Caroline’s Breastfeeding Stories.

When I had my first baby 3 years ago, I was determined to feed him for a year, and never use formula.

No one in my family had been breastfeeding, but I had support from my husband and friends with various breastfeeding experiences.

I read the la leche league book, blogs, attended workshops with my husband, I was ready for it to work. When Isaac was born, I was expecting his instincts to kick in and was relying on him to know what to do. Except that one of my nipple was flat, he had an undiagnosed tongue tie and it took him 3 days to properly latch. And I wasn't ready for the pain, as I read everywhere that breastfeeding shouldn't be painful (well it was hurting like hell and it's actually pretty common). As a result Isaac lost quite a bit of weight, had a jaundice and was on the verge of being admitted. I was so desperate for him to feed that I wasn't looking at his position nor mine, he would suck in my nipples rather than opening his mouth wide, which resulted in cracks, bleeds, sore back and shoulders and loads of pain.

My friends were a great support, and there was always someone to encourage me or to give me advice when I was feeling down, even at 2am. After 2 weeks and loads of Lansinoh cream, it got better, easier, and I felt ready to continue for as long as possible. It happened that Isaac got diagnosed with a dairy allergy so it was so much easier to continue with breastfeeding, while I was following a strict elimination diet, until his diet was diverse and balanced enough.

In the end, I breastfed him for 2 and a half years. I would have continued longer but we wanted to try for another baby and our fertility clinic wanted me to stop before attempting any treatment.

Our second baby was born 2 weeks ago. He latched immediately and despite a bit of a tongue tie, has been a great feeder. I wasn't expecting it to be painful, having gone through 2 and a half years of breastfeeding not so long ago, but it has been very painful, and I had to be careful with his positions as I started to have cracked nipples within a couple of days. We are now past this point (just) and the experience is starting to be painless. I am hoping this time to be able to feed until the baby decides that he doesn't want it anymore. During my first breastfeeding journey, we encountered nipple confusion, nursing strikes, overactive letdown but I received lots of information and support from my local breastfeeding peer supporter.

My local children centre also had drop in clinics but I found them sometimes less knowledgeable. Breastfeeding had been an amazing experience, I have a very strong bond with my first born and I was very much looking forward to starting again with my second. I would encourage everyone to consider breastfeeding and to get as much support as possible because the first 2 weeks are very difficult (even the 2nd time) and it would be so easy to give up then, just hang on in there!