I have been successfully breastfeeding Mar (my daughter) since she was about two weeks old. By successful, I mean without a nipple shield or having to use those strange half-shell suction cup things that you wear inside your bra to draw inverted nipples out. I had a heck of a time after she was born getting her to latch on and we almost had to formula feed her. I was terrified. I planned my entire pregnancy around being able to breastfeed and not have to worry about buying and mixing formula. I never even learned how to mix it (and still don't.) Mar is almost 7.5 months old and she's only had one tiny drop of formula that a nurse at the hospital tried forcing her to eat. We just persisted and tried and tried and dealt with poor latch, cracked nipples, crying, screaming, itching, bleeding, and bruising (all on my end) until we had a beautiful, perfect successful latch (all on her end.) I am proud to say that I have had an adequate supply and am a Badass Breastfeeder through thick and through thin! I have friends who weren't able to breastfeed more than a few days or weeks and I have other friends who are able to feed longer. I met my first big goal of six months and I plan to meet many more! I hope to breastfeed until she is done, not until society is done. I'm a huge advocate for breastfeeding and I look forward to the next years.
Breastfeed one weekBreastfeed two weeks without assistanceBreastfeed one monthBreastfeed two monthsBreastfeed six months- Breastfeed a year
- Breastfeed until she's done
I'm also able to pump about 6oz every day for a frozen reserve. I was able to donate 32oz to a friend's son who needed milk for a weekend. I was very happy that I could provide and assist - and I'm very proud of my ability to produce milk as needed. I pumped 12oz that day... and I think it's solely because he needed it. I hadn't pumped for a couple months prior to that.
Oh the wonders of the human body! As I type this, I am feeding my love. Adieu.
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