As many of you may know, I have been approved by Medela to be a Medela Mom Maven. I have qualified for this title through my experience of exclusively nursing my baby until she was 12 months old. Shortly after I got the hang of breastfeeding, I looked into becoming a lactation consultant but decided I did not have time to pursue it because I was a full time teacher, part time grad student, and I had a baby under a year old at home. Now that I am a stay at home mom, I have decided that maybe this is my chance to help other moms who may not have enough support when it comes to breastfeeding.
Once I returned to work, many people discouraged me from continuing to breastfeed my daughter. I had people telling me that breastfeeding her was only good for the first 3 months of her life (false), that returning to work would halt my milk supply (false), and that giving her formula would help us both get the rest we needed (false.) As a matter of fact, I had very little support when it came to breastfeeding, and while I do not claim to be an advocate for exclusively breastfeeding (only because I know many people simply can not breastfeed) I do feel that women who want to breastfeed should not be discouraged to do so and should have someone to cheer them on when they are experiencing difficulties.
I experienced low milk supply when I was under extreme stress at my previous job, when I came down with the flu (which, by the way, my daughter never contracted BECAUSE I was breastfeeding), and when I would be too lazy to pump to keep my supply up. I regained my milk supply by taking Fenugreek, adding a pumping session in my day, and by nursing my baby when I was around her.
Moral of this post – there are so many supportive resources out there. If you feel that nursing your child is the best thing for you and your baby, then go for it. On the flip side, if you lose your milk supply, feel that nursing just isn’t for you, or only want to nurse for a short period of time, then do what you feel is best for you – and don’t let anyone make you feel bad about your decision.
If I can answer any questions for you, please feel free to contact me or leave a post!
Thank you for this post. I too had little support while breastfeeding and I only did it for 2 months. I had to return to work and I did not express enough milk when I pumped, so I gave up very quickly. Leaving my baby was stressful enough when I had to return to work.
Heidi – I know what you mean about being stressed when you had to leave your baby. I don’t know any mom that I have spoken to that wouldn’t agree with your statement.
I had a hard time breastfeeding. My son was in the NICU immediately from birth and I wasn’t allowed to pump in the hospital; after 24hours, he wasn’t latching right and instead of helping, the nursing staff told me “he’ll get the hang of it. If its not meant to be, its not going to happen.” How negative. I struggled and struggled. He drank more and more formula. Around four months, I was pumping MAYBE an ounce every two days and finally couldn’t do anymore. I won’t be going back to that hospital, and I will reach out to a lactation consultant earlier then I did last time.
Amanda- I’m so sorry you went through that. In the hospital I delivered – one of the nurses told me it was my fault the baby was losing weight – when it is totally normal for a newborn to lose weight. I explained that to her and she told me it was just too much the baby was losing, so she had me feed her formula. The pediatrician came the next day and told me she really didn’t lose much weight at all. At that point I had a lot of latching issues and had to speak with a few lactation consultants before I got the hang of it.
Def look into a more supportive hospital next time around..
Thank you so much for the post! I have two kids. I breastfed my son for five months, as I went back to work after 15 weeks and was so stressed at work and having to leave my job, my supply dwindled, despite all the fenugreek, mother’s milk tea, pumping at work as much as I could and any other remedy I could find, including an acid reflux medicine. He managed to go through two years of life without an ear infection. When it came to my second child, my milk came right in. I had to fight to breastfeed her. She was in the NICU, due to me having an elevated temperature at her time of birth. She wasn’t in an incubator, but they have strict policies in the NICU of not waking a sleeping baby. I showed up ready to feed, full of milk and was told no-I had to request the lactation consultant to state my case. She came and gave me permission to feed my child-I was like-really? I successfully fed her and then two hours later was wakened by the guns ablaze and ready to go, but they wouldn’t let me go down to feed her, as it was too late, so they wheeled in the Medela breastpump and nursers and away I went pumping away. I felt comfortable pumping with these Medela pumps, as they are so similar to the Pump In Style pump that I had at home from my previous child. It really made things effortless and stress free. Knowing that Medela was there for me when I was in the hospital alone and not able to be with my baby really made the difference. They have the absolute best customer service, as well. During the times that I had supply problems, I called them and they walked me through to make sure that I wasn’t having a problem with my pump and they actually let me know about La Leche League and helped me to get in touch with them. I had broken a few parts to my pump here and there and they were glad to provide me with replacement parts, as a service! Really awesome people that I spoke to. I was never transferred overseas and never spoken to like an idiot, which is what you get a lot of times when you call any company these days. Thanks to medela, I was able to give my daughter breastmilk for almost a year with no problems. Thank you Medela and Elaina for the topic discussion!
Wow! It is so great that you experienced great customer service from Medela! I LOVELOVELOVE my Medela pump – but I never called them so I didn’t realize they had excellent customer service. So happy you had a great experience!
Oh my word,this exact thing happened to me (elevated temp while delivering) they went so far as to keep us for three days, and give both me and poor little newborn baby IV’s that we had to get antibiotics thru three times a day but they NEVER took him from me and they always told me to wake him up every two hours if he doesn’t wake on his own to eat. I think its ridiculous they took him from you and wouldn’t let you wake him up to eat like hello the tiny little newborn might need to eat quite often, including during the night??? i just am blown away by your experience!!
So happy I found your blog through the Bee Friendly Friday hop. I am your newest follower on GFC and I hope you will follow back. I did breast feed my last child. It was a wonderful experience. My first child was born with two teeth so I was a bit discouraged about breast feeding! 🙂
Saving Your Green
WOW!!! I have heard that babies were born with teeth every now and then but never knew anyone who had a baby born with teeth. Now I can say I do! Thanks for stopping by!
I Stil am BFing my daughter of 9 months! WE have started baby lean weaning, but she really isn’t loving food. She eats very little actually solid foods. I too hear it all the time, you are still BFing, when will she start solids. You are BFing until at least one? oh….I have heard all the comments and I just have decide to ignore them because they pat me too much if I let it get to me!
Congrats to you for nursing as long as you did!
Great post!
Thanks! Yes, when my baby was 4 months my family told me that I should give her formula because I was starving her.. you believe that!? lol
Thanks for sharing your story.. I actually had the opposite happen to me… I couldn’t breastfeed and had everyone on my back to do so and keep at it..
My poor other half had me in tears for a month and our wee son in tears for alot of that time too as he wasn’t getting the supply he needed when on the breast.. So the hard decison was made to switch to formula soley.
Being a new parent is hard enought without others sticking their noses into it. So good on you for sticking to what you knew to be right for you and your child.
So sorry about your experience Sam. Now that I am a parent, I try not to judge people’s decisions when it comes to their kids. The way I see it – whether you breast feed or formula feed, you are still nourishing your baby. That is the most important 🙂
I totally agree with your point of view. Everyone has to do what’s right for their family. I was admanant about nursing my first daughter but we had trouble in many ways. I ended up supplementing, which worked out great for me. I breastfed about 75% of the time for six months and the little bit of formula helped me manage life. Then, when daughter #2 was born two months ago I knew I would supplement but wanted to try exclusively breastfeeding first. A painful crack in my nipple stopped me. I tried my hardest to work through it with pumping and supplementing. However, I had to stop for my own comfort and sanity. It breaks my heart that I could not give my second daughter more than two weeks of breast milk. But, I know she will flourish on formula anyway. Breast is best. However, a little bit of formula is better than a whole lot of depression and physical discomfort.
Thank you for sharing your story Jen! As a mommy of two, you DO need your sanity, and shouldn’t let anything get you down about your decision! Remember: Formula feeding is still nourishing your baby!
I applaude you for this post! I have breastfed both my kids for nearly a year each and I cannot tell you how many people (and most of them family members!) had flat out told me not to breastfeed! All moms need to be encouraged to nurse their babies. It’s the absolute best thing for both mother and child. It can be very discouraging in the beginning when trying to get the hang of it and that’s when we need our support the most. Good for you!
Thank you Maria! The most supportive person when I started breastfeeding was my daughter’s pediatrician – and he’s a man! He would call me every morning to see how we were doing, and sometimes at night to make sure I didn’t give her a bottle. Even 1 supportive person can make a difference!
With my first baby, I wanted to breastfeed (I don’t know why, I’d never heard the pros about BFing or know anyone who did it, guess it was just instinct) but I was discouraged by my mama b/c she wouldn’t be able to keep her if she wasn’t bottle-fed. So I didn’t BF her or my 2nd baby. But 8 years after my 2nd baby I’d learned ALL the benefits and breast milk was free.. lol.. so there began my BFing journey. My 3rd weaned at 19 months, my 4th at 26 months and my 5th is 1 and is still loving her “geekies”!
You are right if a mama can just have at least one encourager it would help immensely. I still didn’t have any help other than online friends. I had trouble with latch with my first nursling, but I purposed in my heart that I would work at it and atleast nurse through the first year. It was a hard the first 2 weeks, very painful, but we made it! I have LOVED every minute of nursing even through the night feeding, biting, etc, it is a wonderful experience.
Thanks for this post and thanks that you are helping those who need help and encouragement! with nursing .
Wow! Thanks for sharing your story!! I was prepared for the first 2 weeks of pain – I was warned by my pediatrician! But he told me once i pass that hurdle it will be much easier and he was right!!
I am playing lactation consultant to my oldest daughter who just had a baby at 19. I think it’s neat she is nursing when so many teenagers think it is “gross”.
Of course, she has a great role model since I am still nursing the youngest at 2. There is where I don’t have a support system because everyone thinks I should have stopped by now. Out of my six kids, I never went past three months and really wanted to with the last…and I did! I had issues but thankfully had a great nursing team at the hospital and after I went home.
Thanks for sharing your story, Melanie! It is so important for your daughter and her new baby to have that bond. Unfortunately there are a lot of adults that think its still “gross,” so good for her that she is providing her baby with the best nutrition she can! And good for you for being such a supportive mommy!
I did/do breastfeed/fed all 4 of my kids the first I had while on Active duty in the Army. I have gone past the one year mark and two past two years. Your milk changes as your child ages to continue to give them what is best for them. It will even change back and forth if you are tandem nursing 🙂 I also wanted to be Lac. consultant but I couldn’t really afford going to school again 🙁 Many KUDOS to you for sticking to it!!!!!!!
Wow! I never knew that it switches when you are nursing two children of different ages! Thanks for the added info!
Thanks for posting this! I don’t have a lot of support BF’ing, but it’s been going well (my daughter is a week shy of 4 months). My goal is to make it to a year, which my parents and husband raise their eyebrows at like, “really, Rachel, are you serious?” I’m returning to teaching kindergarten at the end of August and already have anxiety about being able to provide for my little girl. I hope that we’ll be able to keep it up until she’s a year! 🙂 It’s hard work, but I love having that bond with my baby and feeling like I’m doing all I can to give her a good start!
Don’t let anyone discourage you! If you ever need a cheerleader, let me know! I will be here to cheer you on and give you support if you need it! Don’t stress- you may experience a dip in supply if you do!
I breastfed my daughter for about 3 months but my supply dwindled when I went back to work. I had a Medela breastpump and loved it. I also had a First Years breast pump. That one hurt.
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