Andrea's Breastfeeding Story
Our story this week comes from Andrea. Andrea had a rough beginning to breastfeeding, had several bouts of mastits, and handeled some rough food allergies with her little ones, but she pushed through and worked hard to do what she felt was best for her babies!
The strange thing about having a baby is, you don't even realize how difficult it is, until it's in the past! At least that's the way it has always been for me. Everytime I am asked about my breastfeeding journey with my two girls, the first thing that comes to mind is "it was easy!" But when I really sit down and think about it, I realize it wasn't easy. Not at all. It was actually really hard. The more I sit and type out my story, the more I realize how very challenging it was, and why many, many people told me I should give up. But I never did. My mama heart knew I wanted to keep going. So I pushed through, despite all the setbacks.
My first daughter, Lucy, was born in March of 2016. Leading up to her birth and all throughout my pregnancy with her, I always knew I wanted to breastfeed. It was never really a question for me. I did all the textbook things to prepare for my breastfeeding journey with her - took a class at the hospital, bought the books, ordered a pump, stocked up on supplies like lanolin. I was ready! Once Lucy was born, the nurses handed her to me and put her right on my chest. As she was born in a nursing friendly hospital, the nurses immediately encouraged me to try nursing! I was ready! Lucy had her own agenda though. She wasn't really latching properly (if at all) and we spent a good hour and a half trying to get her to latch, before my husband even held her for the first time. Although she wasn't doing so great, I knew we had much more time to perfect the process so I didn't worry too much. Over the next few days in the hospital, the nurses and lactation consultants came in and helped me to get it right. It was going ok, but by the time we were discharged to go home, my nipples were SO sore and cracked and bleeding. Over the next several weeks, everytime Lucy would latch, I would have toe cringing pain. I had her pediatrician check her for tongue and lip ties but he didn't see any. In hindsight, I wish we had seen a specialist about this because the pain of nursing did not go away until about 6 weeks. However, that wasn't the only issue I would encounter.
When Lucy was 3 weeks old, I took her for a check up at her pediatrician's office. I was excited, feeling confident about her growth and happy to be a new mom. On the way home I decided to stop at Target to grab a few supplies. As I was shopping, I distinctly remember starting to not feel very well. By the time I reached the checkout, I was sure that I had a fever and my left breast was starting to feel achy and hot. When I got back to my car, I took a peek down in my shirt and noticed that I had a large red spot surrounding half my left breast. I immediately knew it was mastitis. I called my doctor and they asked me some questions. They didn't need to see me in the office because they knew what it was too. The doctor called me in a prescription and gave me some tips for what to do. Unfortunately, my body didn't respond to the general antibiotic that was prescribed and I spent the next three days with a really high fever, honestly feeling like I might die from it. Though I continued to try to nurse from the left side, no milk was coming out whatsoever. I was so engorged, in pain and uncomfortable. I tried hot compresses, cold compresses, cabbage leaves, nursing and pumping. Yet still nothing would come out. If I managed to get a few drops out, it was green color and not the consistency of milk at all. The pain when I tried to nurse was excruciating to the point where I was sobbing. It was terrible. Finally I called the doctor again after my husband's urging, and they scheduled me to come in. The doctor said this was one of the worst cases of mastitis he had ever seen. He also felt a lump in one of the ducts and was worried I might have developed a cyst, so he referred me to a specialist for an ultrasound of my breast. The ultrasound went well and it was determined that I would not need any surgery or cyst removal. I was switched to a different antibiotic and immediately things started to improve. However, the long term results of this bout of mastitis meant a drastic decrease in supply from my left breast.
During the first three months of Lucy's life, I got mastitis a total of three times. Nothing was as bad as that first time, but each time resulted in fever and antibiotics. Each time my supply was cut. Eventually after the third bout, I didn't have any supply left and had to nurse exclusively from my right side breast. Yet, I still persevered.
Ironically, it was also around this time (3 months old) that I started to notice Lucy's discomfort when nursing. She would arch her back and scream at the breast. After consulting with the pediatrician and doing several tests on her, it was determined that Lucy had a dairy protein intolerance. The doctor recommended that I discontinue eating anything with dairy or soy until she hopefully outgrew the allergy. I stocked up on all the food that would fit into this new plan for me, and went with it. After a few weeks, Lucy hadn't improved much. The doctor recommended phasing out other food groups every few weeks until I noticed an improvement. Next was gluten, then eggs then nuts. FINALLY, Lucy seemed better while I was nursing her. It wasn't much fun for me because I was limited to eating mainly meat, rice, veggies and fruit. My meals looked the same every day because there was so much I couldn't enjoy. But never once did I stop and consider using formula. I don't think anything is wrong with formula (after all, fed is best!) but I just didn't even entertain it as an option for us. The sacrifices I had to make felt natural and I was so confident in my decision. Looking back on it 4 years later, I realize that this is just what mamas do for their babies.
Lucy eventually outgrew her allergies and self weaned from nursing around a year. I was sad when the journey ended but proud of how many obstacles we had overcome.
Fast forward 3 years, and Lucy's sister Piper was born. Much of Lucy and Piper's stories are the same. Piper was quicker to latch, but I still felt pain for the first several weeks. I developed mastitis in the left breast 4 times with Piper. Each time I had to take antibiotics. By the end of the 4th round, my supply was again gone, and it was clear that I would only be able to nurse on the right side. Piper also had the same allergies that Lucy did, so I again gave up many food groups so that I could continue nursing her. She is now 14 months, and we are still going strong!
I never knew how much I would appreciate and love being a breastfeeding mother. The bond that I feel with each of my babies is indescribable. When Piper was born and I was dealing with the chaos of a toddler and baby, I loved the quiet moments where I would sit and nurse Piper peacefully. It was the calm and stillness of those moments that I will always remember the most. When Piper occasionally wakes in the night to nurse, I sit in the rocking chair with her and still cherish our sweet time together. Breastfeeding has changed me for the better, and I am so glad I was able to fulfill my dreams of nursing my babies.
What do you think about Andrea’s story? We think she overcome some tough obstacles and did an amazing job at breastfeeding! Thanks for sharing Andrea!
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