Nursing story for adopt_a_mom
My mother breastfed me until I was two and a half. When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to breastfeed my child too. I was barely 19 years old and unmarried.
DS was born after a long, induced labor. Unfortunately b/c of the narcotics I received during my labor, He was almost impossible to wake up to feed. No one in the delivery room encouraged me to feed him right away and things just went down hill from there. He never caught on to latching while we were in the hospital, despite the help of the hospital staff. By the time my milk came in when we got home from the hospital, I was desperate to find some relief and started to pump with a hand held pump. That was the end of breastfeeding. I did feel good knowing he was at least getting breast milk but felt a great deal of guilt about not breastfeeding. I pumped exclusively for 3 months before my milk dried up and I didn’t know what to do.
Two and a half years later I found out I was pregnant again. This time I was in a different place in my life and determined to have a successful breastfeeding relationship! I started reading anything I could find, I joined breastfeeding communities, and I found adopt_a_mom. I absorbed every bit of information I could get my hands on and immediately realized how much I didn’t know the first time around. I was "assigned" a mentor and we started e-mailing back and forth. I made it very clear to my family that I didn’t even want formula in the house. Breastfeeding was the ONLY option.
DS2 was born at 3am and within the first 30 minutes I had him latched with the help of a nurse and my mom(also a nurse). I felt confidant but still asked that the lactation consultant come to our room to visit us. She gave me a thumbs up on our latch and handed off some useful reading material. DS2 was a natural!
Unfortunately 2 weeks later DS2 and I came down with a nasty case of Thrush. I started to research everything I could about thrush and how to treat it. After about a week of some INTENSE treatment at home and by the doctor, we had kicked the thrush.
My in-laws were very unsupportive of me breastfeeding and my husband had his doubts as well. Seeking out support via my adopt_a_mom mentor really helped me get over their feelings and just do what I knew was right.
It’s been 6 months now and I see no end to our breastfeeding relationship in sight!