My Brestfeeding Story

World Breastfeeding Week is upon us! I wanted to share my nursing journey with the hopes of normalizing some things that might seem a little, um... strange. Here goes...

Yesterday I had the honor of nourishing three babies all in the same day.

I nursed my son
I donated milk to my friend
I was a wet nurse 

Let me share with you a little bit about the journey to each of these moments in time that all collided into each other yesterday in a beautiful collection of the different parts of my breastfeeding journey.

I nurse my son

Our nursing relationship has never been "easy" but it has been wonderful. From the start I struggled to find a comfortable position for nursing and I just couldn't seem to get the hang of it! I called so many friends in tears because of how hard it all was. Once we were in the grove of things I learned I have a massive over-production problem blessing. Caleb and I are still struggling to find our groove when we are out in public. He is very particular about when, how, and where he eats. He freaks out with any type of covering and pops on and off quite a lot. His preference is to be nursed when we are lying down, he is clutching his blanket, his sound machine is going, and the fan is bowing on us. I have had success nursing him on the beach lying down on a towel and at a few parks, but other than those few times he rarely will eat when we are out and about. With all of those challenges, I have to say that I absolutely love nursing my son and I cherish the beautiful moments of us cuddling together. Those moments are so precious and I want to freeze them in time. I love nursing him and I plan to nurse him for as long as he desires (yes I hope to nurse my toddler).

This is the first picture I have of us nursing!

Milk drunk at 3 months

Mr. Kicky Pants nursing

I am a milk donor

Around 2 months postpartum a friend I had met in a breastfeeding support group inquired about milk sharing (donated milk) in one of our groups because she has a low milk-supply. Our amazing Lactation Consultant went over the benefits of donated milk, the health precautions, and how to have safe milk pumping and storing procedures. Later that week my friend had collected bags upon bags of breast milk that people from the group weren't going to use! I was intrigued but a little hesitant to donate milk because I didn't like pumping. I sucked it up (pun intended) and started out donating about 15oz a week. Since then I have upped my pumping sessions to 1-2x a day and I try to give her about 25 oz/week. I also donated milk to a mom in Ventura when I was visiting my family. Caleb wouldn't nurse so I pumped 9oz of milk and posted it on Eats on Feets (a milk-sharing facebook group) to see if anybody would be able to use it. I got so many responses for such a small amount of milk! So far I have donated almost 2 gallons of milk! I am happy to share the abundance I have been given with other babies.

Freezer stash for donation

I am a wet nurse

I feel honored to have nursed two other babies besides my own. The first time was my best friend's daughter in a spur-of-the moment emergency. The second time was yesterday. A friend I did yoga with a while back had a medical emergency that required her to take a medication that is absolutely not breastfeeding safe. She was told she couldn't nurse for three days and unfortunately her son refuses to take a bottle or drink milk from a sippy cup. Since he won't take milk any other way (and not for lack of trying) she reached out for help. Enter the wet nurse thing. A few other moms helped her out on Day 1. However on Day 2 he was very dehydrated and was struggling to drink liquids so I went over with Caleb in the afternoon to feed her son. I was pretty nervous about it if I am being honest! I was worried he wouldn't want to nurse from me and I was worried if it would feel different with the latch. When it was time for me to take him, her son didn't want me to hold him, play with him, or take him away from his mom. However, as soon as I got him latched on he was content and nursed like a champ. He fell asleep and I passed him off to his mom for his nap. I went back in the evening to feed the other baby before he went to bed. He was starving and emptied me so fast! He ended up falling asleep nursing and his mom finished putting him to bed. This was a wonderful experience for me and it was so natural and beautiful to be able to nourish another baby in a time of great need. This is how the human population has done it for thousands of years and I treasured this gift of life I was able to give my friend's son.

I feel honored and blessed to be able to give this precious gift from my body not only to my own son, but also to my friends' children through milk donation and wet nursing. I hope that my story helps to normalize breastfeeding a little bit more and encourage other moms to consider how they can either get help feeding their child or be of help to someone else!

Feet taste good too

Smiley guy!