Hey Busy Mama

Prior to giving birth, I had already decided that I was going to breastfeed my child. I had envisioned moments of me cradling my newborn son and comfortably nursing a cooing baby. Sure, I had heard of parents who supplemented with formula but, that was not going to be me. Nope.

Boy was I naive.

I had a complicated delivery and looking back, it may have explained some of my issues with breastfeeding my son. From day one, we struggled with latch and production. I cried for both the physical pain I felt with each shallow latch and the emotional pain I felt every time I needed to supplement because I was an underproducer.

There’s something about not being able to do something that society believes should come naturally to a person that has a significant impact on their identity and confidence. It nearly destroyed me. Despite my husband and loved ones being there for support, I felt so alone in my suffering. My sadness was so deeply devastating and eventually, I sought out help.

There are so many things that I was deeply unaware of going into postpartum – things I wish had been told to me. Mama, I am here to scribe my journey through motherhood for you. It is my hope that you won’t ever have to feel alone.

Mama, if you are struggling with breastfeeding, you need to hear these three things.

1. You are not alone. I wished someone told me how hard breastfeeding was and how I was not the only mama to go through the painful challenges associated with breastfeeding.

2. Your mental health matters. Fed is truly best. No debate between breast or bottle or breastmilk or formula is worth sacrificing your mental health.

3. It gets better. It truly does. I desperately wanted to 100% breastfeed but I struggled so hard the first couple of months. I cried nearly every time he latched because it was so painful and nearly every time I pumped because I underproduced. I supplemented with formula early on and slowly transitioned to breastfeeding only. Now, his latch is so much better and he has beautiful fat chunky rolls on his thighs. You are an amazing mama.