Breastfeeding Chase

Anyone who has any idea about my history with breastfeeding Cole asks two questions about Chase: "How was your birth?" and then, "How is breastfeeding going?"

Breastfeeding.  Hoo-boy, this was my nemesis.   The one I was most anxious about.  The pain of trying to breastfeed Cole is the most overwhelming and stressful memory of the first months of his little life.  I vividly remember holding onto the arms of the chair for dear life while Chris helped Cole latch on so that I wouldn't instinctively shove him away because it was so painful.  This time, I felt as though breastfeeding just HAD to work.  I was trying so hard not to put pressure on myself (after all, it takes two to have a breastfeeding relationship), but I just knew it would be borderline impossible to pump every two hours around the clock like I did last time with a newborn AND a preschooler.

The goal of successful breastfeeding was one of the reasons I wanted to birth at Trillium Birth Center - to get as much knowledgeable breastfeeding help from the first day as possible. And it was one of the best decisions I could have made.  You see, with a hospital birth, you have a lot of help from various nurses (who may or may not have lactation training; and who DEFINITELY have different opinions), but once you leave the hospital, you are pretty much on your own.  The pediatrician you take your child to will do weight checks, but are pretty clueless when it comes to all the nitty gritty details of breastfeeding.  However, with Trillium, my ONE midwife was with me the whole journey of pregnancy - she knew my breastfeeding history from the day I met her and she was just as eager as I was to get it right this time.  She made house calls several times in the first few days of Chase's life to make sure things were going well and fix any nursing problems that cropped up.  It was amazing - and it was SO empowering to know that she had complete faith in my ability to do it.

And thanks to all that, I am thrilled to be able to say that I am SUPER successfully nursing Chase (he gained a pound a week his first month!!), with almost zero pain.  NO bleeding, NO cracks - it is amazing to be able to feed my child so conveniently and painlessly.

I can even say now that I'm grateful for my first breastfeeding experience with Cole, because now I am even more thankful each time I nurse Chase.  What an amazing experience it is to sustain a life with my body!