Since it's World Breastfeeding Week and I've been meaning to write about breastfeeding for quite a while, I wanted to share a little bit about our breastfeeding journey with y'all.
I always knew I'd nurse my babies. After all, it's the absolute healthiest food for babies and it's completely free. Having a wonderful aunt who's a sales rep for Medela, I had lots of great products and advice at my disposal long before I had a baby in my arms. By the time Katie was born, I had taken a class, read books, talked with and watched other breastfeeding moms, and I had a Boppy, a nice nursing cover, nursing bras and nursing pads, and plenty of lanolin. I was ready to go.
Then Katie was born. I had a hard time getting her to latch on properly, so I got quite sore. It took my milk 3 full days to come in, and honestly? I was stressed out and exhausted. After 2 and a half days, we (well, mostly Ben--I wasn't in a particularly sound state of mind) decided to give her an ounce of formula so I could get a little bit of sleep. I was devistated--I actually cried.
Thanks to several phone calls with my aunt and excellent, in-person help from my midwife, we finally got it. We did use a nipple shield for about 8 weeks to help with soreness and latch issues, but then she "weaned" off of that and we were set. My nursing cover had a permanent home in the diaper bag, and I would just nurse Katie wherever we happened to be when it was time for a feeding. For most of Katie's first year, breastfeeding was her main source of food, and then it slowly tapered off until Katie weaned herself a little over a month ago, at 16 months old. And to tell you the truth, I shed tears more than once after she was all done. But, my sweet baby couldn't stay a nursling forever (after all, babies really don't keep).
When we began our breastfeeding journey, I had no idea breastfeeding my precious girl would be something I would grow to truly love as much as I did, and I certainly would've never imagined that once it was over, I would look back on those sweet, snuggle times with such fondness. Being able to nurse Katie was such a rich blessing for me, and I often still wish I could cuddle up and nurse her just one more time.
Have y'all breastfed your babies? Please feel free to discuss and share in the comments. :)
This post is linked to Finer Things Friday.
oh yes! my 28 month old is finally weaned, but only because i had to stay with her daddy in the hospital for a week. she stills asks for it though! and sometimes.... i really want to do it. i miss it so much!
ReplyDeleteHi Mary Jo. I'm so glad it worked out so well for you. I am so proud of you!! As you know my story, sadly it doesn't always work thought. When you were born, I was the only one in the hospital who wanted to nurse her baby. The nurses weren't sure what to do with me:) Mom (Mimommy) wasn't able to be with me as she had not been well. She had nursed all five of us and would have known exactly what to tell me to do. I was able to nurse you for six weeks and then the milk stopped coming in:( I made the mistake of feeding you formula(initial drs orders) at the hospital, and then after becoming engoraged a couple of times, my milk stopped coming in
ReplyDelete:( It was devastating. I had no idea my milk would stop coming. I guess it's the law of supply vs. demand. There's no demand of milk, the supply of milk slows down. I think it's wonderful to see so many mommies today wanting to breasfeed their babies. It is the best for them. Love, Mom
I nursed both of our little ones! I had a hard time starting! Both were very premature, and I had to be given magnesium during both deliveries so that slows down your milk from coming in for up to 5 days. Especially with our first I had to pump for a long time, since he was too little to use it! It took about 3 months before he could eat, and had learned to latch!
ReplyDeleteOur little girl was our big baby, and was still a small 3 1/2 lbs! She tooks to nursing within a few days though! They both weaned between 18-24 months :)
Hola my friend, I too enjoy nursing that special bond is so worth the pain! My first memories with feeding bekah are once she was done I would cry if she woke up before I got a chance to recovery...lol Rick was my main support he always encouraged to keep doing it. He too was nursed by his momma and wanted the best for his little girl! But with nursing Jonathan, who is 15mos I haven't had any issues. Praise the Lord. It was a lot easier for me the second time around. I pray it's the same for you!! miss ya much
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