Reality of breastfeeding for me.

Please understand this is my own experience and i am not judging or talking on anyone’s behalf.

Im a mother of three, two boys and one girl. I had my first baby at 19 after being told I wouldn’t be able to conceive without help. I had decided from the start that i wanted to try breastfeeding. Once Albie was born i tried breastfeeding but at the hospital wasn’t any help when it came to how to breastfeed so i presumed i was doing it correctly. I was home the day after giving birth. The midwifes came round to see me for the routine visit, when asked how is breastfeeding i replied with it hurts. The midwife explained it shouldn’t hurt and latching on should be a strong tugging feeling not painful. She watched me attempt to latch Ablie on to the breast and she explained Albie was only sucking my nipple which it why it was causing pain. The midwife then showed me some breastfeeding techniques and positions too make sure he was latched on properly. After a couple of days my milk came it and it hurt A LOT. My boobs were swollen and heavy. Albie couldn’t latch on because of this so i had to use the breast pump. Nobody warned me of my milk coming in and what to expect. Unfortunately things got worse over the week and i started passing clots and blood. Albie was sick blood and i was expressing blood. I ended up back in hospital with an infection on IV antibiotics and told this was due to having Albie and having mastitis. I was so upset and felt like i had let my son down. I’m not ashamed to admit it i ended up with post natal depression but that is another story to tell. I gave up breastfeeding which wasn’t pleasant. I found using breast pads from the freezer helped sooth the pain and hot flannels. It was also recommended that i try cabbage leafs, that also helps its not and old wives tale.

14 months later i gave birth to my second son. The birth wasn’t as traumatic but like my first i ended up on antibiotics. I decided to give breastfeeding another go but this time i had some knowledge behind me. Unfortunately there were complications with John. The doctors didn’t realise when doing his new born check that he was tongue tied. Tongue tied means the string part underneath the tongue attaching the tongue to bottom of the mouth is to short and doesn’t stretch. This prevented John being able to latch. At six weeks he was diagnosed lactose in tolerant i was told to give up breastfeeding and give him lactose free prescribed formula. The prescription took forever to get in due to mistakes on doctors part and then it being specially ordered in by the pharmacy. I couldn’t let my baby starve so i carried on trying to breastfeed and went on a dairy free diet. John was hungry and loosing weight so i bought soya formula. Finally the prescription was ready to collect but John hated it. The milk made him sick after every feed. My milk was coming out as blood and I got mastitis again. John ended up in hospital at 3 months old with sepsis. Whilst in hospital the breastfeeding specialists saw myself and john and pointed out john was tongue tied and that soya milk wasn’t bad for babies under 6months. The doctor ruled John as completely allergic to milk and prescribed him A new formula. By this point i gave up breastfeeding. The nurse told me if doctors had sorted Johns tongue tie earlier he may of breastfed better and been able to latch on. On the upside he has his tongue string cut which made bottle feeding easier for john.

I am now 22. I had an ectopic which lead to my right tube being removed. 2 months later i was pregnant again with a little girl. After two bad experiences i was so scared to do it all again. I had an elective c-section. I fed her straight after surgery but this time the nurse was so helpful, she helped Anna latch on and kept checking in till i was confident. I expressed and breastfed Anna as i made a lot of milk to begin with. My nipples cracked i was using nipple cream like no tomorrow and trying hot and cold compress. It hurt so much i was crying whilst expressing at 2am in the morning. Everyone professional told me i was normal. My nipples were sticking to the breast pads causing them to bleed more. I bought nipple shields online they worked well it relived the pain on my nipples and gave them time to heal. Little did i know they reduce your milk supply and not recommended for long term use. I was so angry that after being watched and explaining i was using them to both a midwife and a health visitor and know one said anything or stopped me. My boobs were uneven and still are at the moment because one boob Stopped producing enough milk. Expressing with the breast pump is slowly helping bring the supply back but its a slow journey. My nipples have hardened and she feeds every 4 hours with know problems.

I strongly believe with more help and guidance from the professionals I wouldn’t of had an many issues with breastfeeding. Everyone says girls are easier to breastfeeding then boys and that boys are lazy. I disagree and think women need More information, more help and more support.