It's a very long post but worth reading it!
It's world breastfeeding week and we should celebrate that we, as mums (and daddies too through a bottle), can give the best to our babies and toddlers. But, as everything that is rewarding, it comes with loads of challenges: Dan and I did an antenatal course while pregnant with Lennon. They told us all that could go wrong during labour but breastfeeding was left as something that will come naturally with no complications. So, when Lennon was born, I thought I was breastfeeding fine, until... A health visitor saw Lennon very jaundice and sent us straight away to A&E. At the hospital we were told that Lennon was at the threshold of being dehydrated. As a first time mother I felt lost, I felt a failure that I was not feeding my baby properly and was thinking all the time: "how could I have not noticed this?!". I was told to combine breastfeeding with formula and although I followed this advice and gave Lennon formula, I never lost hope on breastfeeding. So I sought advice and a health visitor took time during her visit to show me how to achieve a good latch so Lennon could suck correctly and feed effectively and sufficiently. It was at that point that I felt a massive different between what I was doing before and what a 'good' latch is! I felt so confident that after two weeks of combining formula with breastfeeding I stopped the formula and started breastfeding exclusively. Lennon kept putting on weight and even got to the 91st centile curve on the weight chart!!! I also joined the La Leche League (LLL - a worldwide NGO) group in Barnet and attended to their meetings every week. I loved meeting other mums and sharing experiences about breastfeeding and get a million questions answered by the LLL leader and mums. When I went back to work, when Lennon was 8 months, I did not want to loose that special connection that breastfeeding brings to me and my baby. So I told my employer that I was still breastfeeding and that I need to express milk at least twice during my working hours. At work I was given a private room to express milk. That milk was then sent to Lennon's nursery so the teachers there could feed him. I could then not wait to see Lennon in the evening to have a proper breastfeeding moment, which also took place in the morning. I breastfed Lennon everywhere, from posh hotels, to airplanes and even on buses. And yes, there were people who gave me that ugly look, but I just thought to myself, well, my boobs are not for you to look but for my son to feed! I breastfed Lennon until he was 3 years and 3 months. Then we had Noah, when Lennon had just turned 4 years old, and just before lockdown was officially announced in March due to COVID-19. Given that I had over three years experience in breastfeeding Lennon, I felt I knew exactly what to expect with Noah and thought... "this is going to be easy peasy!" Oh boy, how wrong I was!!! From the first moment Noah latch on my boob I could tell something was not right! At hospital where I gave birth they reassured that the latching was fine, but I knew deep inside that it wasn't (mum's sixth sense!). Noah was not sucking strongly and he was dribbling lots of milk down as he was feeding. I advised his health visitor about this, but they told me not to worry because Noah was putting on weight. While that was very reassuring I kept insisting, especially, as my nipples became very sore to the point that I was seeing the stars every time Noah latched. I was in tears with the health visitor begging her to do something as I was suspecting Noah had a tongue tie since he has an obvious lip tie and the tongue tie was then very likely. Finally the health visitor referred me to their lactation consultant. Since by then lockdown was in place, none of the professionals could come to our house, unless ultra necessary. So the lactation consultant rang me and after I described to her how Noah's tongue was when he cried, she automatically said: "it looks like Noah has a tongue tie". As the tongue tie clinic in West Herts were we live had been closed due to COVID-19, the only chance to get his tongue tie revised was for the East Herts clinic to accept him ( a bureaucratic process). Fortunately, Noah was given an appointment for the East Herts clinic as someone cancelled their appointment. Dan and I took Noah there and after a few seconds of Noah being checked we were told that Noah had a class 2 tongue tie and it needed to be revised. We agreed and Noah's tongue tie was revised on that day when he was around 6 weeks. Immediately after the procedure I was given Noah to feed and I could immediately noticed a massive difference in his sucking!!! Breastfeeding had then become less painful and more enjoyable!!! I re joined LLL as I felt I needed more advice on breastfeeding and met a lot of mums who have gone through a very similar situation to me and have given me a lot of suggestions. One thing I have also learnt about breastfeeding is that it is a personal choice. There are some mums who want to breastfeed and have no problems at all, others like me who have had challenges, others who would love to breastfeed but can't because of a medical condition either in themselves or/and their babies and others who prefer to give formula than breast milk for various reasons. We, as mums, must respect others and helps those struggling with breastfeeding to make it an enjoyable and as much pain-free experience. If you are struggling with breastfeeding and need help or are pregnant and want to get as much advice as possible before the baby arrives, I am sure that LLL will be more than happy to help you! Their website is https://www.laleche.org.uk/ #breastfeeding #breastmilk #breastfed #breastfeedingweek #lalecheleague #LLL #tonguetie
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AuthorThe mothers of La Leche League Barnet. These Blog posts were inspired by a discussion during our Zoom meeting in August 2020, during World Breastfeeding Week. We talked about influences on our breastfeeding journeys: our initial imagination of the process and how reality shaped us, and was shaped by us and our circumstances. Please enjoy reading these raw and honest accounts, to give you a more realistic picture of what breastfeeding can look like in REALITY. Share widely if you wish. ArchivesCategories |