“My son was in the NICU the first day, so I didn’t get the chance for the ‘golden hour’ of spending time with just us. When I tried to latch him, it was very difficult and it left me feeling frustrated - I almost gave up.”

Do what's best for you and your situation and don't let anyone tell you what you "should" be doing. If your baby is getting fed, getting the nutrients they need, that's all that matters. And be flexible and forgiving to yourself. Plans change, some days are easier than others, and things don't always go the way we imagine them going. It's all good momma, just keep going!

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.

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.

She crosses her a little ankles. She has to be holding onto a handful of my shirt. Sometimes when she is really sleepy, she’ll start making a humming noises until I start singing or humming back to her. And if I take too long to do that, she’ll slap my chest to make sure I’m paying attention.

Milk was spraying everywhere, my boobs felt like concrete and hurt like hell, and my baby felt like he was fighting me every time we nursed! Of course, now, in retrospect and with my experience and knowledge as a birth worker, I know all the little things I was doing that overcomplicated things and it could have been so much easier! But in the moment, it was really awful.

Amanda and her children loved breastfeeding, but then when she knew it was time to be done, she worked hard to ease her daughter away from the breast. Read all about it in today’s story.

Day one of the 31 Days, 31 Stories project is my story of nursing my little boy and a few of the things that are different than nursing my little girl.

Welcome to the 31 Days, 31 Stories Breastfeeding Project 2018. I can’t wait to share these stories with you.

After working through her past, Jackie nursed her first daughter until she was two. Now that she has a second daughter, so much of her life has changed and her breastfeeding journey is still growing too.

Pumping and co-sleeping can be heated topics in the breastfeeding world. Learn about how this Colorado mom does it.

Breastfeeding is hard to most moms in the beginning. Learn about this beautiful mama's beginning with her first daughter and how she is doing now. 

Becoming a mother again, I thought I had breastfeeding all figured out, it only took an hour to see that I still had some learning to do. 

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

It took going home for this sweet mama to figure out what positions worked for her breastfeeding journey with her new son.