Each year, World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated August 1 -7 as a way to further the breastfeeding movement worldwide through protection, promotion and support. Headed by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA).
Breastfeeding is a personal decision that every mother has to make for herself. I’m not going to preach to you, plaster you with a million reasons to do it or degrade your choice not to, that’s not my place. What I will do is tell you what my own experiences have been like with breastfeeding. If you are an expectant mother looking for a great breastfeeding resource, the La Leche League online is the place to go.
Trial and Error
I found myself expecting our first child, Mattison, at the age of 18. Pregnancy was not new to me but the experience of breastfeeding was. I’m not sure how or why I made the choice to breastfeed, I had very little education on the topic, but I did. There was no pressure from family or friends, it was my choice. The first week was truth be told…a nightmare. My nipples were cracked, bleeding, scabbed…even thinking about bringing my 9lb infant to my breast brought tears to my eyes. I was alone, tired, uneducated about breastfeeding and depressed. Not the baby blues kind of depressed, but the “cry all night, sleep all day, life isn’t worth living, I can’t pick up the baby” kind of depressed. By the third week, I still remember the night to this day….I was rocking my crying son in my blue bathrobe in his nursery. He was hungry, I was tired. My breasts were empty, my will to continue was gone. I cried so hard that night and told my husband, “I can’t do it anymore, I just can’t”.
Giving up on breastfeeding was the hardest choice I ever had to make. Ultimately, it was the right choice. While my depression worsened, he was losing weight. Making the choice to give him formula gave him the nutrition I couldn’t. The months that followed were the worst of my life, not really relevant to this post but I will say this. Moms, if you even THINK you might be depressed, ASK, BEG, CRY, DEMAND for HELP! (yes, I’m yelling) Had I done that, I wouldn’t have missed the first year of my son’s life while I was in a blur of tears and emotional instability.
Trial, Error and Success
Time passed, I got help, I helped myself. Feeling like my old self again, my husband and I made the decision to bring another little miracle into our home 6 years later. Things were so different this time. I researched breastfeeding, joined a support group online, asked questions and told myself, “I WILL breastfeed” That little statement can make a world of difference. After she was born, my nipples still cracked, they still bled, I still cried through the pain. But what made things different? This time I knew that a growth spurt was coming, I knew how to keep my milk supply up, I understood the changes my body and emotions would go through.
I successfully breastfed my daughter Kaydence, exclusively for 6 months (then introduced baby foods) until she was 14 months old. I was determined to let her self wean and that’s exactly what she did. Those were some of the most precious months of my life. The time we spent bonding can’t be replicated by a bottle.
What I Learned from Breastfeeding
Emma has a breastfeeding story of her own. As a mother who has breastfed and bottle fed, I understood the choice I was making this time around. Emma was exclusively breastfed for just 3 months and is now a happy Enfamil baby.
What I learned from Breastfeeding:
- Happy baby, Happy Mommy = Best (whether that be formula or breastmilk)
- Every child has different needs, as does every mommy
- Breastfeeding can create a bond that you’ll remember for a lifetime
- You’ll cry tears of pain the first week, You’ll cry tears of sadness the last week and you’ll cry tears of joy every moment in between
Do you have a breastfeeding story to share?
If you have a blog and write a post this week about breastfeeding, leave me a comment with the link and I’ll add yours to this post.
More Breastfeeding Stories by Moms like you and I:
- Lipz Unzipped on World Breastfeeding Week
- Happy World Breastfeeding Week from Simply Living on a Budget
- People Will Say…from Our Life Upstate (amazing picture of breastmilk stash)
- Ode to my Post Breastfeeding Boobies as told by The Ohana Mama
- Pumped there, Done that! from the Graco Heart to Heart Blog
- Breastfeeding week Through Hazel Eyes
- World Breastfeeding Week from Around the Blogs
- A Breastfeeding Story by Sweet n Sassy Girls
- I was a Breastfeeding Failure by Trisha at MomDot
- Breastfeeding Story & Giveaway from All Things Mamma
- It’s been a Boobiful Ride from Milk and Honey Mommy
About Cat Davis
I loved this,”You’ll cry tears of pain the first week, You’ll cry tears of sadness the last week and you’ll cry tears of joy every moment in between.” Sounds beautifully complicated.
That is very beautiful-Thank you so much for sharing that with all of us. Breast feeding is a very personal thing so I can understand how hard it can be to share that part of your life, but it’s for a great cause and if someone can be educated from your story, it will be worth it
Your story sounds so much like mine, and so much like others. I too was 18 when I became pregnant with Samantha and had her at 19, I tried for twow eeks and was depressed. I loved my baby but I just couldn’t breastfeed. No matter how much we tried she didn’t latch on right, she was hungry, lost weight and I was in pain. So we switched to formula and it was the best choice for us. She was happy and most importantly I was happy.
Did I feel like a failure because I couldn’t nurse? yes I did. but I knew that I was doing the right thing.
So when Sarah came I KNEW I was going to nurse and it was awesome. The first two days were HARD but so worth it.
I plan to nurse any more children we have as well. Thank you for telling us your story. It’s so important to get educated and get help.
thanks for the great story and for sharing it. I didnt breastfeed for long but your right, a very personal decision. WHatever your choices, you need to make them for you..not for a book, a friend, the internet, a parent…for you.
trisha
I too did the same with my children I had my Ryan at 19 and breastfeed for 2 weeks although stopping wasn’t my choice it was the doctors because of his health and still in the hospital. WIth dd she was adopted so ofcourse that was a formula choice no contest there.
With G breastfeed for 6m then onto formula
HERE I am with Cranky pants going on 17 months of breastfeeding…still waiting for the self ween hope it happens before he starts preschool..he’s such a boobie monster
very well written Cat. Thank you for sharing.
I think I may share my story being that it is breastfeeding week, do you mind if I link to you?
This is a great post on a very personal decision. I do believe the benefits and bonding are great no matter the length of time one breastfeeds.
Thanks for the links, I will definitely share them with a friend who’s expecting her first child in a few weeks, I know that she will be grateful for the information.
Please continue to share such valuable information…you are the best!
My only hope is that if she decides to breastfeed she will stop before the baby reaches 32 months
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such a beautiful story. I agree that it’s a personal thing and you’ve sparked a decision in me to write my own breastfeeding stories.
Great article Cat , I think I will go write my own article too!
Beautiful post
I breastfeed my daughter for 12 months (maybe a little longer) she weaned herself slowly after her 1 birthday.
I had the same problem in the first 2 weeks, it was painful and awful, after that you’re right it was great.
My family really wasn’t a big supporter of me breastfeeding her for a year, they thought it was way too long LOL but it was my decision and I’m happy with it!