My little girl was born in July 2021 and we didn’t get off to a great start with breastfeeding, I thought it would be straightforward and was told she would feed within an hour or so of being born… she didn’t. Long story short, we couldn’t establish breastfeeding and sadly the hospital said I had to use formula to be able to go home.
Once I was home from hospital I decided to start trying to express milk to at least combination feed her but keep trying to bring her to breast. Despite all the try’s and tears bringing her to breast she wouldn’t latch but I just couldn’t stop try as I was so desperate to breastfeed. I was so stressed with it all and it took some advice from a health visitor telling me to not force it and simply relax with my daughter in bed for example giving her access to my breasts if she wanted. Low and behold on 24.8.21 she latched onto me and fed from me for the first time.
Since that date she was exclusively breastfed and still feeds to sleep and on the odd occasion through the day now at 3! I’m proud of our journey and making our way through struggles, it wasn’t as I expected but has taught me so much, breastfeeding is a skill for mum & baby to learn and most journeys do not have an easy start. I am now a breastfeeding peer support volunteer for the NHS supporting mums on their feeding journeys and I’m so proud of this too, my little girl has been to every group with me too which is a wonderful thing to share together too (she even breastfeeds her dolls now!)
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