My #breastfeeding journey has been an amazing one. I did not get the birth I had imagined, but breastfeeding healed that. I had pictured this beautiful, natural, no-intervention birth. Instead I got every complication I could.
[Read more…]Goodbye Num Nums
By Melody Griffith
Num Nums is leaving
I feel it everyday
Even though it’s time to go
A part of me wants you to stay [Read more…]
Your Legal Rights As A Working Breastfeeding Parent, And What To Do If Your Rights Are Violated
By Wendy Wisner, IBCLC
The majority of new moms return to work after having a baby—only 34% decide not to return to work, and as many as 1/4 of moms return to work within 2 weeks of having a baby. The reasons moms return to work are usually financial, although some women do so because they genuinely love their jobs. [Read more…]
It’s Totally Normal If Your Baby Breastfeeds Every Hour (Or Even More Frequently Than That!)
By Wendy Wisner, IBCLC
Like many moms, I had a ton of trouble breastfeeding the first time. My baby was super sleepy and wouldn’t wake up to nurse. Once I finally got him to wake up, latching was nearly impossible. Each latch felt like a puzzle I was desperately trying to figure out. I had to pump my milk for a while and feed him with a medicine dropper until we finally got into our groove.
17 More Days
By Jenny Manos
17 more days.
17 more days until I reach my goal of nursing my second child for an entire year.
13 more days of pumping at work.
I pumped because I couldn’t afford to stay home the whole time I was nursing. [Read more…]
Breastfeeding In A Sea of People
By Anonymous
Before I had my first, Lennon, I was a mild mannered (boring) tax accountant. Conservatively dressed working in a stuffy office. I was never without pantyhose. But when I got pregnant, I completely changed! For the better. I sought out a home-birth midwife and planned to have my baby in the water.
[Read more…]
Traumatic Start To Breastfeeding – An Insider Perspective
By Autumn Smith
I got pregnant unexpectedly at the age of 21. I was working as a nurse aide in the hospital when I discovered I was pregnant. The hospital actually “let me go” since I couldn’t “meet the job description.” Essentially I had a note from my OB saying I shouldn’t lift over 50lbs. My job involved lifting and transferring patients all day. I was given the opportunity to apply internally for another position within the system. I ended up working as a clinical assistant in the NICU. What an eye opener to an entirely different world. I loved my job there. It gave me the chance to learn the true reality of motherhood in a different light along with breastfeeding. [Read more…]
What To Do If You Feel “Touched Out” While Breastfeeding
By Wendy Wisner, IBCLC
When my nurslings were older babies—and especially when they were toddlers—I remember feeling at times like the physical closeness of breastfeeding was just about the last thing I could tolerate. After a long day of mothering, breastfeeding even made me want to jump out of my skin at times. I felt restless, irritated, and like if my babe stayed latched on for one more second, I was going to lose it. [Read more…]
Parenting on Social Media
Here’s a peaceful picture taken this afternoon in Chicago as the snow started to fall. I saw this scene from across the room and immediately took out my phone and was about to put it on my personal Facebook account. But then I stopped. Today was a really bad day. I feel all out of sorts. I was across the room because I couldn’t deal with them close up anymore. I’ve yelled at my kids many times. Exley has thrown several tantrums. Jack has bucked against everything out of my mouth. I feel overwhelmed and broken down. We have these days sometimes. We struggle to get along and flop around like fish out of water. I apologize and try to make right, sometimes I make it worse. When I think I can’t take it anymore the day ends and we wake up new tomorrow. This is just life, but the idea of posting this photo on Facebook today made me feel like a fraud. Like maybe there was going to be someone out there having the same bad day and when they saw this photo it would make them feel more isolated. They might think, “Look at all these families in my newsfeed having pleasant days ands I’m over here crying in the bathroom.” I’d hate for anyone to see this and not know that it was absolute bat-shit crazy chaos in here just moments ago. Remember this when you see perfection on social media. Here’s to all of us who cried in the bathroom today.
I Hope It Amounts to Something
I feel like we’ve reached a new level of chaos in this house. I’m constantly trying to keep up, make up for mistakes and be a good mom, but the chaos grows faster than I can work. I think back to right after Exley was born. Jack was 3 years old. It was an utter disaster around here. Jack hit the ceiling and I was trying to care for a newborn. But Exley napped. And during those naps I spent time with Jack. We played cards, board games, built things out of cardboard or towers with magna tiles. I know that I have always felt like I wasn’t doing enough, I’ve always felt like the chaos I was in was the biggest chaos that would ever exist in life. But looking back on that time now all I remember are the good times. I probably did a ton of things wrong, but I guess I did some things right too. And looking back it seems like it wasn’t so bad compared to now! Now once again it seems like the chaos is over my head. I feel like I am doing all the things wrong. I hope looking back on this some of the good times will come more into focus. It’s an insanely chaotic string of events and I don’t understand how it can turn out to be anything. I don’t understand how it can amount to anything, but I suppose it does. I hope it does. I hope it’s good.
Photo taken in between the first disastrous part of the day and the second explosive part of the day. This was the only way that they wouldn’t completely meltdown in the museum. I don’t like posting this happy photo because it doesn’t really match what I’m saying and it contributes to all the misrepresentation that goes on over social media, but it’s frowned upon to post tantrum photos. This is what I want to be even if I never feel like the person here.
