Our Breastfeeding Journey

I was never expecting such a journey...

With Jake he had latching issues and I wasn't prepared for him to not want to eat right away...everything you read say to feed them right away...he wasn't interested. Then at home he still wasn't super interested and he would scream and I couldn't take it so...I pumped exclusively for six months for him and thats all I could take. 

With Jack I was praying that I could breastfeed. He latched on right away and ate really well. But that was just the beginning. I didn't worry about how I was supposed to things I just held him how I it worked. His latch was great. Then my milk came in. I hate that feeling of engorgement as my supply is adjusting. My milk was a little too much for him I think. He would choke and pull of and milk would shoot him in the face because my let down was crazy. Because he pulls off so much we make a huge mess every time he eats, I wrap us in burp cloths and it helps but it makes it hard to feed him in public at all (covered of course).  I leak constantly so I'm always wearing nursing pads...just a pain. I hate having to plan my whole wardrobe around ease of feeding. He has terrible gas and I feel like it's all my fault. I can't pin point if its anything I'm eating or not. Lately he has been pulling off and screaming. Today he pulled off and started fussing down stairs and my mom suggested to burp him. So I sat him up, out came this man sized belch and then huge amounts of spit up. At the next feeding I burped him right away if he fussed and each time he would burp and spit a little. I think this process has cut down on his gas issues and discomfort. Having the right frame of mind helped a lot too. I would start to panic with flashbacks of Jake when Jack would fuss and scream while eating. So, calming down and letting the feeding take a little longer helped a lot! 

So here's to our journey Jack...wherever it takes us. This has been such a great learning experience...as most things in parenting are. This is another one of those moments that seems huge right now but won't last for very long. I want to take in these special times and tuck them away in my heart. These moments won't matter as much to you as others but it was important to me to remember this journey...

Love, 

Mommy/ fine with being a milk machine...for now!! haha!!