Our Breastfeeding Journey

[sarahjennsbaby]

My story.... One year ago, yesterday, I had my baby girl. Before I had her I told my husband that I was only planning on nursing while we were in the hospital for a few days (csection) and then switching to formula once we got home. I had come to this decision because of my previous breastfeeding experience with my son. I only breastfed him for week. It hurt so bad to feed him that I cried everytime he nursed. I also remembered him nursing non stop and how overwhelming it was. I felt like i was always sitting in a room by myself to feed him. Which now that I am older and more educated I understand it was all completely normal and that he was just signaling my body to make milk and that he had a terrible latch. (Maybe even a tongue tie, I remember his mouth being so small and him not opening wide enough). So anyways, those things and a few more, that i wont bore you to mention, brought me to my decision that FF the second time around may be the road I should take. Fast forward now, baby girl was born. While we were in the hospital, we worked with the LC a few times a day to make sure she was latching correcting. It didn't hurt at all and she was nursing like a pro. Once we got home, I decided to go ahead and nurse for at least two weeks. After two weeks, the baby was still such a great little nurser that I couldn't bring myself to stop doing what I knew was the absolute best thing for her. I had no reason to stop. At around a month old we went in for tummy issues. I was told to stop all dairy, soy, chocolate, caffeine, nuts, and spicy foods to see if that helped...it did. I was freaking out wondering how I could not eat these things. It seemed impossible. The doctor said that our only other option was for her to be put on an allergen free formula, over the counter or prescription. While I understand this is a great option for some babies, I did my research and didn't want her to ever have to drink it. For the next 8 months, I cut out all of the above mentioned. We also contended with over supply issues and OAL. Through all of this, I lost 30 pounds more than my pre pregnancy weight and most importantly, yesterday, we made it to ONE YEAR nursing!!!!!! I couldn't be more proud. God had other plans for us and I have to say that this has been the most amazing thing to experience in my life. I can't imagine never knowing the bond that comes with nursing your baby! I wanted to write this here because this group was a big support for me. Without all the information and help through the issues in the beginning, we wouldn't have made it this far. To the other mommas out there who are getting ready to nurse, you can do it! If I can and did, anyone can haha :) P.S. - Second time around, I was looking for ways to lock myself in my room alone to nurse. Haha! #babyalltomyself

[K8wizzo]

Congrats!

[Baby_Avas_Momma]

Way to go mama!! Congrats and Happy Birthday to your little girl!!! :)

[mn24]

Great story - thanks for sharing! Congrats on your success :)

[Gruntlings]

Awww I just teared up. So sweet! Congratulations on making it to a YEAR with your little one! What a surprise for you. I love stories about mamas and daddies doing what their baby needs, even if it's harder for them. We really do rally when our little ones have needs. 

[mostlymaydays]

Happy birthday to your little one. Lovely story, amazing how life takes turns on us and things turn out better than we ourselves ever hoped. :-) Good job, mama and lucky baby!

[levansbx]

Aw...that's a great story. Congrats!!

[JTE11]

This is a wonderful story, thank you for taking time to post it here! I also had difficulties at first with my LO and went through all kinds of pain and blisters but here we are two years later and BFing is like a non-issue now, it's just a part of daily life.  I'm so glad you stuck with it the second time around and got to feel the sense of accomplishment, because it really is an accomplishment to get through the early troubles.  It's so nice you wanted to share and encourage other BFing moms. :)

[aehanrahan]

This!
Happy birthday to your little one and way to go!

Quoting mostlymaydays:

Happy birthday to your little one. Lovely story, amazing how life takes turns on us and things turn out better than we ourselves ever hoped. :-) Good job, mama and lucky baby!

[juniebug11]

Congrats!!' With my dd I couldn't bf , it was terrible . I'm about to bf t second, and he is a good eater.

I also enjoy our quiet, private time! Haha

[1sttymemom18]

i enjoy breastfeeding as well i feel lyke its a time where me an my son can really bond plus when he just look at me and hold my finger while he eat just warms my heart