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8th March 2017
10:13am GMT

I instinctively knew that it would be important that I learned as much as could about breastfeeding before baba's arrival. We had done a lot of research on what buggy to buy, this certainly warranted a good chunk of my time. I joined a couple of Facebook groups, where I found really supportive people with amazing advice for new mammy’s. I visited the pages everyday, reading the articles linked to, and googling information referenced in them. I started building up a sense of what breastfeeding involved, what to look out for, where to go for support. As my pregnancy progressed I started to feel prepared and knowledgeable. I knew I’d face into some challenges, I had read lots of accounts from mammies who had, but I felt confident that I had an idea of what to expect and where to turn if I needed it.
When Oisin was born he latched on within a few minutes. The midwives indicated his latch looked good. We fed away and had lots of skin to skin. When we transferred back to the ward I was on such a high. They forgot my tea and toast but I barely noticed! It was hours before I got them (I believe they are the best meal you’ll ever have?). But I was more than happy snuggling away with my beautiful baby as he fed like a champ. Every now and then a midwife would pass by and glance my way, maybe with a passing comment- ‘he’s a pro’. One midwife, when checking something else, indicated she thought he might have a tongue tie. I asked what we should do about it. She suggested we wait and see whether it caused us any issues feeding. It never did.
I had downloaded an app to keep track of feeds. I was supposed to write it all in to the file along with information on his nappies – how many, were they wet, were they soiled? In the haze of happiness and tiredness I kept losing track. But nobody really reviewed it so I decided that I was not going to get overly hung up on it. I knew that as long as he was feeding away and having his wet and dirty nappies we were doing ok. I deleted the app.
We went home the next day. My husband was great. I set up camp on the couch and he looked after us both while I figured out the whole breastfeeding malarkey. On the day my milk came in (I think maybe day 3) my boobs felt so full and quite painful. I couldn’t get the hang of hand expressing to get some comfort so I sent him off in a panic to find me some sort of hand pump so I could express just a small amount for comfort.
Over the next couple of weeks, everything I had read about came to pass. The second night. The sore nipples (lanolin and compresses became my saviours). The cluster feeding at 2 weeks. But I felt equipped for it. I had a sense of what to expect. We fed on demand, I was really enjoying the whole experience and my little boy was doing great.
When he was 2 weeks old we went along to a Friends of Breastfeeding group in a local café. It was lovely to meet other breastfeeding mammy’s. They all had older babies and that was my first encounter in real life with anyone feeding their baby beyond a couple of months. It was all so natural and it was then I realised I was just going to go with the flow and see where it took us. Groups like this are also a great way in the early days to gain confidence feeding in public.
I never experienced any negativity when feeding out and about. In fact quite the opposite. On one occasion a woman approached me in a café and told me it was such a beautiful thing to see. I was beaming after that encounter.
Oisin is 26 months old now. And he still enjoys his milkies. I work full time and prior to returning when he was 8 months I was worried what that would mean for us. So back to the trusty breastfeeding groups (not that I ever left) where I learned it was totally possible to work full time and breastfeed.
Breastfeeding is so convenient. With a baby there a many things that make leaving the house on time a challenge, but preparing for feeding is not one of them. At night you can just roll over and feed baby as you need. When he is sick and off his food I know he is still getting all his nutrients.
Continuing to breastfeed just happened naturally. I briefly contemplated stopping when he turned one, it seemed a natural break. But when the time came there didn’t really seem to be any reason to, he certainly was not ready and I felt it was important to wait until he was. I don’t see any reason to stop something that works so well for our family.
Breastfeeding has been the most amazing thing I have ever done. I look at our beautiful little boy and know that my body grew him for 9 months, nourished him exclusively for a further six and continues to give him the very best. I’m immensely proud of that. “
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