Breast Feeding, A New Mom’s Story.
When my son was born, he had difficulty latching to my breast. I was lucky to have the guidance of my midwives who recommended that I see a lactation consultant right away. Even with this help, my baby’s latching issue continued for a few weeks until he was diagnosed with a tongue tie and I was diagnosed with inverted nipples.
After researching about tongue tie releases and discussing with my midwives and doctor, my husband and I decided to go ahead with the procedure. It was a really hard decision, but I felt strongly about pursuing breastfeeding. After the procedure, my son showed some improvement with his latch over the following week, but he still wasn’t getting enough solely from breastfeeding. He was losing weight, so we continued to supplement with formula and pumped breast milk as we had been doing from the beginning. I was exhausted from the continuous cycle of nursing, followed by a bottle to top him up, pumping to help increase my milk supply and have milk for his bottles, and washing/sterilizing all the bottles and pumping accessories. I was also extremely frustrated and felt inadequate as a woman, often times feeling that he preferred the bottle to my breast… but I persisted.
His latch began to improve over the weeks (practice makes perfect!) and I started taking herbal supplements and prescription medication to help increase my milk supply. Finally, by 10 weeks old, he was exclusively breastfeeding. I know that I could have easily switched him over to formula during this challenging time, but it was important to me to give breastfeeding a true try. I am proud of what he and I accomplished together.
From a fellow mom
