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…

“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!

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.

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.

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.

“After 3 babies, multiple lactation consultants, herbs, and meds I felt like I had finally achieved a huge dream. He's now 15 months old and It's still his favorite thing!”

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.

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

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. 

In the beginning, nursing was easy. Then this family came across a bit of a snag when mom went back to work. Learn what they figured out and what they do to fix the problem in this story.

After educating herself for months on the ins and outs of breastfeeding, this sweet mama fought to breastfeeding her darling daughter and now is still successful over a year later. 

After giving her friend the perfect gift of a baby, this beautiful mama continues to not only nurse her own daughter, but also wetnurse and donate milk! Read about her story in this blog.

Weaning can cause so many emotions and can be difficult. Read about how this lovely momma is working to wean her darling boy.

After discovering she has post partum depression, Kendra has continued to work hard to nurse her son and still bond with her other children. 

Sara stumbled into tandem nursing her two beautiful daughters. Learn about a couple of the challenges and the bond it has created between them all. 

From triple feeding to refusing to nurse, this mama fought hard to nurse her darling daughter. Read about how they made it to 18 months so far in the blog.