"Breastfeeding can come easily!"
A breastmilk story by Gemma and baby Emily
Everyone said breastfeeding would be challenging: I wanted to share my breastfeeding experience with you. I found that prior to having Emily, and embarking on our wonderful feeding journey together, I had read so much information about what a challenge breastfeeding could be, the many problems mummas had faced and endless accounts of new mummas giving up due to lack of support from both partners and healthcare providers. Yet, I rarely came across articles written by mummas exclaiming how wonderfully easy breastfeeding can be.
Preparing for inevitable failure: After reading all the 'challenging articles,' I felt quite concerned about the huge impending task I had chosen to take on by planning to feed Emily myself. I even purchased bottles, newborn formula and the ever-so-popular Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep machine, thinking I needed to be prepared for the inevitable--breastfeeding was going to be hugely difficult and I would most likely have to move to formula following my failure!
How wrong I was! Emily is 5 months old today, is a very healthy, thriving baby and I have exclusively breastfeed her since she was 20 minutes old and I am ecstatic to say it has been one of the most enjoyable 5 months of my life.
Emily was a complete natural from the moment she was placed on my breast, never has she struggled to latch, nor caused me any pain or discomfort. Every feed is our chance to come together and share a miracle moment that only a mother and baby can have.
Positive doesn't mean gloating. I haven't written this to gloat in any way, as I am extremely thankful that Emily and I are a success story, I just wanted to share with other mummas, that it won't always be a challenge and it's ok to think that breastfeeding is going to be easy... because it can be!!!
Gemma x
Were you also pleasantly surprised by how easy breastfeeding came for you and your baby? How was your experience different from what you heard about breastfeeding before your baby arrived? What do you wish you had been told?
Amy x
Amy is a former midwife, an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, a licensed BabyCalm and ToddlerCalm consultant, a Certified Infant Massage Instructor, co-founder of Love Parenting UAE, and a passionate advocate for mothers, babies and breastmilk.
