After doing all the research it was always my intent to breastfeed. I mean we all have heard “Breast Is Best” and I made sure to take the necessary steps to ensure that any anxiety and questions were answered so that I was prepared to make it work for me. There were so many people telling me about the pain and overwhelming struggles of breast feeding. Whether it’s not producing enough supply for the baby or nipple pain, it seemed scary. Although I was nervous I knew it was something nutritional I wanted to do for my baby and for my mental and physical health, not to mention the bond it helps establish between you and baby.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Yes, it’s true. Babies instinctually know where to go and what to do. Not long after delivery I was laying comfortable in bed and she was laid on my chest she was inching towards me ready to eat, with a perfect latch. Luckily I had taken classes with a lactation consultant and I knew what was happening with the latch and I knew that it was colostrum for the first few days, I knew the small amount of supply that will be produced throughout the next few days as babies stomach grows. One of the great things about our birth being at a birthing center and not a hospital we had an appointment within the first week with the lactation consultant so that any questions or concerns can be addressed early on.  

Now please do not get me wrong I completely understand and empathize with those mamas who can’t produce the amount of milk that their sweet new little babies need to grow and thrive. I also know that due to unforeseen factors some babies can’t digest mothers milk or have other complications and breastfeeding may not be a possibility for everyone. One of the scariest things that has happened to me as a new mom was when Mia was about 2 months old. She started to develop this terrible full body rash of tiny red bumps, she became lethargic, and had extremely slimy stool and also had blood in her stool. My husband Cody unfortunately had COVID19 at the time and was in another area of the house trying to quarantine. I felt so alone trying to deal with this terrible issue. Tears running down my face, scared to clean my baby, hoping she wasn’t in pain or worse. I had Cody call the pediatrician and thankfully she takes calls anytime of the day and was able to do an online appointment. It turned out to be a dairy intolerance and her little body is extremely sensitive and can’t digest the milk protein that I was consuming. We had to switch Mia to formula for about a week, and it was difficult to find because she can’t have dairy. Luckily Enfamil makes a great non dairy formula for infants, “Nutramigen -Hypoallergenic” which was such a life saver. It was difficult for me mentally because I had to completely change my diet, while feeding baby a bottle for the first time, as well as pumping my breast milk so that when we could finally breastfeed again that I had a good supply still going.

The reason I’m sharing this story is because I feel like there is a lot of mom-shaming that can be attached to how our babies our fed and why we choose to make the decisions that we do. I know for many moms they have to turn to formula to allow for their little ones to grow in a healthy way. Many other moms like me have babies with allergies, digestive issues, and intolerances to things in our breast milk and have to choose to change our diets to best feed our babies. Some mama’s aren’t quite able to make those changes or have a more serious issue with breastfeeding and have to rely on formula, and that may be the best decision for that mama’s mental health, at that time. These are choices that must be made by the individual and we can’t judge anyone for trying to be the best mom they can be with the tools they have. These feeding decisions are such a personal decision that has to be made for every mom and baby differently. Breast is Best if it’s something that is feasible for your family and formula is best for others. I know when Mia was having a horrible reaction to the dairy in my diet, that formula was absolutely necessary for her to thrive and we had such an incredibly calming experience with Enfamil. Even knowing it was hypoallergenic gave me peace and ease of giving it to my infant.

I would encourage everyone to seek out a lactation consultant if you plan to breastfeed. Even for those experienced mamas, maybe you have questions, every baby is different, and maybe you will give it a go with the proper assistance.

Now the absolute truth, is I changed my diet and stopped eating dairy until Mia was around 14 months and her reactions had either lessened or disappeared completely. I’m now able to slowly add dairy back into my diet. However when Mia was right at 12 months I started to feel overly tired during the day and started to get nipple pain when Mia would nurse.

Mia was well adjusted to having teeth come in and her latching has been spot on for most of her life. I figured maybe she’s one now and needs to re-adjust, but when I checked to make sure, and her latch was still perfect. However, I was in intense pain every time she nursed and it didn’t go away for about a month. Obviously I Google’d it. BOOM! Top reason for sore nipples during nursing is pregnancy. No way I was pregnant though. I mean by no means were we staying away from each other, using birth control, or even condoms, but we’ve been using that same tried and true, pull and pray method that served us for 10 years. Well I guess being fertile myrtle wasn’t taken that into account and here we are, Pregnant AGAIN!! We are so thankful and blessed, but I’m exhausted and in PAIN!

Always Remember to

Live The Life You Want!!!

Livin La Veida!!!