I’ve been meaning to sit down and write this post for a long while now. For those of you who know me personally, know that breastfeeding Laikyn was a struggle from the beginning and we had to fight our hardest to make it work. It seems like everything that could have gone wrong to make it not work, happened. She was born through an emergency C-Section, then ended up having a pretty severe tongue and lip tie along with dairy, soy, and gluten intolerances plus supply issues for me. The odds were completely stacked against us, but for some reason, we fought through. We prayed like we’ve never prayed before, set goals and had a great community of friends and family right there praying and fighting for gains with us. It was a long struggle to get to a good place with her and I am so proud that we stuck it out and made it to my goal of 12 months and beyond.
You’ve probably heard me say it’s best to just FEED your baby, it is truly what I mean. I have friends that choose to formula feed, and I also have friends that just weren’t able to breastfeed. Then again, I have friends who breastfeeding was super easy for them, and friends that choose to pump and bottle feed. I think each way is perfect; whatever works for you and your family.
We’ve been through it all. We bottle fed, we supplemented, we pumped, we nursed through the pain, we used a SNS, we went to Le Leche League meetings, we met with 4 lactation consultants at two different hospitals, we diagnosed, we fixed, we doctored wounds, we cried, we laughed, we paid an ungodly amount of money for prescription formula, we counted ounces pumped, we praised God, we saw ounces gained, we revised plans, we met goals, we cried when we didn’t meet goals, we did it all…..but we DID it.
Laikyn and I didn’t have a breastfeeding relationship that came easy for us. We fought for it. We worked together to make it work, no matter what it looked like. Even if I got one good session a day and had to pump the rest, or had to supplement after I nursed, I was still nursing and that made me happy. It was my personal decision to work through the struggles and overcome it. It would have been easier to give up and easier to just bottle feed, yes, but I was determined that no one else could tell me that I couldn’t nurse my baby. We got to a happy place and that happy place was perfect for us. 14 months. WE DID IT!!
I think it’s important for new moms (or any moms really) to know that you aren’t a failure. You do what’s best for your baby and it’s important that you know you are awesome for doing that! Whether you bottle feed, breastfeed, do both, supplement with formula, or do 100% formula; you are doing what’s best for you and your baby. That’s beautiful
It’s World Breastfeeding Awareness Week, and I think it is important to share the struggles and the triumphs that come with breastfeeding because it isn’t easy for everyone. But also, it’s important to praise for just feeding your baby in whatever way you see best for your family. Spread the awareness that feeding your baby is beautiful….breastfeeding or not!
Also, I am going to share how breastfeeding is going this time around with Lennyn and have a special little giveaway within the next few days!
As a LLL leader from south Carolina, I just wanted to say I'm proud of you! And now you are in an awesome position to help other new moms overcome the same obstacles 🙂
Did you ever exclusively nurse with her? I'm
Dealing with low supply issues too and struggling to keep up. We do pumped breastmilk and formula if I can't produce enough. So frustrating. 🙁
Yes, I did! From 4-6 months until we started solids and I nursed until 14 months! Keep it up, mama! It’s hard but it’s so worth it! I’ve had no issues with the second baby!