Breastfeeding is not an exam, a job interview, nor a quest in a video game. It is a deeply personal journey that mothers and babies take together.
Breastfeeding Berkshire
Breastfeeding Cafe’s primary goal is to support you and your child as you learn to walk together through the early years. We love to be a part of your family’s journey and see your children grow. In the fall of 2019, we came up with an idea to honor you as you celebrate your baby’s first birthday by gifting him or her a “Breastfeeding Cafe 12 months club” onesie. We were so glad to be able to celebrate five special birthdays since then and we hope to continue this in the new year and honor many more families. We know that every mother’s course is so very special, not always easy, but always worth sharing. “All journeys, even the ones that go off-road, are valuable, important and worthy of celebration. Every feed, even if it was a single syringe of colostrum that was expressed antenatally, is valuable, important and worthy of celebration.”(Breastfeeding Berkshire) We hope you will share your story with us and allow us to keep supporting you and your feeding goals. In the New Year, we hope to honor even more families by celebrating your smaller and bigger milestones and triumphs. Stay tuned for details.
We believe in the power of stories and their ability to inspire and provide hope when you need it. Thank you to Maia, Danielle, Maeve, Meredith, and Megan for sharing your children and your special journey. Thank you for being an important part of our community and for normalizing breastfeeding!
Maia and Eli
If you spend any time with me you know I breastfeed pretty often and without a cover and it looks pretty easy and usually more discreet then this photo but it wasn’t always easy, and I wasn’t this confident either.
It’s been almost exactly a year since we started this and let me tell you it was hard, and it got harder before it got easier.
In the hospital, Eli wouldn’t latch. He just wouldn’t even try. I had to give him my milk from a tiny cup or syringe. This continued for 4 days before a saw a 3rd lactation consultant who had him latch with a shield. (Yes, I had two other professionals helping me before I found one that it clicked). I had mastitis twice (think of infection the size of a softball and needed antibiotics to kick it. I was usually covered in milk and had to wash the sheets daily. My poor nips were cracked and bleeding and I felt nauseous every time I fed him (from the hormones).
But you know what, I DID IT! After about 6 weeks I was able to ditch the shield after Eli and I both had a better grasp on what we were doing. I got through. And can feed my baby (usually) painlessly. (Teeth suck). Now it’s the easiest part of my day, I can literally nurse him in my sleep it’s so easy. So if you or someone you know is trying to breastfeed, stick it out, find support, and realize it doesn’t start easy for most of us.
Danielle and Olive
When Olive was born she seemed to have a good latch in the hospital, but when we got home things got harder. She most likely had some sort of lip or tongue tie, but she was gaining weight and seemed happy so I decided to push through the pain. I became anxious every time I knew I had to feed her. I was crying daily over the guilt of feeling like I needed to breastfeed her, but it was also causing me a lot of stress and so much pain! We ended up bottle feeding every other feed with pumped milk and sometimes formula. There was a point where I decided to exclusively pump and way overdid it trying to get ahead of her demand for milk and ended up so engorged and my breasts weren’t responding to the pump anymore. I tried putting her back to the breast because I knew that she would be able to get the milk out. I also had thrush around the same time (it is sort of a blur now time wise) which added to the pain. I decided I needed help and reached out to an IBCLC. Susie came to our house and gave me some tips and also recommended we go to the breastfeeding cafe. I was nervous to show up somewhere where I knew no one, but I had no friends in the area and my family live an hour away. I’m so glad I decided to go. Fast forward to 15 months old, we are still nursing multiple times per day and throughout the night. Olive has been slowly increasing her time in her crib for the first stretch of sleep (almost five hours now) but she sleeps in our bed after she wakes up. I can’t imagine how different it would be if I didn’t try again with breastfeeding. Thanks to everyone who has given us advice or support over the past 15 months! So happy we have this little group.
Maeve and Moira
I never leaked while I was pregnant. Actually I barely leaked after either. Maybe 2-3 times total. I was induced due to high blood pressure the day before my due date. I ended up having a c section and she was born on her due date. We were breastfeeding in the hospital. Then I got preeclampsia and asked them to give her formula because of the medication. They told me she was losing weight. Once we left the hospital, she was fussy all the time. They told me to offer the breast and then supplement if necessary. She would feed and then drink 2 ounces. They kept asking if my milk had come in. I had no idea. I was feeling so desperate and confused. I felt like a terrible mother because I didn’t know what to do. She would get so worked up and not latch. My mantra became “just get through this feeding. Just focus on this feeding.” Finally! After 4 weeks my milk came in. Then we had to learn how to breastfeed all over again. Now my let down was too fast and choking her. I had to learn different positions. I felt overwhelmed again for different reasons. My goal became to breastfeed for 6 months, probably won’t make a year. Around 6 months my supply dropped while I was pumping at work. I drank all the teas, I ate more calories, I drank more water, I ate special foods. I power pumped. I ended up getting some donor milk from my cousin. I stopped pumping at 12 months (best day ever). I still have 2 jars of breastmilk in my freezer to remind myself that I did it. My daughter is 15 months old and we are still breastfeeding.
Meredith and Quinnie
After successfully breastfeeding my two older daughters for a year each, I thought a third time would be easy! I wasn’t modest or nervous anymore and in the past, I’d had a great supply so how could it be difficult this time? But then vasospasm made it horribly painful and resulted in us nursing less and me having a diminished supply. Add to that a tongue and lip tie and the worst postpartum depression I’ve ever experienced, and Quinn and I have had a really rough year! The best times came after we got her tongue and lip ties revised at 10 months (**do not wait as long as we did!!!**) and all of a sudden she could nurse so much better! I think I would have quit at 2 months were it not for the support at the Breastfeeding Cafés at Faxton, LLL, and Rome, and the help of wonderful people like Susie, Ania, Ginger, Sandra, and Lauri. Thank you!!!
Megan and Isaac
Isaac came into the world about 4 weeks early due to placenta previa. When he was born he was not nearly as eager to latch on as my first son 5 years prior. This time, I should have known what I was doing because I was a CLC and it was my second time! Instead, I would rush Isaac on to the nipple and allow the pain because at least he was eating. By the time we got home from the hospital my nipples were cracked and bleeding. I never experienced this with my first son. I needed help. Susie was a call away and she came to the rescue. She helped me to take my time and get a better latch and things began to look up. Isaac also was found to have a tongue and lip tie. We went to see Dr. Reeves for a revision around a month old. I think the revision helped as well. When I look back I see that things were harder and also different. We did also have a time where my milk duct got plugged and that was very hard to fix. Isaac continues to love his “ba” and feeds through the night a few times. The reward from knowing he has gotten the best he could get is worth all the trouble! Dec 11th, 2019 he turned 1!