My baby was born in May and while I was in hospital with her she drank so often and it was incredibly painful. By the time she was three days old my nipples were severely damaged. I brushed it off as “normal”, as I had had some pain with my second baby which resolved itself and he breastfed until he was two. Because of this pain I fed her while I screamed and cried in bed. Then I developed fevers, flu-like symptoms and boob ache - I had mastitis. I decided to feed my daughter formula milk. I was so disappointed in myself and I was unable to bond with my daughter, Fātimah.
A good friend recommended I see a La Leche League Leader. By the time I went to see the LLLLeader my baby was almost three weeks old and used to the bottle and my milk was starting to dry up. When we got to her she was so kind. She spent over an hour with us. There was no rush; she was soft and caring. She showed positions to feed in, helped me latch Fātimah and gave me some homework: skin-to-skin for a few days in bed. I left and Fātimah latched a few times after that at home but the pain was still a problem. The LLLLeader (who also happens to be a doctor) checked Fātimah for a tongue tie and said it wasn’t too bad but it could be the reason for my discomfort. I went to see one of the ENT surgeons she recommended, and we had Fātimah’s tongue tie snipped. Then I tried feeding her again. Her tongue did move differently immediately after the snip, but it wasn’t enough to get her breastfeeding again. Fātimah was suckling but seemed not to be getting enough milk from me and showed bottle preference.
After another appointment with the Leader, she discussed with me the option of using a galactagogue to assist with increasing my milk production. Over the following weeks and months, I slowly started getting my baby back on the breast. It didn’t happen overnight. I updated the Leader every week on our progress. She suggested to get her back onto the breast I should reduce her formula by a few mls every few days and offer her my breast during this time. I tried this. Progress was very slow. Sometimes I felt like I failed but the Leader reassured me that it would take some time. My milk started coming back. Fātimah started breastfeeding more often. She reduced the formula milk from four bottles to three (one each at breakfast, lunch and supper) and I was the snack in-between. Then she went from three bottles to two (one at night and one in the morning) and from two to one, which was usually in the evening. She was now breastfeeding all day and had a bottle of formula milk at night. The Leader suggested dropping this formula feed too. I was very nervous about it, but she reassured me all the time. After DAYS I finally dropped the last formula bottle. Fātimah has been exclusively breastfeeding for a little over eight weeks now.
My daughter will be five months on the 11th of October and she was born in May. She started showing preference for the breast about a month ago! It took time but mommies, don't lose hope, don’t give up if breastfeeding really matters to you! I promise you, after the hard work it's so, so worth it. Our favourite position is side-lying. I wear her in a wrap almost every day to have that contact and we have the best bond.
On a weekend I have a class I attend and my sister-in-law or mom looks after Fātimah . She accepts a bottle of expressed breastmilk from them if she sees she doesn’t have a choice. This is only one day a week and the rest of the time she’s strictly breastfed. I’m so thankful to the La Leche League Leader. I couldn’t have done it without her. I’m a mom of three and I breastfed with success before so it never occurred to me that I would have so much difficulty with my third child. Recommend La Leche League to all your expecting friends. Some moms need the help but don’t know where to find it and it’s not a topic women just speak about.
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