Determined Mom Breastfeeds Second Baby Successfully

By Lowie Morgan, guest blogger

Here's my story with my little nursling, 

I have an almost 8 month old little boy named Isayiah. But I want to rewind to a few years ago when I had my daughter. I was walking down a hall with no info or support with breastfeeding. I had a lactation consultant and doctors telling me to supplement to help her gain weight and help prevent jaundice. So because I knew little to nothing about breastfeeding I did just that. I would supplement more and more because she would prefer it. When she was 4 months old that journey ended; I was devastated. I cried for months and just learned to tell myself, "It's okay; you're a wonderful mommy either way. But I felt a bond was ripped from me because I had no support or good info. 

Fast forward almost 2 years when I got pregnant with my son. I was determined to breastfeed him. I researched, read articles, youtubed  info, read books, and asked questions. I told my husband my wishes, and he totally supported me like he always has. When my son artived, he was an amazing nursling; he came out ready to nurse. I felt complete, and I couldn't wait to nurse him. I nursed him on demand, feeding him any time he was hungry. At his check up they mentioned that if he needed to supplement, I could give him some; nurses even gave me formula. I threw it out and said, "Oh no, this is not the way we're doing this! " 

We kept going strong, and at 6 weeks my menstrual cycle came,  and my supply dipped. I just kept pumping and nursing. It picked back up, and we were nursing happily along. His 4 month check up came, and he was in the less then 10 percentile for height and weight, so here comes the doctor saying, "You may need to supplement." 

My response: "Nope, not happening." We kept on  nursing. At 5 months we hit a nursing strike for a day; he was cutting teeth, and I was on my cycle again. I called a lactation consultant who said, "Keep trying, keep trying, unless you're ready for your journey to end." I said I was not even close. He came back full force, and at almost 8 months is going strong and growing like a little weed.

 My journey has had its ups and downs, days where I have said I'm done and days where it was such an amazing blessing to nurse him. There were days where I thought he wasn't going to nurse any more,  and I cried and cried. But the joys that come when his sweet little brown eyes look at me while he is nursing and he smiles at me outweigh any bad times. The fact that he can find comfort in his mommy and his milk that I make for him is beyond exciting and makes me proud to be a nursing mother. I have been on both sides of the table from an ashamed formula-feeding mom because I felt like I failed her, to a proud breastfeeding mommy. Either way, though, I was able to be a great mom to both of them, regardless of how I fed them.

I hope this helps or gives encouragement to another mom who is walking in the same shoes I was.