When I had my first child I knew that I wanted to breastfeed.
Like a lot of new mums, I assumed it would just come naturally to me and my baby. My body would kick into gear straight away and I would have no problem producing milk. That was not the case. I struggled a lot. My milk never fully came through and eventually a month into trying I threw in the towel.
I felt incredibly guilty and even had a midwife tell me that I should have tried harder. I felt like such a failure. It wasn’t until I joined some parenting forums that I realised I wasn’t alone in my struggle.
After giving birth for the second time my milk came through perfectly, which surprised me. I thought after all the problems I had the first time that I would never be able to breastfeed.
I’ve since shared several posts about my experience with breastfeeding with other mothers to let them know that it’s normal to struggle. Something that no one ever told me when I was a first-time mum.
During the week, while scrolling through my Facebook feed I came across a post from another mum and it brought me right back to being a new mum.
The mum talks about how even though she knew all the tricks and literally wrote the book on expressing milk, she still found herself coming into difficulty.
She spoke about how she struggled to get her milk to express for her baby and how she often sat crying out of sadness and frustration.
She ended her post on a really beautiful note that I think every new mum should read;
“So to the mothers out there only starting out. I see you. I know how desperate you feel and that you are doing all you can. Give it time. It does get easier.
Every. Single. Drop. Is. Precious.”
If you find that you are struggling to breastfeed reach out to family, friends and your public health nurse. It’s ok not to get it right straight away. We all needed help in the beginning. You’re doing great.
