We aren't influencers, just a group of Moms from around the world sharing our experiences and normalizing struggles for new moms.
Long before I had children, I knew I wanted to breastfeed and I thought that meant it would instantly be a natural experience as soon as my baby was born. It wasn't.
Dominic was 12 hours old the first time he latched on and for the first few weeks it was painful and uncomfortable. I had people tell me that it shouldn't hurt, others say it can be normal.
At night, it seemed that he wanted to nurse all the time and I had people tell me that he probably wasn't getting enough milk from me and I should try giving him formula. I found these comments very discouraging as a new mom trying to adjust and thought that it would be easier to just give up breastfeeding but was determined to make it to my goal of breastfeeding for at least 12 months.
I talked to my twin sister who at the time was pregnant with her 8th child and she assured me that breastfeeding often would help my supply. At his two week checkup I spoke to my Nurse Practitioner about my concerns and she assured me that he was gaining weight so he must be getting what he needs.
I also soon realized that he was a cluster feeder which was great because he slept well at night but it meant I spent 2-3 hours constantly nursing.
At around 6 weeks old, I felt like the latching-feeding connection clicked. Breastfeeding had become more comfortable and enjoyable.
When Dominic was 10 months old, I became pregnant with Elisabeth and about 6 weeks into the pregnancy, breastfeeding once again, occasionally, became painful.
By the time Nico was 12 months old, he was only breastfeeding in the morning and at night and soon after I started going back to work, it was just at night. One night, at 14 months old he fell asleep without feeding. I thought he would wake up wanting to feed but he slept all night and that was the end of our journey.
Breastfeeding Elisabeth felt natural and comfortable from the beginning. Maybe because I already had experience and only had a 4 month break. I was also more relaxed this time.
As a new mom, I also preferred to nurse my baby on my own but am now more comfortable nursing in public. I personally like to use a cover in public but don't have any issue with mom's who prefer not to cover up.
Another big difference between both babies is that Dominic liked to nurse to sleep. For him, breastfeeding was a source of comfort and relaxation. I had people tell me that I shouldn't nurse him to sleep because he will become dependent on nursing in order to fall asleep. I did try for a couple of weeks to switch up our bedtime routine to feeding first but he was not okay with that. He wanted to suck milk to fall asleep and to be honest, I actually liked snuggling my baby in bed and nursing at night. Especially once I started back at work, it just worked better for us. Perhaps breastfeeding to sleep might create a dependency for some babies but Dominic literally stopped overnight.
With Elisabeth I will nurse her at night snuggled up in bed but she is most often still awake when I lie her down. She sticks her thumb in her mouth and falls asleep. That may be a different issue but maybe she will stop sucking her thumb overnight?
I think it is important to share our breastfeeding experiences to normalize struggles we can face and support moms in the choices they feel are best for themselves and their baby.
If you are on Instagram, check out #mamastalkbreastfeeding to read about the other experiences that were shared as part of this collaboration.
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