My name is Katie, and I officially became a super listener (Badass Breastfeeding Podcast) after my first son was born in 2022 — thanks in large part to my sister, who inspired me with her own breastfeeding journey and introduced me to your podcast. I feel so lucky to have had her in my life, and I believe her experience helped shape mine. Whenever a friend tells me they want to breastfeed, the first thing I do is send them your podcast. The stories, the advice, the encouragement is all so valuable. You’ve both inspired me to learn more, trust myself, and keep moving forward.
I’ve had two very different breastfeeding journeys that I’d love to share:
Baby Auggie
Born 8/14/22 at 37 weeks due to PROM
This little guy came out ready to breastfeed — he latched within the first hour and didn’t stop until he was 26 months old. We never had a single bump in the road. I had only listened to a few episodes of your podcast before he was born, but they gave me the motivation to advocate for myself and my baby right from the start.
On day two of his life, an older nurse told us his bilirubin levels were concerning and that he needed the light blanket overnight. She followed it up with, “If he’s not latching for 20 minutes at a time, you need to supplement. What formula brand do you prefer?” The way she framed it felt like a trap for a first-time mom to disrupt a strong start to nursing with formula. My freshly postpartum brain replied, “Just breastmilk. If he doesn’t latch, my sister has pumped milk I can use.” She argued that my sister’s milk wasn’t “made” for my baby and said the hospital wouldn’t allow it. I stood my ground, and she huffed out of the room, saying they’d send in lactation.
The consultant who came in was an angel — she reassured me that my colostrum plus his latch were more than enough, and I could do what I needed to feed my baby. From there, our exclusively breastfed journey was smooth and truly magical. To this day he still points calls my breasts “milkeys!” and now proudly says it’s baby brother’s turn.
Baby Warren
Born 4/5/25 at 34 weeks and 6 days due to PROM
Warren’s story began a little differently. Upon a very quick birth, I only had a few minutes of skin-to-skin before he had to be rushed to the NICU. I was devastated not to have that golden hour or the first latch like I had with Auggie. Plus terrified of what was to come. Thankfully, my L&D nurse was an experienced pumping mom and brought the pump out right away — I pumped 5ml of colostrum within an hour of birth, in spite of being separated from my baby so early.
The hospital has an amazing donor milk program, so he was tube-fed a combo of my milk and donor milk in those first 48 hours. At one point, a nurse asked my husband what I thought about breastfeeding, and he said, “Oh, she will die on that hill. She’d give up her legs before her breasts for our babies.” That gave me a much-needed laugh in the middle of the madness.
When I was finally taken to Warren (2.5 hours after birth), he was in an incubator on CPAP, and very hard to see for the first time. Luckily, I was able to do skin-to-skin later that night through all the cords. About 24 hours in, the CPAP came off and they let me try feeding. He latched right away, and it was an incredible moment.
The early NICU days have been hard — I was overwhelmed trying to figure out preemie positioning, lack of feeding cues, the NICU schedule, and oxygen concerns. All while still wrapping my head around the situation and abrupt end to an amazing pregnancy. But because of the experience I had with Auggie and the knowledge I’d gained from your podcast, I knew if I wanted him exclusively breastfed, I had to push through and put in the effort. I worked closely with an amazing lactation consultant who encouraged me to pump every 3 hours after feeds to build an oversupply we could scale back later.
I’ve been living on the NICU couch — pumping, feeding and snuggling. It’s been a beautiful, exhausting rhythm. I miss my toddler and my husband, who’s been bouncing between home and hospital, but we’ve had incredible support from family helping with Auggie, the dogs, the house — everything.
One week in, I’ve been producing a wild amount of milk, and Warren is already above his birth weight. I’ve been cleared to move from a strict preemie feeding schedule to more of a cue-based approach with the goal of being an exclusive breastfeeder, just like big bro.
We’re now focused on weaning him off the nasal cannula, but he’s doing incredibly well. All the nurses have praised how rare it is to see a 34-weeker feed this strongly — and to see a mom so committed to building both supply and a feeding relationship.
This journey has been wild, tough, and absolutely amazing. I’m so grateful for everything I learned with my first — it helped me realize how deeply important breastfeeding is to me and my babies. It’s a lot of work, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
We’re just waiting on a bit more lung development before we can safely wean him off the last bit of oxygen.
He’s now exclusively breastfed, which I’m absolutely thrilled about! The nurses have been so impressed with his latch and my milk supply—they’ve said it’s incredibly rare for a 34-weeker to take to breastfeeding and maintain it like he has. He was 6 lbs 9 oz at birth, and tonight, at two weeks old, he weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz.
I honestly can’t imagine going through this as a first-time mom. My experience with Auggie really shaped my journey this time. Getting him fully on the breast wasn’t even a question—but preemies are definitely a different breed. It’s taken a lot of work and dedication, but it’s paying off, and I know we’ll be home soon enough.
