Breastfeeding: My Personal Journey

Happy World Breastfeeding Week and National Breastfeeding Month! In honor of World Breastfeeding Week and National Breastfeeding Month this will cover my person struggles, victories, tips, and tricks that have helped me on my breastfeeding journey.

To start off, how do you feel about breastfeeding in public? It’s a touchy subject for most. While breastfeeding in public is legal in all 50 states, there is still a stigma when it comes to breastfeeding in public. Ever since I was little I was taught to cover my breasts- I mean it is part of “my privates”. But now I’m supposed to whip this boob out in public to feed my starving child- I mean that is why women have boobs-is to feed our babies. I feel since breasts are “sexual” it makes others along with myself uncomfortable when breastfeeding in public. Others are staring because they don’t know what else to do- maybe they are in shock, or admiring, or disgusted- I’ve heard all of these as reasons why someone has stared. I’m uncomfortable because of all the stares; even when trying to be as discreet as possible it seems the blanket always slips, or baby won’t latch. Now I’m sweating and I feel like the whole world is watching and one slight mishap and everyone will get “a free show”. So please if you see someone breastfeeding in public, don’t stare! If you are a Mama nervous about breastfeeding in public- do it with confidence! Lets all help Normalize Breastfeeding!

Now let’s move into my breastfeeding journey-

Part 1-Tyler

I’m not going to lie, I really struggled with breastfeeding Tyler. The first three-weeks were horrible, and I was about ready to give up. In the hospital I had the nurses and lactation specialist help and give me tips and tricks. That just wasn’t enough as my milk wasn’t coming in fast enough and poor baby was starving! I am so thankful my OBGYN suggested supplementing with formula. He said to ask the nurse and they will bring us some. So, I would breastfeed Tyler and when finished we would offer him formula to make sure he had enough to eat. This was a game changer for us and made all our lives so much easier and everyone was happier. I was so stressed because he was starving, and my body wasn’t producing enough. My nipples were also cracked, bleeding, and hurt so bad that it made feedings that much worse so being able to supplement with formula gave me the break I needed. Once we passed the three-week mark feedings became so much easier- Tyler would latch better and I was producing more. I never overly produced so I always did 50-75% breastmilk and 25-50% formula with Tyler. Since I wasn’t producing much, I couldn’t build much of a stash. The only way I was able to build a stash is I would pump when Tyler would have formula bottle and I would save that milk. I was able to breastfeed Tyler for 6 months. That was a victory for me especially since I was ready to give up after three-weeks.

Part 2-Brody

With Brody breastfeeding came so much easier- thank goodness! He latched well from the beginning and my milk came in faster! I still met with the lactation specialist while we were at the hospital and she gave me some tips about body position that helped both of us. In the 23 days Brody has been with us, I have breastfed him for 53 hours and 27 minutes and have pumped 37 ounces of milk. Since he is still eating so often, I haven’t really started pumping yet-if I did my day would be nothing but pumping and feeding. I do pump every morning after he eats. He sleeps for 4-5 hour stretches at night so even after his morning feeding, I still feel engorged. This has helped me start a little stash too! We also give Brody one formula bottle at bedtime, so I pump while he eats that bottle, and this helps with my stash too! So far breastfeeding has been less painful, stressful, and so much easier this time around!

Breastfeeding Tools:

These are items that helped me with breastfeeding! If you are a new or expecting Mama check these out!

Nursing Bra
Nipple Cream
Nursing Pillow
PJs with Buttons
Hot/Cold Packs
Nursing Pads
Breast Pump
Breast Pump Bra
Milk Storage Bags
Glow Baby App

In my New Mom Must Haves/New Mom Items Highlight on Instagram I talk more about all of these items!

I will show the items that I used and that were my favorite! They will be on my Instagram and saved under the story “New Mom Must Haves/ New Mom Items”. I will also link everything on LiketoKnow.it

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather1389/

LiketoKnow.it: https://www.liketoknow.it/Heather1389