Breastfeeding In Real Life

I came across a great blog article on Baby Center that I wanted to share. It's about breastfeeding in real life. I love this article, and I agree with the author that however a mother chooses to feed her baby (breast, bottle, formula) should be celebrated.

I choose to breastfeed and feel very passionately about breastfeeding, but I hate when moms make other moms feel bad about their choice of how to feed their babies. We should be educating and supporting each other, not bringing each other down with judgment.

My start to breastfeeding was rough. First it took my milk almost 6 days to really come in good. Then Bel had jaundice, and I was told by the pediatrician because my milk was just starting to come in I had to put her on formula for a while to help with the jaundice. It broke my heart, and as a first time mom I was scared into formula feeding for a week, not realizing I had other options. It's not that I think formula feeding is bad. I just had my heart set on breastfeeding. I felt like I was failing. Then after a week of not only not being able to breastfeed but not feeding my baby at all (my husband fed her the formula because I read it would be easier to breastfeed her again if I never bottle feed her) I could not get her to breastfeed. I finally called a lactation consultant, and she was awesome. The first thing she did was calm me down (worth her fee alone), then she came to my house and helped me get Bel nursing again. I learned it's ok to ask for help, breastfeeding can be hard, and not to blame myself when I hit bumps in the road.

I have been breastfeeding Bel for 15 months. It is like second nature now. However,  I still remember the rough start and want other moms to realize they are not alone. I want them to realize it's ok to ask for help (no matter how you choose to feed your baby). Lactation consultants are truly worth it if you are having breastfeeding issues, plus they can usually get you information for breastfeeding support groups (wonderful for breastfeeding moms no matter if you're having problems or not).

I loved the article and pictures below from Baby Center, so I thought I would share some of my pictures. The top picture is a picture of me sitting on the side of the road feeding Bel at her first birthday party. We were taking one year pictures, and she needed to nurse. Her Aunt Cindy snapped this real moment, and it's one of my favorite pictures.

Now these two are during the first few weeks and every time Bel would nurse I would pass out so tired! See the difference. So new moms breastfeeding hang in there it gets better, I promise!

Here is the breastfeeding in real life article: Must- See Photos Breastfeeding In Real Life

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