In honor of World Breastfeeding Awareness Week, I share my nursing story with you (moms and moms-to-be.)
Although my pregnancy hadn’t gone quite as I had envisioned, I was looking forward to breastfeeding and felt confident that I knew what to do. At first, things went as smoothly as the proverbial baby’s bottom. I didn’t pay attention to how long she was on each breast because I thought she would naturally pop off when she was done, so I nursed….and nursed…and nursed…until I found myself with painful raw nipples in no time. Even the light touch of clothing was unbearable and I eventually had to resort to cutting two holes out of all my T-shirts. Nursing quickly became a source of agony.
In desperation, I consulted a lactation specialist, but by then I was already cracked and bleeding and dreading nursing. What I had imagined as being this blissfully bonding time had become an excruciatingly painful task—it’s hard to imagine how much force those tiny boney jaws are able to exert!
I was deeply disheartened at the thought of giving up this part of mothering and confided in a colleague and dear friend. She had evidently had a similar experience with her daughter and had the experience of getting through it successfully. Fortunately, her advice and experience gave me the courage and determination to keep nursing my daughter. And you know what? It worked. It was like one day my daughter’s mouth and my breast finally became compatible (cue the angels singing) and I was able to breastfeed with joy (and uncut shirts) for two years.
But you know what? Even if I hadn’t been able to breastfeed my daughter, she would still be the cherished and special person she is today. Breastfeeding is important, but if you do everything you can and it still doesn’t work out, give yourself an A+ for effort and let it go because it’s not the only way to mother. You will still find rewarding ways to bond with your child and be an awesome mom.
Mothering isn’t easy or necessarily automatic (or textbook for that matter). It takes guts, wisdom, patience, humility, grace, and everything else you can throw at it. We are all in this together, so let’s lift a collective glass (or Sippy cup) to moms everywhere who have been nourishing babies with love since the beginning of time. We are quite remarkable.
Helpful resources: Find a Lactation Consultant, Soothies (They really are soothing!), La Leche League USA, Boppy Breastfeeding pillow, scissors (just kidding!)