Breastfeeding all my children has been a goal that I have always wanted to accomplish. When our son JaCody was born, he had a hard time latching on to the breast and that caused him to lose up to 13% of his birth weight. Therefore, I was moved to using a hospital grade breast pump prior to us going home from the hospital. Things were going great at home with producing the needed supply of breastmilk for JaCody. I was able to pump up to 4 ounces of breastmilk for JaCody. I’ve felt proud of my goal for giving our son the best nutrition from me.
I did have a support system to help when I needed it for breastfeeding. At that time, I felt that I was doing too good to ask for help. Then, one day I decided to go out of town to see our family. Our son was unable to latch and feed as needed and desired. Therefore, I had to supplement his feeding with formula. Without the needed help, I started to panic and noticed that I was losing my milk supply. I went from producing 4 ounces down to only making a few drops up to 2 ml. of breast milk. This was hardly enough to feed our son.
I was so down and out. I had started to feel less of a woman because I was running out of breastmilk. Sooner than later, I had to swallow my pride and call for help from my main
support system at WIC. I found out that I had the best lactation specialist ever.
My lactation supporter met me at a convenient location that was quiet and helped me get JaCody to latch on properly again and to begin suckling. She told that the best way to build my milk supply back up is to keep him on the breast no matter what, especially, when I am also trying to bottle feed him. She told me, most importantly, I must give myself a break.
In due time with prayer to GOD and having patience with myself in the process, I was able to get my supply back up to where it needed to be for our baby boy. During that time, I was also eating the needed food and working with our son on breastfeeding. I was so thrilled and tickled with the results. As the months went by, JaCody was a pro at suckling and I was able to give him the right amount of breastmilk. I’ve never been this happy at how far we have come.
My husband was also by my side through the whole thing. As of today, JaCody is having baby food and breastmilk without fail. It is a blessing to see our son so happy and healthy. To those who are struggling in this area, just give yourself some time. You must cut yourself some slack and understand that your body is healing and will do exactly what it needs to for your baby. It is an awesome journey to be on and I hope everything goes accordingly for you.
I am married for 2 years to my husband as we share a total of 7 kids together. We have 3 a piece and our first baby together. I am originally from Southeast Texas but reside in Iowa. I am also a proud breast feeder to our 6 month old son. I am also a stay at home mother as well an online college student.
Charlotte, Iowa
