Our Breastfeeding Journey

When we first found out I was pregnant I already had my mind set to breastfeed instead of formula feed. I knew it was going to be hard at first but I didn't really know what I was going to get myself into. 

When Arden was born we had a lactation consultant come into our room to help me breastfeed. It was hard work let me tell you. When then found out that Arden needed to get his tongue clipped because he was able to latch but couldn't keep hold of the latch. 

We got his tongue clipped and thought that worked. We came home and I still was having trouble. He would get wore out trying to nurse that he would just fall asleep. I became so engorged that we went back to see the lactation consultant. She helped me nurse him again but said he needed his tongue clipped more. So we went and got it clipped more. And when we went back for her to assist us he fed great! Got full on milk drink! It was fabulous! 

When we came home yes, I still had trouble, but I think it was because he had to learn to nurse all over again and I had to learn how to nurse him as well since he was able to actually nurse now. 

I would get so worried that he wasn't eating enough or was I producing enough, but thankful I had a really good breastfeeding mama friend to assure me and keep me calm, and a husband to take on my crazy and  crying moments. He would eat every two hours when he was awake, and now he eats every 2-3 hours when awake, and sometimes just needs to be "topped off" right before bed lol. 

I've dreaded nursing because of the pain, I've cried through nursing, I've had to put one of his soothies in my mouth to bite on because it hurt so bad when latching him, and I've been engorged 3 times since his birth, leaked on multiple shirts and even on him, I've gotten nipple blisters, but being almost 4 months into breastfeeding I would say we are champs now! 

He still doesn't like being covered under a swaddles or nursing cover so we have figured out how to nurse without one without him pulling my shirt for all the world to see lol. 

Breastfeeding scared me. But I knew that is what I wanted to do. When we go a day of being so busy that he must take a bottle of breast milk for the majority of the day, when we get home we both needed that nursing time. It's our bonding time that no one else can have. I didn't understand it until now. It's great! 

Would I still nurse our next baby even after knowing what I went through with Arden? Absolutely. I now look forward to our feeding sessions. And I love how he recognized that he can get milk from a bottle but his eyes light up when he knows he gets to nurse from me.