08/08/2022
💜
"Breastfeeding is hard. Her and I kinda got off on the wrong foot on this journey. She was so small we needed a ni**le shield, the hospital kinda threw it at me and was like figure it out. Between me googling through tears, and my incredible husband we figured it out. We have breastfed for almost 9 months now, and these past two weeks have been the hardest. You can’t see my face in this picture because i was in tears. I took this so incredibly fearful that our breastfeeding journey was coming to an end. Something they don’t tell you about is nursing strikes. Your happy breastfed baby just... doesn’t want to breastfeed. We couldn’t figure it out, i made emergency lactation appointments (where i was reassured it was just a strike) but nothing helped. it was a fight to get her to latch every single feed. I felt like a failure. How? How could I feel like a failure when for 18 months my body has been nourishing her? I’m not sure, but I did. We took Ans to the doctor and found the cause of her strike.. an ear infection. After a few days of meds she’s nursing normal again. I say all this to say breastfeeding is NOT the “easy” way out. It’s hard, emotional, physically painful, stressful, but also the most incredible thing i’ve ever done (Besides giving birth unmedicated, one of my biggest goals i’ve achieved). Strikes happen, hard weeks happen, you wanna give up, you feel like your failing but you CAN do this. I CAN do this are words that have been ringing in my head and everyone around me as been reassuring me. We are almost 9 months strong and no sign of stopping anytime soon. I’m so proud of us. I’m so thankful for this bond. The hard weeks are what make me so excited to get a masters and my IBCLC, I want more than anything to be that person women text or email at 2 AM, and know i’ll do whatever I can to help them reach their goals. Breastfeeding is a crazy roller coaster. But oh so worth it."
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