Breastfeeding Obstacles: The Best Laid Plans...

I never once questioned whether or not I would breastfeed my children. My own mother breastfed my sisters and I, and even as a small child, when I would play dolls, I would raise my shirt and stick my baby doll’s head underneath it to feed her. When I got pregnant, I would have dream after dream of what it would be like to nurse my own baby (or maybe I should say nightmare after nightmare because in every dream I’d realize it had been days since I’d fed my baby and I’d wake up in a panic).

(4 year old me nursing my baby doll)

Marlowe was born according to plan, in a birthing center without the use of any drugs, and I assumed breastfeeding would come just as naturally as her labor and entry into this world.  I mean, what could be more natural than breastfeeding your own baby, right? Wrong. So wrong.

She latched on fine about an hour after she was born. I honestly don’t remember much of the few days after she was born thanks to a lack of sleep and a second degree tear (ouch.) But what I do remember is crying when she would cry because that meant I had to go through the awful pain of latching her on to nurse. My toes are actually curling just writing this. My dreams of blissfully breastfeeding my newborn baby went flying out the window and were replaced with chapped nipples and sobbing, and i mean crying my eyes out, if the water from my shower accidentally hit my nipples or if my towel barely brushed them.

Luckily, I had an amazing pediatrician (Dr. Berger) who listened to my concerns and helped me with my positioning, and an birthing center (Labor of Love, Lutz) who recommended I call a lactation consultant that they recommended. This woman (and I can’t believe I don’t remember her name) came to my house, free of charge, and watched Marlowe latch, sat with me while I nursed, and pretty much told me she didn't see anything wrong with me or with Marlowe’s latch, but not to give up. And I didn't.

Marlowe nursing at 13 days old

We've been breastfeeding for almost 19 months now. She’s a busy toddler now, so she only nurses a couple times a day, but those moments are so special to me. She turns back into a cuddly baby and I can just stare at her beautiful eyelashes and smell her sweet skin, even if it is only for 5 minutes before she’s running around the house trying to rip her diaper off or color on the walls.

I want to share my story because I want other mom’s to know that it’s okay if breastfeeding doesn't come naturally at first. It’s okay if you have to ask for help. I had to have my husband help me get Marlowe latched for EVERY SINGLE FEEDING at the beginning. And he loved it! It made him feel like even though he couldn't physically feed Marlowe, he could help in a way that I really needed! And it’s okay if you only make it 2 months, 6 months, 12 months, or 2 years. You are doing the best you can.

Marlowe Now

 

Breastfeeding Obstacles: Not All Obstacles are Physical

I never wanted to breastfeed.  My husband expressed his strong support of breastfeeding long before children were even really a thought.  I was a formula fed baby and just assumed I would do the same with any future children, even after hearing my husband’s point of view.  Two miscarriages later and finally a healthy baby on the way, I was a little more open minded and decided that I would attempt to breastfeed.

My breastfeeding journey did not get off to the best start.  A day or two into our hospital stay our daughter lost over a pound and hadn’t had a wet diaper in over 12 hours, so we resorted to supplementing her with formula.  The LC suggested that I start pumping in order to try to get my milk in.  We were discharged with our new baby and a hospital grade pump in hand.  I immediately felt discouraged as I was trying to care for a newborn and did not want to spend my time attached to the pump.  Fortunately, I was given the ok to stop supplementing and pumping at my daughter’s first pediatrician appointment.

After I was set free from the pump I was hoping that I would feel a little more at ease with breastfeeding.  As time went on I started to get the hang of breastfeeding with help and support from friends and of course my husband. However, I did not enjoy breastfeeding, I actually started to resent it.  For me, breastfeeding was not the bonding experience that others had described.  Our daughter was very fussy and I was convinced that my milk was the problem.  However, I continued on, not wanting to disappointment my husband.

Around the time our daughter was 10 weeks old I was ready to quit.  I had a short bout of a clogged duct, which scared me.  I cried while confiding in my sister and another friend, that I just did not enjoy breastfeeding.  I also spoke to my husband tried to make him understand how I felt.  He wanted me to stick it out for at least another month, I reluctantly agreed and committed to “just 4 more weeks”.  I began counting down to the ending point in my head.  Verbalizing my feelings made me feel more at peace and sometime during those four weeks my attitude towards breastfeeding changed.  I still did not “love it” but I no longer resented it.  I began to see it as something I just needed to do for our daughter.  I remember admitting to my husband that I was happy that he encouraged me to stick it out. 

My next challenge was going back to work part time when my daughter was 7.5 months old.  I was not looking forward to pumping at work and was convinced that I would not be able to pump up to the 1 year mark.  The first few weeks at work I resented pumping.  With help and support from friends I began to see the positive side of pumping, the “mandatory break” gave me time to catch up on my reading.  Soon I began looking forward to my two daily work breaks. 

I weaned my daughter of all but her bedtime feeding the week of her first birthday.  I held onto her nighttime feeding until a week after she was 13 months. I can honestly say that I miss that sleepy, satisfied look my daughter would give me after she finished her bedtime feeding and it was time to get her into her pajamas.  My own attitude towards breastfeeding was my obstacle and with support I was able to overcome my obstacle.  I am proud of myself for breastfeeding my daughter.

Breastfeeding: The Quest Continues

 

 

I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy Leon on June 5, 2014 and was determined to breastfeed. The lactation consultant came in about 2 hours post-birth because he would not latch. She informed me that he had a severe tongue tie and that I would have to pump until it was corrected in an out-patient ENT office. For the first 5 days of his life, my husband would finger feed him my colostrum and milk through a tube while I pumped. Once his tongue tie was “fixed”, he latched, but I noticed that feeding him was getting increasingly painful to the point where I was dreading nursing him. I resorted to using the nipple shield, which was very helpful during this time.

I went to 3 different lactation consultants for a total of 4 times over the next 3 weeks to try to determine why breastfeeding was causing pain and so that I could stop using the nipple shield. I was told everything from you have Reynaud’s syndrome, his tongue tie needs to be redone, you have flat nipples, you have an overactive letdown, he has a lip tie, he has a bad latch, you’re holding him incorrectly, he’s compressing your nipple and finally, the nipple shield seems to be working so just keep using it. Well, as much as I am thankful for the nipple shield because it has allowed me to continue nursing my son without pain, it is an inconvenience to use in public. I took the advice from the second lactation consultant and had his tongue and lip tie reevaluated by a recommended breastfeeding friendly doctor. He agreed that a lip tie and second tongue tie procedure were necessary. We are currently 2 weeks post procedure and I am sad to say I am still using the nipple shield. I think the procedure helped, it took a lot longer for my nipples to feel painful when nursing; I actually thought for a second that I could ditch the shield. But after a week of nursing him with no shield, the pain came back. I am not giving up yet and will work with my son until he is able to latch without compressing my flat, overactive letdown nipples. Until then I am thankful for the nipple shield that is allowing me to nurse my baby.

When I think about the challenges I have faced, they are nothing compared to stories I have read from others. For example I have never struggled with low supply, clogged ducts, mastitis, cracked or bleeding nipples, the list goes on. I think the reality is, breastfeeding is not as easy at is looks, but when you get it right, it’s the most rewarding experience to know that you are providing your child with the best nourishment they can get.

 

 

 

Breastfeeding Obstacles: Keep Calm and Breastfeed On

 

When my baby was a few months old, I was at a kid’s birthday party chatting with one of the other Moms about breastfeeding. Her comments were something to the tune of “Yeah, I didn’t really think I would breastfeed, but after my baby was born it was so easy and convenient. Same for you?”. My jaw almost hit the floor. I had been breastfeeding for about 4 months and it was hands down one of the hardest things I had ever done. During my pregnancy, I didn’t think twice about whether I would breastfeed or not. It was a given. I knew there would probably be a few obstacles but felt confident that I would be able to overcome them. What I hadn’t bargained on was things going awry from the start.

 

I had complications after delivery which landed me in the operating room having surgery and a large blood transfusion. Because I had lost so much blood, my milk came in late. For the first few days, my baby screamed despite non-stop nursing. When we were discharged from the hospital she had lost 7% of her body weight and I was told that was normal. At her first pediatrician visit a few days later, she had lost a full pound. My nipples were cracked, blistered and bleeding from the constant feeding. My baby was still screaming with hunger.  We were instructed to supplement with formula and we did. My milk eventually came in a week later and I thought we were home free! Alas, my nipples didn’t heal. Nursing was SO painful. I tried lanolin ointment, Lansinoh Soothies in the fridge were great, basically anything for sore nipples I could find (thank you Amazon Prime!). I asked my OB about it, he said it was normal. I asked my Primary Care Physician about it, he said it was normal too. By this stage I was dreading nursing because of the pain. Sometimes she would nurse on each side for an hour. I tried every different latch position possible. It seemed like she never opened her mouth very wide, it reminded me of a goldfish. It was like she was sucking from a straw rather than expressing the milk. It was agonizing.  I sought out lactation consultant, Ellen Simpson when my daughter was about 2 weeks old. Ellen evaluated us and suggested that she might have a tongue tie. A tongue tie restricts the tongues range of motion so the baby cannot nurse efficiently. It was a lot of work for my baby to nurse (like drinking a massive bowl of soup with a tiny straw), and that is the reason I was so sore. We went to see a Pediatric Ear Nose and Throat specialist the next day and he diagnosed a tongue and a lip tie. He clipped both in the office that day. Numbing medicine was used and she cried for a couple of minutes, but was able to nurse better immediately. Hallelujah!

When she was about 6 weeks old, she started to produce green stools and was very fussy. She had always been very proficient in that area, and very explosive, sometimes shooting poop 4ft across the room if we happened to be changing her when it happened. I noticed that when she was fussy her tummy was cramping, I could feel it against me as I held her. She also wasn’t sleeping very well or very much, and had a mild rash on her face. We went to the pediatrician and she tested positive for blood in her stool. He said to give her bowel rest by giving her only Pedialyte for 24 hours (it also happened to be New Years Eve…obviously we were not celebrating). Our poor baby was starving and not understanding why she couldn’t have her milk. I pumped every 3 hours around the clock so my supply wouldn’t be affected. It was hard for me to hold her because she would be trying to latch on through my shirt. At our follow up appointment, there was still blood so we were referred to the Pediatric Gastroenterologist. There they diagnosed her with Milk Soy Protein Intolerance, and I was instructed to remove all dairy and soy from my diet. In the following weeks, she continued to test positive for blood in the stool despite my very strict diet. I thought she must have allergies other than milk and soy, and one by one removed eggs, fish, nuts, and all the top 8 allergens (I have allergies to wheat and peanuts myself so they were already out). Week after week we went back and they would have us try different elemental formulas, none of which my daughter tolerated. One made her projectile vomit, and the other made her reflux ten times worse. She hated the taste of them so every ounce was a fight to get down. By this time she also had silent reflux and was first on Zantac, and then Prevacid. I pressed the doctors numerous times about whether she could be allergic to something else, and was repeatedly told “No”.  I didn’t listen. We saw an allergist who did skin prick testing when she was 5 months old. She was highly allergic to dairy and all grains except rice. Finally everything made sense. It explains why she continued to react even with the top 8 allergens eliminated; I was still eating oats and other grains. And she was not allergic to soy! Once the grains were removed from my diet she improved. She got better and better and at around 6 months we were able to wean her off the reflux meds.

At times I’ve battled with low supply too, and find that Motherlove More Milk Plus and “power pumping” helps. Power pumping is when you pump for 10 minutes on, then 10 minutes off, for up to an hour. It’s sort of mimicking your baby having a growth spurt and telling the body to produce more milk. Having a great pump is key! I recommend Hygeia brand. Before getting the Hygeia, I had an Ameda Purely Yours and it wasn’t very good. Both are closed systems but the Hygeia is a hospital grade pump.

My little angel is now 8.5 months old and thriving! Nursing is now pain free for both of us. My diet is restrictive but it is worth it to see her so happy and healthy. It is still challenging because I can’t eat out (mostly due to risk of cross contamination) so travel and social scenarios are difficult. I feel lucky I have been able to continue to breastfeed my baby. It has created such a close bond between us and she finds nothing more comforting than nursing. Though we have had a rocky start, I feel confident that she is getting the best start in life I can give her.

 

 

 

Breastfeeding Obstacles: The Working Mother

 

 

When I received my first pregnancy book and read about all the benefits of breastfeeding I thought - of course, I'm going to breastfeed. I'll do whatever it takes to give my child the best start and it is going to start with what I feed him.

 

After my first child, Ethan, was born I was in such a state of happy shock! At the hospital he latched on and off and all the nurses seemed happy with the fact that he was latching even if it was for short durations. So, I took him home, but on the third day he had trouble latching and started wailing during every feeding. My milk had not yet come in. I could only stare at him in awe and helplessness during these feedings, but I did not cry. I felt really determined to make this work! The fourth day my milk painfully came in but he still would not latch and feeding time became overwhelming. My husband wanted me to pump to express milk, but I was nervous about that. I did not want him to have nipple confusion - something I had read about online. However, knowing that he needed to eat I reluctantly expressed milk. I awkwardly learned how to operate a breast pump and was able to feed him a bottle until we could see a Lactation Consultant.

The Lactation Consultant did an evaluation and gave me a nipple shield. That was like magic. Suddenly, he was eating and eating a lot. He doubled his weight in weeks and I was so happy. Though I wasn't really sure how to wean him off the nipple shield and decided to go to another Lactation Consultant that my friend used. She was wonderful and showed me how to properly hold him and latch him. After that he latched without the shield! Their help was invaluable though at the time it seemed costly.

After a three month maternity leave I went back to work and expressed milk every 2-3 hours. At first I had an over abundance of milk so I froze my extra. But when Ethan turned six months old things got more stressful at work and my supply started to dwindle. My company at the time did away with the privacy room and I worked in a cubicle. I refused to pump in the bathroom so I talked my manager into letting me work from home part-time so that I could feed him directly. In the afternoon my mom thawed the frozen milk I had stashed. When he turned twelve months old I went back into the office full time and nursed him once a day when I came home from work. At fifteen months he naturally weened.

I should mention that all large companies are now required to provide a location that is not a bathroom for a nursing mother. It is part of the Healthcare Reform Act. This became a law when my son was about eight months old and my HR department sent me an email letting me know that a storage closet was the new privacy room. I should also mention that much of the stress I had was due to the fact that I did not have a proper place to express the milk and I had escalated to many executives with no change until a law was passed. I fought hard for what I believed!

It was a struggle, but the bonding experience was unlike any other. I loved the quiet time I had with him; holding him and providing for him. My goal was to make it twelve months and I was happy to surpass that. I felt accomplished!

Breastfeeding Obstacles: It’s Not a Fire Hydrant, It’s My Boob

 

 

 

My first child was a slow eater. For his first three months, he liked to chill out on the Boppy, sucking on the boob for a good 45 minutes. I kept him on a strict three hour schedule to ensure I would have bathroom breaks in my Netflix Gossip Girl marathons. Then suddenly around three months he started eating in 15 minutes! What I didn’t know at the time is it wasn’t him. It was me. As your body becomes more efficient (starts to mistake itself for a dairy cow?) the milk flows faster.

Enter my second child, who never stood a chance. My boobs were primed and ready to go. There he was, a slight little six pounder, scrawny as can be and every time he tried to eat he was subjected to a jet stream of milk. After a few seconds he would pull off, choking and coughing, and my milk would go shooting across the room. Or it would spray him in the face. We went on like this for weeks. Every night putting him to bed was a two hour saga, because trying to eat that fast gave him terrible gas. I would spend so long burping him that he’d be wide awake again. Then he was overtired so I would try to nurse him more, and the whole cursed process would start over again.

If you have this problem, all I can tell you is it does get better (around 6-8 weeks things improved, and by three months he was pretty much golden). There were also some things I did that much improved our situation. I fed him a bottle at bedtime, which was no extra trouble for me, because he goes to bed at 7:00 and I like to pump before my bedtime anyway. The rest of the day, and at night, I reclined to feed him. It’s actually possible to do this out and about too, I would have him straddle one of my legs and eat upright and I would lean back against a chair to semi-recline. And if you have fire hose boobs, don’t lie down to feed your newborn. It’s tempting, so tempting. But then they fall asleep. You start to fall asleep. And he would wake up with the WORST case of gas. Now at 4 months I’m finally able to do this without regretting it for the next two hours! Things are great! Until he gets teeth…

 

 

World Breastfeeding Week 2014 Kick Off

Every year from August 1st through August 7th the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action coordinates a World Breastfeeding Week to promote the importance of Breastfeeding. This year the theme is "BREASTFEEDING: A Winning Goal - For Life" and is geared toward asserting the importance of increasing and sustaining the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding. The goals theme and goals this year are aligned with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were set by countries and the United Nations as goals for 2015 and beyond.

The objectives of World Breastfeeding Week for 2014 include:
1. To inform people about the MGDs and how they relate to breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF)
2. To showcase the progress made so far and the key gaps in improving breastfeeding and IYCF
3. To call attention to the importance of stepping up actions to protect, promote and support breastfeeding as a key intervention in the MGDs
4. To stimulate interest in young people of both genders to see the relevance of breastfeeding in today's changing world.

I am excited that to celebrate and promote World Breastfeeding Week 2014 through the sharing of personal stories by friends, family and Naturally Crafty Mom blog followers about their personal stories of overcoming Breastfeeding Obstacles.  I feel fortunate that these women and moms have taken the time out of their busy schedules to share their experience so that other mom's can learn, empathize and know that they too can overcome these obstacles.  As nursing mothers it is our duty to support other nursing or prospective nursing mothers for breastfeeding success!

Check back here every day through the 7th for new personal stories, each story will have their own post and I will update this post daily with links to all of the published stories.  I hope you enjoy all of the personal stories as much as I have and can identify with them or use them to help others who may be experiencing the same thing.

Published Stories:

It's Not a Fire Hydrant, It's My Boob
The Working Mother
Keep Calm and Breastfeed On
The Quest Continues
Not All Obstacles are Physical

The Best Laid Plans...

The Importance of a Support System

Battling Oversupply
The Teacher Becomes the Student
Sorting Through All the Information