Normalize Nursing: Mia's Story

Last week was World Breastfeeding Week. As a nursing mom I've never really shared my experiences.  It is honestly one of the hardest things I've ever done. Being solely responsible for your most favorite human's well being is CRAZY HARD!!!

First off, no one tells exactly you how difficult feeding new babies is going to be.  I think the stress of our experience was exacerbated by the fact that Mia cried all day every day. I was never sure if she was crying because she was hungry, in pain or just needed to cry. Not going to lie, I remember wishing for time to speed up so that she could communicate & tell me what was making her shriek.  Whether nursing or formula feeding, 90%s of a new moms thoughts are focused on feeding the baby.

If you could be in my head it would have sounded something like,
Why won't the baby latch?
Ouch the baby is latching!
OMG my nipple is ripping of!!
Why won't baby nurse from the right side?
Is the formula hurting her tummy?
Did he get enough?
How many ozs is enough?
How often should i feed her,
Should I wake her up to eat?
Why is she spitting up all over?
Is he getting enough hind milk?
Why is he screaming?
Is it something I ate or drank?
Why is her poop green?
The 1st few months are a constant dialogue of how the hell do I feed my baby?

My friends who know the story of the ripped off nipple, might find this hard to believe but I really loved nursing Mia.  AFTER the 1st month & after the shredded nip healed. lol The 1st few weeks were sooooo difficult.  Contrary to popular belief the baby doesn't pop out knowing how to eat. I was so sore I cried every time I had to feed her. That's a lot of crying considering you feed a newborn 10-12 times per day!!  Then one day we just figured out the problem. Goodbye shallow latch, hello lovely nursing experience.  Going back to work I made a new friend, the breast pump.  Not one to be blessed with 100's of ounces extra milk, I was constantly making just barely enough It was a challenge, esp working to keep my supply up. I constantly pumped in my car, possibly while the car was moving. I cant tell you how many meetings I went to covered in breast milk bc of a spill. Luckily in most cases my pants were black & no one noticed but me! Luckily Mia went seamlessly between bottles at the sitter (Avent), to nursing when I was home.  I took this for granted at the time but when you read Wesley's story you will understand how truly lucky I was!

By 8 months my milk supply was diminishing, thanks to working full time & Mia instituting a nice nursing strike for a few weeks.  I was drinking Mother's Milk tea, taking fenugreek & pumping like mad, but I just couldn't keep up.  The next statement might raise some eyebrows but I am writing this post in honor of the #normalizenursing movement, so here we go!!!!  I have a friend who has an over supply of milk & she was willing to share!!!!!! Thanks to her Mia made it to 10 months on nothing but breast milk.  Please remember milk banks are all the rage, i just happened to have connections to a wonderfully generous mama friend!!  At  10 months Mia self weaned, maybe because my supply was so low. By the end my pump was held together by duct tape and I couldn't wait to say goodbye. I used Similac for 2 months and then on to organic whole milk.

We overcame LOTS of obstacles & made it 10 months.  If you had asked me in those 1st few weeks  if i thought we would make it ten months my answer would have been NO while I cried curled in the fetal position. To be cont......