And so I pump and pump and pump. Not unlike the start of our breastfeeding journey…

I had a wonderful and easy pregnancy with grand plans for a pure and natural delivery, until week 35 when I was hit with the news of a “very breech” baby, non-stress tests 3/week and a c-section date. That didn’t last long. At 36 weeks exactly a non-stress test landed me in Labor and Delivery and smacked me with an extreme case of pre-eclampsia and hypertension. And a spot in the operating room. Not so minor detail: my husband was in another country and didn’t get to us for another 24 hours from the birth.

I was so scared my body was shaking like a leaf and that didn’t stop for the duration of my 6 day stay in the hospital. He was 5 lbs and had some breathing issues so he spent 6 days in the NICU. I was so doped up from the anti-seizure meds it was 24 hours before I could see him, and I hardly remember that first day. I also don’t really remember how it went down, but the bottom line was my son couldn’t come home until he was breathing, growing and eating. It wasn’t like they discouraged me from breastfeeding him, but they wanted to be able to measure what he was eating and bottle feeding took less effort from him.

And so I pumped, and pumped and pumped. My hospital roomie had twins in the NICU and there was a strange bond in us both waking up around the clock to pump (though who really sleeps in the hospital). And as soon as his feeding tubes came out he got breast milk. The nurses called it butter milk it was so golden. I was obsessed and proud to show up to the NICU for all his feedings with yet another little bottle. The nurses even starting freezing it and when they finally sent us home I already had a freezer stash. They did encourage me to breastfeed and before we left they showed me how to latch him well.

I honestly don’t think I needed the encouragement though. I was so determined! I think because my hopes for birth went so wrong, I was more determined. And because there was so little I could do to control both my health, and my son’s health, breastfeeding was the one area I could control and succeed. And so I gave myself no choice but to succeed. And from there it was easy. Painful, yes, but easy. Sure I may have walked around the house for a few days with my nipples hanging our, air drying. I will never forget one of the first nights at home, being so exhausted and changing for bed while crying and laughing at the same time as milk leaked in a steady flow all over the place. And for the first 10 or so weeks at home my son ate every hour or two around the clock. But it was fantastic. It made me feel strong, proud and organic. Family loved to ask his current weight and then marvel at how many pounds he gained (he’s 20 lbs now!).

Because we were not able to “bond” well at birth or through our stay in the hospital, breastfeeding allowed us to bond at home. And when I returned to work it was the precious time where only I could provide for my son. That is selfish in some ways, but I don’t apologize for that.

We’ve had a great run, and I hold onto hope that once he is well he might decide to come back to nursing. We’ve nursed in stores, restaurants, planes, cars and airports. On vacation we sat on the lawn in front of the White House and nursed, as well in museums and at monuments. I really wanted to nurse at least one year, and be able to say that he never received anything but breast milk. And so I’ll pump some more.

Erin, 29 Mom to Clinton, 8.5 months old

Nursing and Torticollis

2010-06-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

I nursed my son Joseph for 13 months. We had a very rocky start so sometimes it’s hard to believe that we made it that far! I didn’t expect to have these challenges. I had attended a breastfeeding class in my last month of pregnancy and knew there was a learning curve. My mom, aunts, and mother-in-law were once active in LLL, so I thought I’d have plenty of support if I ran into problems.

Joseph was born full-term after a physically exhausting delivery. I wasn’t able to push him out on my own and was running out of strength at the end. The doctor recommended a c-section but I requested vacuum extraction. I knew I could do it – I just needed some help. Fifteen minutes later, Joseph was born with the suction cup stuck fast to his head. A medical team was ready in case of complications, but Joseph was strong and healthy. I was stitched up and Joseph was brought over to me. I tried to nurse him in the delivery room without success.

Over the next 2-3 days in the hospital, I tried repeatedly to nurse Joseph. Sometimes he latched on right away, sometimes after 45 minutes of trying. Most of the time Joseph flailed around in frustration, and I began to panic with each failed feeding. The post-partum nurse(s) couldn’t help much and sometimes ignored my frantic pages. The lactation consultant in the hospital was able to get Joseph nursing within a few minutes. I couldn’t reproduce her magic. She gave me a SNS (supplemental nursing system) which is lovely idea but worthless when your baby won’t latch on.

At home, we had a couple of mediocre nursing sessions but suddenly Joseph wouldn’t latch anymore. He began to scream every time I moved him toward my breast. At first I believed that I could be successful nursing through sheer strength of will. I read every nursing resource I could find and called family for advice. Joseph, however, had a mind of his own and seemed to hate nursing. It was the first of many parenting lessons that he taught me. Joseph wasn’t the baby in the book. Try, try again wasn’t working for us and only making things worse. I slowly began to learn that if nursing was going to work, it was going to happen on Joseph’s terms. I couldn’t force him to nurse! I learned that my baby is a unique individual and if something isn’t working – STOP!!! Try something different. But it’s a hard lesson to learn your first week on the job.

So I pumped for the first week, always trying stay one feeding ahead of schedule. It was tiring but far less stressful than nursing! Bottles were an easy, happy experience. The pediatrician recommended a wonderful lactation consultant. She did an in-home visit and noticed right away that something wasn’t right with Joseph’s neck and jaw. It was asymmetric and difficult to get lined up properly with my breast. She gave me a nipple shield to make it easier for Joseph to latch. Partly because of the lactation consultant’s observations, my son was diagnosed with torticollis (twisted neck) at 2.5 weeks old. We began physical therapy right away. I cried a lot those first weeks, probably PPD but I was too exhausted and stubborn to give in.

I used the nipple shield exclusively for 2 weeks, and Joseph began nursing sporadically again. Joseph often nursed in contorted positions due to his damaged neck muscle but at least he was nursing. Our problems persisted and with a lot of hard work Joseph began to latch without the nipple shield. After 2-3 months, nursing became the wonderful, joyful experience that my mom and aunts told me about.

Not surprisingly, our nursing relationship ended on Joseph’s terms. I had been gradually cutting down feedings when he was 12 months old, and a few weeks later he just refused to nurse. Such a strong-willed child since the day he was born – I have no idea who he got that from! J The emotions caught me off-guard. I was ready to be done but so sad that this beautiful part of our relationship was over. I’m so glad to have had my nursing experience.

Beth N. Mom to Joseph

New Layout!!

2010-06-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

Come on in and check out our new layout!! Thanks to Becca at www.jumpingjaxdesigns.com we have a wonderful new look. I couldn't be more happy with the finished product!

Also please notice our new button in the upper right hand corner. If you would be so kind as to post it on your own blogs I would be very appreciative.

The goal of this blog is to have a place for women to come to and read about all different kinds of breastfeeding experiences. No two are exactly alike, but the hope is our readers will find a connection with some of the stories and feel like they are not alone in the amazingly simple gift.

As we all know breastfeeding is not always simple, but it really is a gift for both baby and mom. I hope to have more stories to post soon!

Hope you all like the new look. Becca does wonderful work for us computer/time challenged mamas!

Best,
Emily

ONE YEAR!! :)

2010-05-23T19:10:00.001-07:00

First off, I can't believe that it has already been a year since I started nursing, and my son was born!

Jacob was born early in the morning on Saturday April 18, 2009. I put him to the breast within 5 minutes of him being born, and he seemed to latch on just fine. I thought to myself, cool this is going to work great! After they cleaned him all up, and gave him back to me we headed to the mother and baby recovery area. He fell into that deep sleep, would wake and nurse and fall back to sleep. I figured that we were set and nothing was in our way with the nursing business. The lactation consultant had stopped by my room and watched a feeding, gave a few pointers, but was impressed that we were doing so well. Then that night, after the LC had left and gone home, I started having trouble getting Jacob to latch and stay nursing. After struggling with it for maybe an hour or two, I decided that maybe a walk around and a change of scenery would maybe help settle my nerves and we could try again.

While I was out walking the halls, one of the nurses came and walked with me! She wanted to make sure that I was ok, and if there was anything that she could do to help me. I was explaining to her the troubles that I was having and she asked if I would like some help. She was so nice and came in and spent over 2 hours helping me. With her help, I came to the realization that I have flat nipples and Jacob was having trouble latching. She suggested that we try a couple of different things to get him to latch and stay latched. The first thing that we tried was putting a few drops of formula on my nipple to give Jacob instant gratification and encourage him to start sucking. He would somewhat do this, but his latch was not good enough. She then suggested using a shield. I was not opposed to the shield, as I knew that my mom had to use one while nursing my younger sisters. She brought me a couple so that I could find what one fit the best and was the most comfortable. After finding the right one, we once again put a few drops of the formula on the tip to give Jacob something to go after. As soon as he realized that something was there he nursed for almost a full hour!

I continued to use the shield and drops of formula until my milk came in on day 3, as after it came in he would latch with the shield right away. Once I was released from the hospital, I started to work with the LC at our pediatrician’s office. She was also so very helpful with all my questions. We had to see her a few times the first 2 weeks of Jacob's life due to the amount of weight that he lost before my milk came in. But once it did and he started to be a champ a nursing, he started to put the weight back on. There have been many days that I thought along the way how nice it would be to wean from the shield, but it is what has allowed us to continue nursing for this long and will allow us to continue. I have always believed that because of the shield, I never had to deal with cracked or bleeding nipples. I never had the pain that some women complain of when they are first starting out with nursing. I also truly believe that because Jacob was so used to the rubber feeling of the shield, it made giving him a bottle of breast milk so much easier.

When Jacob was 1 month old at the recommendation of our pediatrician, we gave him his first bottle of BM. I pumped it, and my husband fed it to him. When he was first offered it, he gave my husband a weird look, but then realized that it was his normal milk and drank it right away. We never had any issues with it, and still do not. We also had no issues with him going between the breast and a bottle.

Now that we have reached a year of breast feeding, I have reached my initial goal. From here on out I will allow Jacob to determine when he wants to self wean. Since starting him on solids, I have noticed that his nursing sessions are getting shorter and he is getting close I believe to dropping one as he doesn't always want to nurse now before his nap. When I think of not nursing, at first it makes me sad as I will miss that bonding time that I have with him. But on the other hand I realize that he is growing and we can find other ways to bond.

In a nutshell, I have really enjoyed my nursing days and look forward to being able to do so with any future kids that Hans and I have. I am thankful for the shield as I don't know if we would have made it this long without it! I also want to encourage any moms that have to use one. It is not bad to use...the design of shields has come a long way in the years and they should no longer interfere with your supply according to the LC that I worked with.

I also want to encourage women to nurse your baby when they need to be nursed no matter where you are! I understand some women are uncomfortable about nursing in public (NIP) or are worried about what other people will say about them. Bottom line is that it doesn't matter what they think, you are feeding your child! No one thinks twice about a baby that has a bottle in its mouth, so why do we need to make a fuss about a nursing baby. I hate it when I have to read about women who fell the necessity to nurse or pump in the bathroom. I understand nursing in the car or at the back table in the malls' food court as I have nursed in those areas many times in the past year. If I am in a mall I will also go and use a stores dressing room as most stores are willing to let you do that.

Samantha 25 mom to Jacob 1 year

Breastfeeding helped me face the challenges of motherhood.

2010-05-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

Anticipating the birth of my first baby boy, Colton, was joyous. I loved being pregnant and labor was great. I was a nurse at the hospital I worked, so there was an endless stream of visitors, happy friends and relatives. Our new baby was absolutely perfect, and we were thrilled. We were looking forward to getting to know our new addition and adjusting to parenthood together. I didn't know how soon things would change...

The day after we had Colton, my husband went home to shower and feed the dog. The phone rang in my room, it was an ER nurse I had worked with a few days before. My husband's father had a stroke and was coming in via ambulance, he was in critical condition. She needed my husband in the ER right away. My father-in-law spent the next month in ICU and was close to death several times from the massive injury to his brain. My husband spent everyday with him, helping his mother make medical descions and supporting his parents. Needless to say it was not the homecoming we had planned, but that's life.

I focused on my job of caring for our new little one. Like almost all moms, I didn't find breastfeeding easy in the beginning. Colton had a great latch at the hospital but when we got home we had some troubles. About day 2, my nipples were raw and I had to clench my teeth when he nursed, but that passed quickly, resolving within a day or two. I was so engorged my breasts were like rocks on my chest and the bags of frozen peas weren't helping. I had my husband pick up a cheap pump at the Wal-Mart on the way home from his daily hospital vigil. I used that cheap Evenflo pump with both my babies, best $40 ever spent! The pump did the trick and we were getting the hang of this breastfeeding stuff. I always tried to stay positive and not complain about anything. I didn't want my husband to feel like he had to care for his parents, me and Colton.

My breastfeeding challenges were pretty much overcome by week 2 and we never looked back. I never considered stopping breastfeeding, I just knew that we would be successful after we got over the learning curve. Being a mom was hard, tiring work but I could do it and I felt capable. Moms don't need to breastfeed to be good mothers, I know that. But overcoming the challenges to breastfeeding made me feel empowered, like my body was made to give birth and nourish my baby. When you stop and think about it, it's pretty amazing that we moms can make and deliver everything our babies need to survive and thrive right inside our bras! It's pretty cool when you think about it.

During my first month as a mother Colton was my constant companion in a mostly empty house and I was glad to have him. I missed my husband and I wished things would have worked out differently. There was a lot of sadness around me and a grim realization about living with a severely disabled person from now on. But, I had a new life to care for and he was my only priority, the mourning happened outside of my bubble that was relevant to me. I knew it was occurring and I could discuss it and sympathize, but not much more.

Figuring out how to be a mom is kind of a solitary journey for us all, you have to find your groove for yourself. Breastfeeding is leg of my journey, kind of rocky in the beginning but quickly became a frequent reminder that I could handle motherhood and the million challenges that come with it.

Helen - Co-founder of Milkies and mom to 2 little boys Henry 2 years and Colton 4 years old.

Check out her website at http://www.mymilkies.com/

It doesn't always turn out how you expected...

2010-04-29T13:43:00.001-07:00

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I could not wait for the first moment that I was able to hold her and learn together how to breastfeed, the most natural of things that I could do to provide her with nourishment. After a failed induction ended in an emergency c-section my beautiful little girl was born with an infection which landed her in the NICU. I didn’t get to hold my daughter until about 12 hours after she was born which meant her first nourishment didn’t come from her mother; it came from a bottle. I never meant for her to be given even a single drop of formula. I was heartbroken.

The next day I was brought a pump. The nurse gave me a quick run through and left my room leaving me confused and miserable. I hooked myself up and turned it on. 30 minutes later I finally got a single drop. A drop? One drop? All that time sitting there by myself with this noisy machine resulted in one drop? I became even more heartbroken. Until I was wheeled to the NICU holding an eye-dropper that contained that one precious drop. The NICU nurse was excited. Excited over one drop? Seriously? Yes – because one drop is better than nothing. She pulled my little girl out of her little bed and carefully put the eye-dropper to her lips and my daughter finally drank up my liquid gold. That’s all I needed.

As soon as I was in the comfort of my own home, I became a pumping machine. I wasn’t going to allow my daughter to have any more formula. If I couldn’t bring her home with me, then at least she was going to have her mama’s milk. My alarm was set to go off every three hours. I was obsessed. Every morning I walked into the NICU with at least 6-8 tiny bottles of milk to feed my daughter. Twice a day while I visited, the nurses would help me latch her on. We struggled and she hardly got anything but we tried each time I came in.

25 days passed and the tests came back all clear. Her infection was gone and she was coming home. HOME! We packed up her things and placed her in her car seat and we left the hospital. Finally. The first thing we did when we arrived home? We sat down, mama and her little girl, and nursed. She nursed like she had never had a bottle. She knew that we were home. She nursed until she was 14 months old. And I’m thankful for every single second.

We celebrated her second birthday in December and her homecoming in January. And on the last day of February, we welcomed our son and I was finally able to have that very first special bonding experience only a nursing mother knows. And every three hours for the past 8 weeks, my son & I sit down and we stare at each other memorizing every detail of each other’s faces and he nurses.

Kate (28)
Mama to
Baby girl (2 years) and Baby boy (8 weeks)

"A New Lifestyle: My Breastfeeding Experience"

2010-04-24T13:37:00.001-07:00

I remember the first day of our (husband and my) childbirth class the instructor asked “what most scares you about the upcoming labor/delivery/etc?” The majority of the mom’s in my class said breastfeeding. I on the other hand was more nervous about all the changes to come in our lives, breastfeeding I thought would either come natural or I would just formula feed, little did I know. I never created any kind of expectation of our breastfeeding experience.

Fast forward to the when Nicolas was born. He was a healthy little guy (6lbs 13oz) and I was in complete euphoria for about 24 hours. We were able to breastfeed within the first hour. He was a breastfeeding champ, had a good latch and wanted to nurse every 2-3 hours. My milk came in at 24 hours and the euphoria wore off. I cried, I was anxious, exhausted, overwhelmed and in pain. Although his latch was good, my breasts were very sore. He lost some birth weight but since my milk had come in, I knew he was going to be just fine.

The first night at home was exhausting; he nursed about 14 times in a 24 hour period. He was a hungry boy! I will never forget this, as I walked into the pediatrician (4 days since Nic was born), the receptionist said “oh, you look great”. Yet all I wanted to do was cry and tell her I was feeling like crap.

Nic had almost gained all his birth weight by 4 days and my lactation consultant was so encouraging. I don’t think I would have breastfeed for the year without her support.

I stuck with it; my sore nipples lasted about 5 weeks. It was painful but I knew if I could handle it for just a little longer it would eventually be 2nd nature. And by 6 weeks, the pain was a lot less and I started enjoying the breastfeeding experience.

Nic was thriving on breast milk and we were both happy. My baby blues finally subsided and at around 3-4 weeks and I started enjoying our time together.

I returned to work at 3 months and while it was very hard to leave him at daycare, I looked forward to the routine. I hated the uncertainty of each day. Nic nursed every 3 hours around the clock, so our day went like this, wake up 5:30am, nurse, shower and off to work, pump at 8:30am, 11:30am, 2:30pm, clock out at 3:30pm, pick him up by 4pm and nurse him at 5:30pm, nurse again at around 7pm and then try to get him ready for bed. He would then wake up around 9:30pm, 12:3am, and 3:30am. These were long days but they flew by.

We started to introduce solids at around 5 months and by 6.5 months my supply started to diminish. I tried everything to get it up, extra pumping, fenugreek, etc. Nothing worked and by 7.5 months my freezer stash was gone and we had to resort to formula. I was worried that he would refuse it but he was not a picky eater. The pumping stress sucked and I decided to stop worrying and let my body do what it needed to do.

I started to look forward to our nursing sessions. His little body would go limp and I loved feeling him so close. He was starting to become a little boy, no longer a baby.

I wanted to stop pumping by his first birthday but wanted to keep nursing morning and night and on weekends. I only pumped two times a day once he was about 10 months and then I dropped to once a day when he hit 11 months. I was barely pumping 2 ounces by this time. The last day I pumped was his birthday. I was sad because I knew this would be the beginning to the end of our breastfeeding experience. But I was happy to stop pumping, I hated it but I knew that my supply would not have held up if I would have stopped earlier.

We nursed morning and night for another month and then by 13 months he was down to one nursing session in the morning. He gave that up at 13.5 months. I don’t think he was ready to wean but my supply was not keeping up. So Nic had 13.5 months of breast milk. I never thought we would make it this long.

Those first few weeks were the hardest in my life. I thought I would never get time to myself again, I cried and mourned for the life I had and I didn’t know what we had gotten ourselves into. We slowly feel into our new normal and no longer thought about life without him. Months passed and I cherished every nursing session because I knew in the grand scheme of life 1 year is a blink of an eye. He is the reason I get up in the morning and go to work; he makes me want to be a better person so that I can be a better mom.

The best advice I ever got was never quit on a bad day and to think about breastfeeding as a life style not just a feeding method. Once I embraced the new lifestyle, I started enjoying and really cherishing those moments. Breastfeeding is not for everyone. I don’t judge moms that did not breastfeed very long or chose not to do so; it is such a personal decision. I had a great support system. My lactation consultant was amazing, my husband was supportive, my co-workers never made me feel awkward, the bump was a great resource, and finally kellymom.com was amazing. I hope this doesn’t scare too many future breast feeders but at the same time give a true account of the hardships and joys.

Natalia S. Mom to Nicolas

Drying out....

2010-04-22T20:45:00.000-07:00

Our supply is totally Tanking - of stories for this blog that is!!

(sorry for the awful breastfeeding humor... I am a little tired these days, and it doesn't take much to make me laugh!)

Can anyone help out and contribute a story?
Maybe you know someone who would love to write an entry?

I know time is precious. But I know I love reading these stories. I hope we get some soon!

Thanks! Hope everyone is having a wonderful April! Happy Earthday!

(PS - there was a wonderful story submitted by a follower. I tried to email you back to let you know the text was all messed up, and haven't heard from you. I would love to share your story here, and don't want you to think I didn't put it up because I didn't like it. Hope to hear back from you!)

Blessings worth the little challenges.

2010-03-12T21:14:00.000-08:00

When I first got pregnant I wasn't completely "sold" on the idea of breastfeeding. Sure, I wanted to try, not only for the health benefits for baby and me, but for the financial benefit. There is some investment for the equipment to pump, but in the long run it's so much cheaper than buying a year's worth of formula! The reason I wasn't sure if I wanted to breastfeed was because I didn't want to feel like I had failed if I had problems with it. I knew as a new mother life as I knew it would be completely different and I didn't want the fear of failure to be one more stressor.

During my last trimester I bought a copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, which is published by La Leche League. This, combined with the breastfeeding class I took at a local hospital, helped encourage me to really try breastfeeding. I am so glad I did.

I nursed my daughter within a half hour of her birth, while we were still in the delivery room. I don't know if she even got any colostrum at that time, but it was the most incredible experience of my life. All of the nurses were very supportive of breastfeeding. The nurses who helped deliver my baby helped show me how to hold her and held my breast so that she could try to get a latch. The nurses on the maternity ward were also a godsend for a new mom who was in a lot of pain and needed a lot of help.

Another thing that was a huge help to my breastfeeding was having someone to support me at home, namely, someone who had breastfed before. My husband has always been very supportive of breastfeeding, but couldn't really give me advice. My mother in law stayed with us those first few weeks and was right there with me, whatever I needed. She encouraged me when my nipples were sore, or when the latch wasn't right. She changed the baby during middle of the night feedings so I could rest before I had my daughter switch to the other breast.

I've been breastfeeding my daughter four months now. It was challenging the first few days but it has been so worth it. I've been blessed to have an ample supply and a child who loves to eat. I've been blessed with lots of people to help and encourage me. Life continues to bring challenges, such as going back to work, and the increasing need to pump. In all, I wouldn't change a thing about the past four months.

H, 36
Mom to C, 4 months

Don't knock it till you try it!

2010-03-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

The entire time I was pregnant, I did not plan on breastfeeding. I was not breastfed, and my mom had issues breastfeeding my older sister. They tried for one month, and they both ended up in tears constantly, and my sister was not gaining weight. When my mom finally tried formula, my sister became fat and happy :-) And for me, it was formula from Day 1, and I was also a happy, fat baby. So formula worked wonders for my mom. I figured that my experience would be similar.

Furthermore, breastfeeding kind of freaked me out. To tell you the truth, it freaked me out and it grossed me out. I felt uncomfortable with the thought of having a baby on my boob, and was also terrified after reading in "What To Expect" about sore, cracked nipples, clogged ducts, engorgement, etc. And to top it all off, after 9 months of pregnancy I was looking forward to drinking wine again!

But in the back of my mind I knew that breast milk was best for baby. I told my doctor that I was completely on the fence about breastfeeding, and that I honestly did not think it was for me or my lifestyle. I graduated from law school at the same time baby was born and was immediately enrolled in a bar review course that met 5 nights a week for 4 hours. Breastfeeding seemed like too much of a time commitment.

My doctor told me, "If you are on the fence about it, just breastfeed! You can always quit. Whereas, if you start with formula and change your mind, you can't go back." So I took his advice. At the hospital, after birth I was asked if I would breastfeed. I reluctantly said, "Sure, I'll give it a whirl." Well, my baby latched on with little to no problem, and she was eating for a good 8 to 10 minutes each time. Then she had her first poop and the nurses told us it was a good breast milk poop. We were thrilled. Then I continued to breastfeed at home, and figured I would do so until the review course started.

My baby was thriving on breast milk, and gaining lots of weight, I could not bear the thought of switching. My mom told me formula babies sleep better and that it would be better for my study schedule. Well, I tried giving her formula, and she refused it. Then I tried mixing half formula and half breast milk, she drank the whole thing, but then she was awake up until her next feeding which was breast milk, and she slept through the night after that. So I was convinced that breast milk was the best thing for her, easy on her stomach, and made her sleep just as well if not better than formula.

I took my manual pump and cooler to class with me every night and pumped on our 10 minute breaks. There was always enough milk for my husband to feed her bottles while I was gone. I am also so happy with the fact that when I wake up at night or early morning to feed her, I do not have to hassle with bottles! Breastfeeding is SO easy. Of course there were ups and downs in the first 8 weeks, but it was all manageable and totally worth it.

The decision to breastfeed was one that took a while. I had no goals in mind, and no preconceived notions about breast milk vs. formula. I just tried it, and it worked for me!

Just try it, even if it is just for one day.

Mom (27) Baby (3 months)

Bras aren't the only things that offer support!

2010-03-10T11:21:00.001-08:00

Although Breastfeeding obviously revolves around me and my milkers, I could not have EVEN gotten this far without the support and patience of my husband!

Those first few confusing days when I was tired and in pain, he would come from wherever he was in the house to help me calm her down, latch her properly, and make sure that I had enough water to last the session. In the hospital when the nurses were reaching out to help me get her situated, they had to try and reach over him because he was already there, coaxing her mouth to "open wide" and “make duck lips". He made sure I was comfortable, hydrated and that all of her nursing sessions were being written down.

As a result of all of my husband’s thoughtful efforts ( well obviously mine too...lol), our daughter never had any problems nursing, and only ever lost 2 oz of her birth weight. Now that those days of the crazy baby fog are (mostly) gone, he is still the pillar of support for breastfeeding. During a recent wedding out of the country, my husband tracked down the catering manger to get me an open private room where I could breast feed our daughter since the outfit I was wearing required me to take off my shirt completely. Any time we are in public he always helps me find a place to feed our daughter even if it means sitting in the car with me.

I am truly blessed to have such a supportive husband! I have no idea how I would have gotten through those first few weeks without him!

Sara 27, Zara 6 months

Memoirs of a Milk Maid

2010-03-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

Breastfeeding really has its ups and downs. Here is my story.

The first few months were a blur. Cracked and bleeding nipples, crying through the pain, trying to get Dawson to latch, struggling with a nipple shield, People said it would help, it was just a pain in the butt Dawson attached to me for hours at a time, not knowing if he was getting enough to eat.... really there was nothing good about breastfeeding.. I wanted so badly to quit. If it wasn’t for my adoring and supportive husband I probably would have.

After we reached 3 months it felt as if we finally had a routine down. Wake up at 7, nurse then pump and store the milk in the freezer, nurse at 10, nurse at 1, nurse at 4 and nurse at 7 then bed. We were on a roll. No more pain, no more tears... We were professionals. Or so we thought... Next thing I know, I have a plugged duct. Most likely caused because of the start of solid foods in Dawson's diet at 4 months. My body kept producing the milk but he was no longer drinking it. I googled it online, find all the ways to try and get rid of it. (Massaging, hot compresses, lots of nursing, lots of pumping) and nothing works. I go to the DR. two days later and it has turned into mastitis. FAB-U-LOUS right? NO. Days of infection, hot and cold sweats, antibiotics and its finally gone... can you guess what else is gone?? My milk supply!!!

So now I begin the ever wonderful path of trying to increase my milk supply with every imaginable thing possible. Extra nursing, extra pumping, lots of oatmeal, lots of water, extra food (thus adding an extra 5 pounds to my baby weight). Nothing was working. So then I discovered fenugreek. It’s a natural supplement to increase your supply. The bottle says to take two a day but my lactation consultant said to take 3 pills 3x a day. And BOY did that work! I think I had milk coming out of every orifice of my body and spraying Dawson in the face like crazy! I loved it! During that time I saved over 200 oz of freezer milk and breastfeeding was going wonderfully!

Dawson was now almost 5 months old, the milk was flowing like wine and it had been a month since the plugged duct, mastitis, and low supply incident. Shortly after he turned 5 months old, my right breast began hurting TERRIBLY every time he would nurse and for at least 20 minutes after. It didn’t feel like anything I had ever felt before and it was hurting so bad that every time Dawson nursed I wanted to vomit throw him off of me to make the pain stop. I went back to the DR and she told me that I had a milk blister. It was most likely caused because of the backup of milk when I had the plugged duct and mastitis. I kept thinking to myself "are you kidding me God? What can go wrong next? What is with all these trials you're giving me? Do you want me to quit breastfeeding?" I was seriously beginning to lose faith in myself that I could make it through all this pain.

After TWO MONTHS of the milk blister pain, yes, two months. I still have no idea how I managed that. We were finally pain free, back on a schedule and smooth sailing. Dawson was now 7 months old and he was even sleeping 12 hours a night! It was fabulous! Wake up at 7a nurse, 11a nurse, 3p nurse and 7pm bottle of breast milk with daddy while mommy pumped. We were making our way through Breastfeeding Paradise. Nothing could stop us now. Only 2 months until the end of flu season and we will have reached our semi goal. Then 3 months after that he will be a year old. Where did the time go?

Dawson is now almost 9 months old. He is still nursing 4 times a day and eating 3 solid meals for breakfast lunch and dinner. The only issue we have with breastfeeding at the moment is that he doesn’t want to do it. He wants to play, explore and experience the world around him. No way does he want to be attached to mommy while he eats. So now his feeding sessions consist of sucking 10 seconds and sitting up to play for 20 seconds and repeat this about 20 times. It is quite frustrating and time consuming but he does eat like a champ so we finish this cycle in about 10 minutes. We have used up about half of our freezer supply but we still have enough left to thaw out 5 oz a week and still make it to a year.

I know we will make it. Now you are probably asking yourself, "Why in the world did Alysha breastfeed for so long when she went through so much pain and strife?"

Well my dear followers, I believe "breast is best". I am using what the good Lord gave me and trying my best to do what is best for Dawson. In no way do I feel that formula is bad. But I feel that if you CAN breastfeed, then you SHOULD. I don’t need to get into details for that. Breastfeeding is free, it’s healthy and I wouldn’t give up that bonding time with Dawson for anything in the world. I don’t regret a single moment of nursing my son and I can’t wait to do it with future children. We have 3 more months until our ultimate goal and I have faith that the Lord will help us reach our goal.

Breastfeeding my boy was well worth the soon to come "pancakes on my chest".

Alysha, 22
Mom to Dawson, 9 months

Come out, come out wherever you are....

2010-02-17T00:15:00.000-08:00

Or rather whatever your story is...
Obviously we have had no new submissions for stories in a while.

Do you have a favorite moment that breastfeeding was a part of?
A funny story? ( I rememeber when my baby was 2 months old he slept for more then 5 hours for the first time. I woke up terrified, not because I thought something was wrong with him, but because I thought I had spiders crawling all over me! Nope, just my overfull breasts leaking and dripping down my neck. I hate spiders!!)
What was it like the first time your baby latched on?
How was breastfeeding different then you thought it would be, or is it?
Was breastfeeding smooth sailing for you? Or was it a rough beginning?
Did you set goals for yourself? Did you meet your goals?
Why did you choose to breastfeed at all?
What was it like when you stopped breastfeeding?
After you had your first child, is there anything you would do differently to prepare to breastfeed your second baby?
Any babywearers wanna share about learning to breastfeed while babywearing?
Did your family support you, or did you have to fight for your right to breastfeed your baby?

Anything is welcome. Please take a couple minutes from your day to share with all us mamas! If you know a mama friend who has a great story - please share this blog with them and encourage them to share. Looking forward to hearing more wonderful stories! Thanks for taking the time to share them with us.

Pumpers are Breastfeeders, Too!

2010-02-08T20:17:00.000-08:00

When I got pregnant, I knew I wanted to breastfeed my baby. I had this perfect picture in mind of how we would bond through breastfeeding soon after birth. However, things didn't go that way at all. I was diagnosed with severe pre-eclampsia and had to be induced at 34 weeks. After delivery, my daughter (all 4lbs 11oz of her) went to the NICU with my husband, and I went into surgery for a D&C (placenta wouldn't deliver). Other than a brief moment right after she was born, I didn't get to see her until the following afternoon. She was in the NICU for a total of 23 days, most of which were spent figuring out how to eat. We attempted to breastfeed and she did okay with latching on, but it took a lot of energy, so she got most of her food by a tube that went through her nose, down into her stomach. Leaving a newborn in the hospital is heartbreaking, so we decided to let her try drinking expressed milk from a bottle to see if it would get her home faster. It worked, but ultimately it undermined our breastfeeding efforts. Later attempts to put her to breast resulted in a screaming baby and a stressed-out mommy. I'd been pumping since the day after she was born, so I decided to simply continue, becoming an Exclusive Pumper (EPer).

Life as an EPer has a lot of challenges. Not only do I have to worry about warming milk and feeding my daughter when she's hungry - I also have to make time to pump. At first, this was every 3 hours! When we leave the house for extended periods of time, I have to make sure to bring all of my pumping equipment (pump, bottles, storage bags, etc). It's like combining the physical work of breastfeeding (minus the biting) with the chores of formula feeding! And the places I've had to pump.... When my daughter was still in the NICU, I was in my brother-in-law's wedding. At the reception, I had to pump in a utility closet with my sister-in-law guarding the door!

Despite all the complaining I could do about EPing, I'm so glad I've been able to provide breast milk for my daughter, particularly since she's a preemie. She hasn't set any records for growth, but she's on the normal growth charts and is thriving! Since reaching my goal of 6 months, I've begun to slowly wean from pumping. I'm down to 4 times per day, producing 1/3 to 1/2 of what my daughter takes in. If we have more children, I hope to be able to breastfeed, but I'm very proud to have stuck with pumping this long!

Rebecca (age 26), mom to Norah (6 1/2 months)

"Nursing Through the Pain"

2010-02-05T20:32:00.001-08:00

I always knew I wanted to nurse my baby, ever since seeing a picture of my mom nursing me the day I came home from the hospital. She always talked about how wonderful it was, how she wouldn't have done it any other way, even though it wasn't the norm when I was born and people thought she was crazy for doing it.
Leo arrived ready-made with a super-strong suck. The first time I put him to my breast, it was wonderful and strange at the same time, to know that I was nourishing this small person. But over the course of our hospital stay, things got difficult. The first day of his life, he slept all day. Then, that night, he tried to make up for lost time. He fussed and nursed on and off for over 5 hours. My nipples began to ache, a premonition of what was to come. When I thought he was finally done, a nurse came in and he was rooting. She looked at me strangely and said "your baby is STARVING". I cried, because I had been trying so hard.

The next day, he was circumcised. And would not open his mouth for the breast all day. He squeezed his little lips together and nobody, not me, not the nurses, not the LC, could get him to open up. When we got home, my husband tried to give him a bottle, but he wouldn't take that either. Then he cluster-fed all night.

Because of Leo's strong suck and an improper latch, my breasts became horribly injured. The left nipple boasted a deep wound and throbbed even when he was nowhere near the breasts. I would cry if I even heard him start to wake up, because I was dreading the feeding so much. Each time he latched, I would scream and burst into tears. It was, by far, the most painful, horrible thing I had ever endured. My nipples cracked and bled, and when my reflux boy would spit up, there were pink flecks of blood in it.

When Leo was ten days old, I couldn't take it anymore. My pump was on its way, but I decided to go to Target and buy a manual pump. For two days I squeezed that thing day and night and fed him with bottles, to let my nipples heal. Then, we met with an LC who helped me get our latch right and told me it was okay to rest my breasts as needed and just feed him on the right side, which was slightly less painful.

On the day Leo turned two weeks old, my mom passed away after an eight-month battle with lung cancer. My mom was my best friend, my rock, the most important person in my world. The weeks after she passed were some of the darkest of my life. I developed an allergy to oxytocin from breastfeeding, and this resulted in a rash all over my body, from head to toe. Leo was eating every two hours or sooner, and I remember sitting in his nursery, sobbing, aching with grief, my nipples screaming in pain, and my entire body itching to the point of pain. Even in the few short intervals when he slept, I couldn't rest because of the itching.

When he was three weeks, I remember reading that for most women, latch pain gets better around six weeks. I couldn't begin to imagine making it to that point. I set six weeks as my goal for breast-feeding. If I could just make it that far, I would let myself quit.

But lo and behold, by six weeks things were starting to get better, so I said "okay, two months". The rash went away, my nipples began to heal. I kept thinking about my mom, a young mom away from her family, nursing me, her first daughter. I knew how proud she would be if I stuck with it. And I'm so, so glad I did. And despite everything I've accomplished in my life, I may be most proud of this. It would have been so easy to quit. I had so many excuses. But I didn't. And I'm so proud of myself.

Now, Leo is almost seven months, and my supply is dwindling. I cried at work today when I only pumped three ounces and he needs six per bottle. But I know I can do this. I will take supplements, drink water, eat oatmeal, do whatever I have to do, because our nursing relationship is so important and special to me.

Kate, mom of Leo, 6.5 months

Breastfeeding May Be 'Natural', But It's Not Easy!

2010-02-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

Neriah started bouncing her way to the breast as soon as she was placed with her chest on my chest. It was so cool to watch!! She made her way to the left breast, and my doula began to help me get Neriah latched on. As soon as she latched, the nurse came and took her away to do all the wrapping, weighing, etc.

A couple hours later, a nurse came in to help me get Neriah latched. While we were attempting this, Neriah's face froze and twitched, while her eyes started shaking back and forth. The nurse took Neriah and put her back in her 'bed' while she went to get someone from the NICU. The NICU lady took Neriah away to observe her for the night. There Neriah was given a bottle of formula. I don't recall being asked about this.

At home, less than 24 hours after Neriah was born, I attempted to get her latched again. It hurt SO badly, which is a sign of a bad latch. I couldn't for the life of me get Neriah to take more than the nipple... OUCH. We called the doula, who came to help. We still couldn't get her latched. I started expressing colostrum and the doula showed me how to feed Neriah with a spoon.

That night was the worst. I was expressing SO hard, I majorly damaged/bruised my breast tissue. I was desperate to feed my baby! Neriah screamed all night, until finally at 2:30am, we called the on-call midwife who told us it would be fine to get some formula and cup feed it. I was so upset! The last thing I had wanted was to feed my baby formula.

The next day our doula came back with a friend who donated some breast milk to us. What a blessing to be able to feed Neriah breast milk instead of formula!! Apparently, Neriah had a small mouth, and couldn't fit enough of my breast into her mouth. We started to feed her with a syringe. I couldn't do it. Neriah would get frantic and move so much, I would bash her gums with the syringe. It made me sick to my stomach. I was also so devastated that I couldn't feed my baby that I cried all the time. The first week or two of Neriah's life was me crying and regretting having her. My poor husband had to do all the feedings, and I was so upset that I couldn't feed her, that I couldn't even be in the room while he did it. I was so mad at Neriah, and I felt jealous that my husband loved her so much, whereas I didn't feel like I did.

I started pumping right away, and my milk came in on day three I think. I was lucky to produce a lot, and had enough to feed Neriah all breastmilk. No more formula!!

After a couple of days, we got a tube thing that attached to the syringe so we could tape it to our finger and finger feed her. That was SO much easier because there was no way to injure Neriah's poor mouth. We began to get into a rhythm with finger feeding, and I started to feel better. I offered my breast at least once a day, which always ended in both Neriah and me bawling out of frustration, and me passing her to my husband to feed. It was horrible.

We finger fed Neriah for three weeks. She got so much air and would cry out of pain because of the gas. The syringe was a 20cc syringe, and Neriah sometimes ate close to 200cc's. Feeding her sometimes took close to three hours because we constantly had to burp her, refill the syringe, and warm the breastmilk. It was so tiring. By the time we were done with a feed, it was almost time to feed her again.

Everyone kept telling us that she would eventually get it. All I wanted to do was give up and giver her a bottle with formula. I hated pumping every two-four hours. Sometimes I would miss a pump, and I was so scared my supply would dry up. At the same time, I almost wanted it to so I could just give up. Neriah had successfully latched on a couple of times, which kept me from giving up. I knew she COULD get it.

Another thing that kept me from giving up was the midwives. I couldn't face going to an appointment and telling them I was bottle feeding formula. I had it in my mind that I would give up after my last, 6 week appointment.

The midwives referred me to the breastfeeding clinic in our city. We went in to show the doctor what Neriah would do at the breast. She would latch on, suck for a bit, pull off. Repeat until she was screaming in frustration. Well, at the clinic, Neriah latched on right away!! I was SO mad! She had done this previously at the midwife's office too. Luckily, she didn't stay on long, and the resident got to see a little of what she usually did. The doctor came in and told me to use the nipple shield. I had tried this before, and it hurt SO badly. I did not want to use it. They tried to get Neriah to latch on the shield so that it wouldn't hurt, but it still did. They still wanted me to use it and they made me an appointment to go back in a week. They also gave us permission to use bottles. What a blessing to not have to finger feed anymore!! Though it took some time for Neriah to figure out how to use a bottle, it was still easier than finger feeding. Unfortunately, the doctor there made me feel like a failure and looked at us like we were crazy that we had finger fed for so long. We were just trying to do what was best, which our midwives, doula, and people from Le Leche League had told us would give Neriah the best change to eventually get on the breast.

Neriah didn't latch on once after the clinic appointment. When we went back to the clinic, again, Neriah latched on right away and had a full feed on both breasts. The doctor acted like it was my fault for not trying hard enough. Was she aware of all I had been through?! That we were so determined to breastfeed that we finger fed for three weeks?! Both appointments made me feel dumb, and really weren't that helpful.

However, after that second appointment, when Neriah was four weeks old, she finally started to get the hang of breastfeeding!! We were still using the nipple shield, but that was okay. I was so excited and proud of my little baby!

I weaned Neriah off the nipple shield the next day because I knew it could mess with my supply among other problems. I am SO glad I didn't give up!! It was still hard for a long time, but Neriah stopped taking a bottle as soon as she took the breast, and we haven't looked back. When she was four months, I finally felt that I enjoyed breastfeeding, and it had finally become the 'bonding' experience everyone says it is!

Nikki, 25
Neriah, Almost 7 months

A Wonderful Experience

2010-01-29T18:13:00.000-08:00

I have begun the weaning process with my 19 month old son Bobby because I am currently 16 weeks pregnant with my second child. I am definitely ready to wean Bobby, so I am not experiencing a lot of sadness over it. Instead I am just overjoyed that we breastfed for so long. Looking back and thinking about all the wonderful experiences I had with my first child, has really allowed me to look forward to nursing my second baby.

With Bobby, I loved being able to calm and soothe him almost any time. I loved that he grew happy, smart, strong and chunky on just milk for six whole months. I loved the early morning and night waking, when all was so quiet; it seemed like we were the only people in the world. I loved being the last person to hold him every night before he went to bed. I loved lying in bed feeding him, both of us warm and snuggly and dozing off. As he got older, I loved that, as busy as he was, he was always ready to take his milk break, and just sit contentedly with me for a while before going back to his very important toddler activities.

I also am so happy that my husband was a part of nursing, too. The first night we were home with Bobby, I was upset and crying because I couldn't get him to latch on. I was so worried that I wasn't going to be able to do this. I thought this tiny being would surely starve. My husband was the one who got me to stop crying and try another position, offered helpful advice he remembered from our breastfeeding class, and the book he had read.

When I nursed, my husband would often come over and sit with Bobby and me. I asked him once what he was doing, and he said, "Oh, I just like to watch this. It's so peaceful." Once I went back to work he washed pump parts and bottles as often as I did. He was amazingly supportive, and I think he was proud that Bobby and I did so well.

I only hope that this second baby and I can have as good a time of it as I did with Bobby. Nursing him has been one of the best parts of being his mom.

Rachel 34
Bobby 19 months
Baby number two on the way

Soft Boobs Make Me Sad

2010-01-26T21:20:00.001-08:00

Because that means after nearly 6 months of breastfeeding (not exclusively, but still) we are nearing the end of weaning. Adrianna has even started to notice what is going on because our babysitter said that she has started to reject the bottle and is trying to nurse. It makes me much more sad that I thought it would have, too. Once I was done weaning Brock it was such a huge relief because we never really did hit our stride & it was incredibly stressful to try to breastfeed and then pump to prevent engorgement. Don't get me wrong, Brock loved to eat, just not directly from the source.

But even still--yesterday I was packing away some of my breastfeeding supplies and I came ::this close:: to breaking down and crying. I know that it's silly because we are planning on having at least one more baby so I will get to do this again and I surpassed my original goal (breastfeed longer the second time around) and will meet my newest goal (breastfeed until Adrianna is 6 months old).

I feel like when I'm breastfeeding her, she is 100% mine. Nobody else can give her what I am and I love love love when she falls asleep at the breast. She is absolutely heavenly to watch as she drifts off into sleep and her little lips barely part as she begins to take soft, even breaths. She usually has one of her tiny hands on my boob just to make sure that I don't try to sneak it away from her and there is always milk running out of those little chipmunk cheeks of hers. I know she will look the same when she is eating from a bottle as she is drifting off to dreamland, but it's just not the same.

Tara, age 26
Brock, age 2 1/2
Adrianna, age 6 months

A Helping Hand From a Friend

2010-01-23T00:28:00.000-08:00

Breastfeeding was one of the hardest things I’ve had to overcome since becoming a mom. Even at 7 weeks it was still a struggle. Many times I found myself throwing my hands in the air ready to give up. Cans upon cans of formula were delivered to my door, as "gifts" from the formula companies. I even went as far as to make a bottle of formula for my son at one point. After tasting it myself and watching him wince and cry to have the comfort of my breast was heartbreaking. I kept on going for him knowing it was best for him. My supply was great from the beginning but our main issue was his latch. With the help on some very determined and helpful nurses and lactation consultants we finally found a way. Nursing my son has been one of the enjoyable and emotional experiences I’ve ever had. After a long nap I love to reconnect with him and am amazed at how comforting it can be for him. Knowing how strong this bond can be, I knew my friend needed one last shot at breastfeeding and I was so happy I was able to help her with it.

Since his birth, my friend’s son was a very colicky baby. She had a complicated birth, and sadly many unexpected health concerns arouse for her son right away. They had a terrible time breastfeeding, with her emergency c-section her milk didn’t come in fully. Due to health concerns after birth her son was not able to spend time her with and was whisked to the NICU. A few months after the birth I offered to babysit one evening. Her husband often worked long hours and I wanted to let her get a much deserved nap. When her husband got home very late we talked about some baby issues and I offered my advice on how to help her with breastfeeding. She had continued pumping so she had a low supply still going. I wanted her to enjoy her son and be able to comfort him, hoping it could help with the colic. If it wouldn’t help with colic, I was at least hoping to help strengthen their bond. I said jokingly to her husband late that night, "I wish I could just breastfeed him so I could show him how to latch!" He took it seriously and said it would be amazing if we could get their son to breastfeed. He ran up the stairs and woke up my friend and asked her how she felt. To my surprise she was completely fine with it & eager to see if it would help. As their son started to fuss I held him to me and cautiously helped him to latch. I must admit I was incredibly nervous and felt a bit guilty, I felt that this was my son's breast and as if I was "cheating" on him. It was difficult but only took a minute or so to get him to latch. As he eagerly nursed I told my friends husband to get my friend quickly. As she hurried downstairs I said I would switch their son from my breast to hers and see if he would latch. It was a little bit difficult but he latched easier than he did with me. They said it was the first time their son ever latched without a nipple shield and without screaming and fussing. Even the lactation consultants at the hospital couldn’t help her latch him on. As she nursed her son quietly, her husband looking on in awe, I quietly sat back. Seeing them all together having a beautiful moment at 3am was heartwarming, and I was overwhelmed. I felt so overjoyed that she was able to have that bond and emotional experience with her son. She was able to continue breastfeeding successfully for a short time and even though her supply wasn’t enough, I was so happy for her to have that time with her son. While I can’t imagine myself getting into that situation again however, I was so happy I was able to help them that night.

Jackie 22, 1 son Aiden 4.5 months

Getting Started

2010-01-19T17:58:00.001-08:00

The gift of breastfeeding…

It occurred to me while reading the raw emotion of a friend’s words on the end of breastfeeding, that there are all these tips out there on how to breastfeed, and how to wean. But there really aren’t any tips on the emotional effects of breastfeeding, stopping breastfeeding, and the simple gift it provides both mom and baby. So I started a blog about this… and would love to hear your stories. Stories about the simple ways in which breastfeeding changed your lives, how breastfeeding changed you as a person, your story of ending breastfeeding. Any memory, favorite moment, joys, sadness, and troubles you experienced in your time as a breastfeeding mom. Even if you tried to breastfeed, but it didn't happen for you, please share. Really anything you want to share – I would love to read them.

Email me your story. I can put them all together into this blog – Simple Gift – Stories from Breastfeeding Mamas. Anonymous or first name and age only – please include the number of children you have too and their ages. I am not doing this for monetary gain, just for personal reading pleasure, and to share it with others as they embark on the end of their breastfeeding journey. Thanks for sharing your story.