I Should Have Failed at Breastfeeding

My daughter has an upper lip tie that went unnoticed for 7 months. It caused latching issues in the beginning. The latching issues and the jaundice that the hospital didn't even tell me about mean she didn't eat much at all the first few days. The LC at the hospital saw me for three seconds and told me to just hand express into a syringe. I didn't really learn how to properly latch her until the public health nurse visit when she was two days old. All of these issues cause my milk to not come in until day eight. We had to supplement a bit after my girl drained both breasts of colostrum. She would eat on one side for about a half hour then switch and eat off the other side for a half hour then OH or my mom would give her a bottle of either formula or if I somehow managed to pump anything she would get that. When she was getting her bottle I would pump to stimulate but usually got nothing. After pumping each side for 10 minutes I would stop. About an hour later we would start the whole process again. We're 11 months in now though and going strong! I hope next time it's easier in the beginning.

I loved this post! I so wanted to bf. my lo was born too prem and could t suck. I was very seriously ill after having her so couldn't pump. Plus she had to be on a special prescription milk anyway. ?

Thank you for your replies ladies !i hope to get some more! I think it's important to bring to light that breast feeding isn't easy. That you're going to go through some struggles but you can do it!

They took him away to the NICU before I could try to get him to latch.

While he was there they gave him bottles without even giving me the option to pump for him.

They gave him a pacifier.

I have to use a nipple shield anytime I feed him because he can't latch without it.

But! Were still doing it. It's almost been a month and I'm still determined to keep going. Sometimes I cry during feeds because it hurts but it's the best food I can give him so I'll keep going

I just wanted to say what a great post this is. It truly hit home and made me feel good. Although my baby is only 2 months old and I am having supply problems, I am very inspired.

I want to give a special shout out to @mehimlilone. I am also active duty and am concerned I won't have the time, I won't have the space, my command won't let me, etc. But your story made me know in my heart that I can and will continue by MAKING the time and space.

@so.lovely. That means a lot! Please don't let anyone talk you out of it! It's so rewarding!

1. He didn't want ANYTHING to do with my breast.

2. There was literally nothing coming out!!! I pumped!! Nothing!

3. It freaking hurt like hell!! Excruciating pain!

4. I got overwhelming anxiety, depression and extreme nausea during letdowns.

5. I had to cut all dairy from my diet due to a cow protein sensitivity, it was hard!

6. Multiple nursing strikes where DS would just NOT take the breast!

7. Low supply, I did fenugreek, 3 pills, 3 times a day, mothers milk tea, mothers milk plus drops, brewers yeast in oatmeal and flax cookies and gallons of water.

8. Had to switch positions during breastfeeding due to plagiocephaly, very awkward positions where my back freaking ached!

But I did it for 19 months!! :)

I love this! I'm planning on breast feeding and my mil is very discouraging on it. She supports me, but continuously tells me it's probably gonna be too hard or that something could happen. This really makes me a lot more confident that I will be able to do it! Thank you for this (:

That is so awesome op!! Fortunately, there is no reason I should have failed at breastfeeding. 23 months and still going strong!

I love this!

I should have failed because my son was sent to the NICU and didn't even get to hold him for two days. He also had severe jaundice for a while and a very hard time latching once I was able to hold him. He didn't latch properly for a day and a half but was on an IV so we didn't have to give formula. The NICU nurse was going to give me one last chance before supplementing so at 11pm on the last day they'd let me try it took me, my husband, a NICU nurse, and a lactation consultant to finally get him to latch. Once we got home we would have to wake him up every two hours, undress him to just a diaper, I would pat his back, and my husband would pump his arm just to keep him awake as long as we could. Once he couldn't stay awake any longer I would then pump and immediately feed him the pumped milk every feeding for the first two weeks.

Once we got past the first month it became very easy and I loved it. I nursed exclusively until he was six months and then continued nursing along with solids until he was 14 months and I got pregnant. I would do it all again in a heartbeat but I hope the next one doesn't have quite as rough of a start. :)

my first 2 children ff but my third has been ebf since birth. I had to educate myself on bf.

Nice! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who struggled. My son had a lip tie and tongue tie I undiagnosed until he was 5 months...had them clipped but the tongue tie grew back. So I did speech therapy with him and finally at 7 months he got the right latch and was able to keep up my supply...he's 18 months now and still bf!

My nipples were cracked and bleeding (easy fix with lanolin).

Though my husband was very supportive, nobody in my living family had ever breastfed and they were big time formula pushers.

My dd didnt instantly come with a good latch lol we had to work on it.

I also had an emergency c section so I didn't get to hold my dd for an hour or so after she was born (that still hurts my heart) :/

But despite all of these things, once we got past them, I've realized I LOVE breastfeeding. The bond alone trumps every negative thing you could possibly think of about breastfeeding!

Y'all mamas are doing such a great job!

Although I didn't really have the struggle most women have/had I still should have failed.

I should have failed when I had to go to the field with one bag of milk left in my stash when my daughter was 4 months old. My fiancé and babysitter formula fed baby girl until I got home the next day. I should have failed when I had to return to the field for a 3 week operation while my daughter was 10 months old. I pumped every 3 hours (in the field) my fiancé was the milk man during that time (he picked it up and gave it to baby girl, I don't think she had formula that time) I should have failed when I was pumping only enough to get milk in the tube of the pump. I don't know how I over came this I just wasn't about to give up on my boobs.

I should have Failed but I didn't I was and still am very proud of the fact that I breastfed my daughter for 14 months. I would have continued but I was supposed to go back to the field for a month and not be anywhere near my fiancé to pick up the milk like before. I weaned in less than a week and then didn't end up going to the field went on leave instead but baby girl was already weaned and I was dried up. Although I wanted to go 2 years I reached my ultimate goal of 12 months and am very proud of that.

If you can't tell I'm in the military so it is said to be extremely hard to breastfeed for a long time. Most women give up because they don't have time (I didn't but I made the time) the higher ups don't give them the time or space (I had to use my time and find a space) I was determined.

I can't wait to breastfeed this next baby I just hope it is as easy as it was physically (no chapped nipples, no real latch etc.) with my baby girl.

Wow that's awesome, great job! I should have failed because although ff wasn't an option for me, I had issues from the start. My lo had a TINY mouth while I have giant breasts. He had tongue tie, lip tie, and I was in severe pain for weeks. I was cracked, bleeding, bawling every time I put him on. I worked 60+ hours and don't respond well to pumps so even while he slept through the night, I would wake up every 2 and a half hours to pump since it takes me anywhere from 2-6 pumps to get a full bottle. I am not working as many hours now at a new job, but I devote every lunch break to feeding him then pumping what is left since I work close to home which means I don't get much of a break while driving for half of it lol. He will be a year old this month and we are still going strong!