2nd Time is Not a Charm

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."

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

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

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".

 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!

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
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October 20th, 2010

• 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.