Many of you have overcome significant challenges to make breastfeeding work. I hope that you'll share your story in the comments section!
Yesterday at the breastfeeding clinic I had a really pleasant surprise. A mother whom I'd worked with for months came in for a visit.
This mother had given birth to a 3 lb, 13 oz baby four and a half weeks early. From the beginning the baby had latch-on difficulty. The mother had three bouts of mastitis, one of which landed her back in the hospital, vasospasm of the nipple, injuries from pump use, recurrent plugged ducts, and ongoing breast and nipple pain.
None of these problems are that unusual, unfortunately, but what made her case unique was that it went on, and on, and on. She made at least 20 visits to the breastfeeding clinic, and every time we solved a problem another one would rear its head. It took two and a half months before they achieved a comfortable latch. By the end I would see her approaching the clinic and we would both crack up.
Everyone told her to quit. Her family, partner, friends, doctors, and nurses all told her she'd be better off if she threw in the towel. One health care provider actually delivered a case of formula to her home unsolicited. I never lost hope, but my faith was definitely tested at times. We must have had half a dozen conversations in which we affirmed her decision to stop and discussed how to wean. We'd then part ways with the understanding that she was stopping.
But there she'd be at the next clinic, still hanging on by her toenails. Through it all she maintained an incredible sense of humor, and a fierce if not irrational determination to make it work.
So I was thrilled to see her and her beautiful 7 month old baby on Saturday - still nursing. She says that she's trying for a year. And, to my amazement, she said that she'd do it again.
When I asked her why she kept going through all of the difficulty she said, "It was the bond we had. And we had to work so hard for it that once it was established I couldn't give it up."
I hope that you'll share your stories - however they end. What was challenging, and what kept you going - or let you know that it was time to stop? What advice would you have for mothers who are struggling now?
