Parents Start Here

While pregnant, I read many books about breastfeeding. I understood the health benefits and wanted to experience the bonding between Mother and child. My plan was to nurse Baby Boy Sprout until he was at least a year old. I had my plan in place: as soon as he was born, he would come to me and I’d offer to feed him. No supplements.

Well, things didn’t go as planned. He was a meconium baby and was immediately taken away to have his lungs cleared out. I didn’t see him until hours after he was born. And he wasn’t in the mood to nurse.

Despite this, I asked the nurses to bring him in for all feedings. The feedings didn’t go well. He didn’t latch well and when he did, it was for a few minutes - not enough time to get a feeding - and very painful for me. As it turned out, he was tongue-tied.

I decided not to clip his frenulum but to keep nursing and supplement with formula. I would nurse for over an hour and then, because of his reflux, I would keep him upright for over 1/2 hour and then it would time again to nurse.

I was a mess (tired) and Baby Boy Sprout was not happy either (hungry and not gaining weight). But, I was determined not to fail my child. There was so much societal pressure to breastfeed. I met with lactation consultants, including one who told me that when Baby Boy Sprout falls asleep while nursing, I should strip him down to his diapers and put a cold washcloth on him. WHAT?! I couldn’t believe it. There was no way I was going to torture him or me.

Then my AHA moment came during one of my 2 am pumps. Daddy Sprout sat with me and asked me why I was putting myself and Baby Boy Sprout through all this stress and sadness. He asked, isn’t it more important to have a happy and sane Mama and baby rather than a miserable breastfeeding Mama and baby? How could Mama and baby possibly be bonding in a healthy way?

So, finally, I came to the conclusion that I just couldn’t continue with my timeline. So, I went from wanting to nurse for one year, down to 6 months. At the end, I nursed for 3 months (supplementing with pumped milk and formula). And then, I pumped exclusively for another 3 months and supplemented with formula. That was my 6 months.

Breastfeeding is a very personal decision. As women, we should support each other not bring each other down. We each have our story for why or why we don’t breastfeed. IMHO, healthy and happy bonding between Mama and baby is more important than stressing over breastfeeding.

Happy feeding - Mama Sprout

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