To the outside world, I have given up so much for this journey. The ability to wear “normal clothes,” a bra completely (because why bother?), the ability to leave my babies more than a few short hours, sleep, so many things….. But…

At the beginning he was a good nurser now he loves it and wants to nurse all the time. It is probably the best feeling I have with him since his diagnosis and the fact the doctors are happy that I am nursing him helps a lot!

I love the bond that nursing creates between the baby and me. It's something I will always remember that is different from the bond anyone else shares with him.

I love that he holds my finger or onto my shirt when I nurse him. Or the infamous milk drunk sleep that he gets when he falls asleep after nursing.

My how it was worth it. Despite feeling helpless because there was no actual way for me to get you to transfer milk (at first), feeling like I “wasn’t” breastfeeding because I was only pumping (lies!), wondering if it was time to call it quits and go to formula (absolutely nothing wrong with that).

I’ve had oversupply, forceful let down, engorgement and sore cracked nipples in the early days. I’ve navigated breastfeeding while baby is on oxygen, biting, recurring clogged ducts and mastitis. With my last two I’ve had mild DMER (dysphoric milk ejection reflex) which for me felt like extreme fullness/disgust for a minute prior to letdowns.

None of these things have discouraged me from continuing (stubborn, remember) and while it sounds like a lot of negative- for me the positive experience of breastfeeding FAR outshines the struggles. I love nursing!

I want to remember so many things about our breastfeeding journey, from the way she snuggles to fit in the crook of my body while we nurse to sleep, to the way she squishes her face into my boob when she is trying to have it just a little longer.

I have never had an issue with my supply or mastitis, my biggest struggle has been trying to figure out how to breastfeed my babies without suffocating them (as I have large breasts), also needing to cut dairy out for both of my boys has been super difficult. Also cutting out caffeine with my second has been tricky since I work nights and love my coffee.

Eventually I realized that this not only wasn't increasing my supply by much, but just wasn't working for our family. Since then we have had a much more relaxed approach and have found a system that works for us and keeps her growing and thriving. We are fortunate enough to have a recurring donor for supplement milk, and my supply has become sustainable through trial and error.

This time was a little harder to get started than with my son, since I was induced my milk wasn't quite in. So, I started out pumping as much as I could and using donor milk. It took some work, but she is now 18 months and we are still going strong.

My breastfeeding journey with my sweet LillyBug, just like our birth story, started much differently than my other stories. When she was born, it seemed as though she would latch ok. But then as bottles and syringes were given to her to help her blood sugars come up, it became apparent that we were going to have a hard time.

Most moms only talk about being touched out when their littles and still small – usually under 6 months – when they are cluster feeding. But the reality is that this feeling can come at any time for a myriad of reasons.

Thank you for an amazing 31 Days, 31 Stories year! I can't wait to continue to share your stories!

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After three boys, this mama knew what to expect with her little girl but there were still some differences in the transition from nursing a mobile toddler to a sweet newborn.

After relying on donor milk after birth this lovely mama kept on working on her supply and now has been able to donate to other mamas in the area. 

After a whole lot of research, this lovely mama found her breastfeeding journey with both of her children to be fairly uneventful but does everything she can to find the love in every moment as it passes. 

After adopting her son, this sweet mama wanted to give her son the best to help him heal. That something was breastmilk. Read about their story here.

With a huge turn after her water broke early, Aja worked to stand her ground in the hospital and make her nursing journey something she can celebrate as her premie babe grows more and more.

After they made it out the NICU, their story may have calmed quite a bit. But rarely does a nursing journey go without any bumps. 

Not all journeys begin the way we have planned. This mamas story definitely didn't. Read about the fight she and her son went through when he was born to breastfeed through their NICU stay.