Fed Is Best Round 2
We have another breastfeeding story! A college classmate of mine wanted to share her thoughts on her breastfeeding experience. If you have an experience you would like to share - please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to share your story.
Here you go:
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I have had two very different experiences both in L&D and in breastfeeding. My son who is my first was a long labor with almost 3 hours of pushing only to result in a forceps assisted delivery. He was tongue and lip tied and didn’t latch from the beginning. I live in rural PA so the available resources for new nursing mothers in limited at best. I was sent home from the hospital with a baby who struggled to latch and syringes to supplement with formula instead of bottles to avoid nipple confusion. After a week of struggling and a baby who was losing weight I was given a nipple shield that helped but even then nursing was painful and my supply wasn’t great. My husband took to giving him a bottle of formula at night after I went to bed. My husband didn’t tell me for the longest time because he didn’t want me to feel like I was failing. At 6 months we made the decision to switch to formula all together.
2 years later, we had my daughter who was born in a whirlwind. Her labor was under 2 hours from the time of my first contraction to delivery. This time around I knew how to advocate for myself and asked to have a nipple shield from the beginning. I used that for the first two days to build our confidence with nursing. After we had established a good routine I weaned her from the shield. She however latched and nursed great right from the beginning. The nipple shield was more of my security blanket to give me the confidence I so desperately needed the first go around.
I don’t regret my experience breastfeeding with my son. It taught me how to advocate for myself as a new mother and to speak up when something wasn’t working for me. It taught me that ultimately fed is best and that you have to find what is best for your baby and you.
Written by: M. M.