After a tough start with her first baby, our donor mom went into her second breastfeeding journey thinking it would be the exact same. She was happily wrong! Read the full story below.
"When I fell pregnant with my first baby, I never really put much thought into breastfeeding. I thought he would be born and he would just latch and we’d be on this little journey together. Little did I know, babies don’t know how to breastfeed. They have to learn and I think it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to teach. William was born not only early but also tongue tied and with coronavirus. He struggled to latch and with the two of us isolated for a week alone, I refused to get any lactation help while my mental health spiraled. I crumbled under the expectation of breastfeeding. I developed mastitis three times, all within 2 weeks back to back. I couldn’t find time to feed myself and I struggled to even pump 1oz. When Lachlann was born, I panicked and bought tons of formula because I figured it would be the same. Little did I know, Lachlann would come out, latch and be a breastfed baby right away. I pushed through the night pumping sessions, a few spouts of mastitis, dips in hormones, cracked/nips and embarrassing leakage. Today, I have a freezer filled with 100 liters for my boys and now I’m off to feed NICU babies. I feel so blessed and so grateful my body can do this."
Have excess milk and would like to learn more about becoming a milk donor? Follow this link:
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