Breast Feeding Struggles

I shared my breast feeding struggles on Instagram a few months ago and have been receiving a lot of questions on it from new followers so I wanted to save this information to my blog. 99% of all the comments so far have been extremely positive and encouraging. I feel there will always be people who have a nasty opinion but what’s the alternative? Starve your baby? To be honest, I am very happy to be writing this blog a few months after I stopped breastfeeding. It is now the end of 2021 and Oakley is almost 5 months old which means I stopped trying to breast feeding about 3.5 months ago.

I feel at such peace with everything and the first few months were truly just a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. It can definitely feel like your world is crumbling if you can’t solely breastfeed and I know it can feel like you are failing but I am here to tell you that your baby won’t care how they were fed! For something that should be so natural, it is sometimes the most unnatural thing when it comes to having a baby.

Here’s the Instagram post I made when Oakley turned four weeks old:

I told myself I wouldn’t quit attempting to breastfeed on a bad day. I wanted to go until she was four weeks old to see if anything improved. Sadly, it hasn’t. I know I gave it my all and I wouldn’t say I feel like a failure but I am saddened by the fact that I couldn’t produce enough (or any at all today). I can confidently say I left no stone unturned
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2 different pumps
1 rented pump from the hospital
Power pumping
Pumping after nursing
Pumping every 3 hours
3 shield sizes on all pumps
Every speed option on all pumps
Self expression
Nursing
Lactation specialist- 3 appointments after the hospital
Icing
Heating pad
Massages
Oils
Teas
Drops
Herbs
Lactation pills
Every nipple cream under the sun
Youtube
Podcasts
Social media posts
Different sleeping positions
Lactation cookies and brownie mixes
Various potassium and electrolyte drinks
E V E R Y T H I N G
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If we are blessed with another baby, maybe the next time will be different. But for now, just focusing on my healthy and happy Oakley