Maile's Story
Maile knew from the beginning that she was going to breastfeed. Her mom breastfed both her and her sister, plus she knew all of the amazing benefits that breastfeeding has to offer. Both mom and baby are benefitted so much it seems that everyone should try once. For her it was a given.
With her first born, her little girl, she made through lots of little hiccups all the way to 15 months. So with her son, she set the goal of nursing one year and knew she would work to get there. A goal that she accomplished much more easily that with her daughter.
Her nursing journey with her son was not as complex as with her first, only dealing with a few clogged ducts, blisters and a low supply on her left side. All of these things were fairly easy to get through. She nursed through it and made sure to ask for suggestions and support when she needed it.
Even her daughter seemed to be supportive of her breastfeeding. Sometimes wanting to be close to both mom and her little brother and other times not paying much attention as she played on her own.
Luckily for her, Maile did not have the need to pump very often. She was able to be with her son and continue to nurse as he needed it. When she did need to pump, she would only get 1 ounce on her left and maybe 2-3 ounces on her right. “It felt like a lot of work for little return.”
“Other than these minor issues, nursing has been a wonderful bonding experience with my son. It’s helped be lose the baby weight and I can eat 500 more calories a day!”
Just the time together helped her bond with both of her children. She says it is the one special thing that only she can share with her son. They also made it part of their night time ritual to nurse before bed. This gave them time completely alone to bond and nurse and just be together and relax.
What helped me make it to a year was “setting a goal of nursing to at least one year. Knowing that I was able to nurse his sister 15 months with more difficulty than with him. Plus knowing that I was providing nourishment to help him with brain development, immunity and growth.”
Even though she didn’t have to go through too many troublesome times, she still sought out friends and family to talk with about breastfeeding. Everyone seemed to be supportive of her decision. But the Le Leche League Meetings helped a lot as well. The meetings were not only informative but also supportive. It was helpful to be around other moms going through this process together. She enjoyed the environment with both struggling mom and moms who were very experienced.
Feel free to comment below with your struggles or triumphs in nursing your little. If you would like to share your story through photos and a blog (which you can write or I can) please contact Miracle Kisses here to get started. I would like to help you document your story.