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A mothers’ breastfeeding experience is unique to each with every new child. In celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, here are some stories of mothers who shared their breastfeeding journey.
Michelle Padua shares how different her journey was with her first and second child. She says:
“With my first, I nursed for six months. It was the most wonderful journey ever and I was bummed when it ended. It ended because my daughter started purees and she was way more interested in those than my milk.
With my son, he was born six weeks early and in the NICU for 11 days. I wasn’t allowed to nurse because I had to measure exactly what he was eating. This began my pumping journey.
My son was born in January during a cold snap. When we fed him from the bottle in the NICU, he was held out on our knees unswaddled so he would be awake. When he came home and we tried to nurse he was so comforted by the warmth that he (despite his amazing latch) fell asleep and the milk would just dribble out.
My kids are 15 months apart almost to the day. I had a three hour routine: Wake up; change diaper; warm milk; feed baby; put baby back to sleep; pump; then sleep myself for the 60-90 min that were left until we had to repeat. We had an every three hour schedule until he was big enough to go longer without eating.
I only lasted six weeks exclusively pumping. It was such a stress on my body and I wasn’t sleeping enough so my supply dried up pretty quickly.”
Similarly, Kimberly Taylor shares the different experiences she had with each baby. She points out the differences she felt with each child in relation to the bonding experiences. She says:
“With kiddo number one; hard to describe. He didn’t want to latch and finally on day three he figured it out with the help from a very experienced nurse. Then everything seemed fine, but it hurt a lot. Come to find out he had a tongue tie, but by the time we figured it out and fixed it, I was in too much pain to continue breastfeeding even after healing. So, I pumped for another 11 months!
Obviously, lots of struggles here but the best part was that dad could help out and bond with my son too in a more complete way.
With kiddo number two; wonderful experience. She latched right away and no issues for 12 months, as far as feeding went.
I also worked, so she was a breastfed and pumping baby until the end.
What I found difficult here was that I felt very alone at times. Hubby didn't really bond with her until she was about 1.5 years old. She wasn’t as good of a sleeper, so she got more into the habit of night feeding.”
The bonding experience that breastfeeding creates is special and unique. It’s a feeling that many mothers have a hard time letting go of.
Ashley Virginia, shares her breastfeeding experience. She says:
“My first journey was great, no issues. As a new mom though, it was shocking to see how much commitment it was, how time consuming it was, and how much there was to learn! I had no idea!
My second had a tongue tie and had I not been knowledgeable in the area, I would never have known.
My advice is to enjoy it if you can, it’s such a bonding experience, and to also ask for help! I would also recommend new mom to take a course or learn about breastfeeding/ pumping before so they feel more prepared when it comes time!”
As these mothers have shared, breastfeeding and pumping is not a pretty journey, but it is a wonderful experience that lets you bond with your child unlike anything else.
