Monica ~ LIfetime Bond

It all started on March 19, 2013 I already knew that my plan was to breastfeed. My whole pregnancy I did research and followed some Facebook pages, also my number one supporter, my mom, had done it so why wouldn't I?

As soon as Julissa was born at 3:08pm she was placed on my chest and she was squirming looking for her milk and latched immediately! That's when I knew this was definitely what was right! About a week of being home I was feeling pain when she would nurse on my left breast, the kind of pain that I would count to three before latching her on, the pain that brought tears to my eyes, that made me curl my toes, but the mom in me thought I have to keep going I can't be selfish! I became worried Easter evening when I was sitting on the bed nursing while watching TV, I looked down to help Julissa re-latch and there was blood on her little chin! As a first time mom I was definitely freaking out! I later realized that I had not been latching her on correctly; the reason for the blood was that I had a scab which was pulled while nursing. The next day I called a lactation consultant and she walked me through latching her on correctly. I let my left breast heal for a week, once I started nursing again everything was perfect!

We have not had any problems since then and we are going strong at a year and seven months! I had always had small breast and thought that I wouldn't make a lot of milk, but boy was I wrong! I had what friends and family called my own milk factory going, I had enough to feed my sweet princess and after she was full, I still had plenty of milk to pump, I could pump 6-8oz from each breast! I also was able to donate milk to a friend whose milk supply was low when she had her newborn.  This is by far the BEST experience ever. I've learned so much, such as breastfeeding isn't just food it helps with so many other things. Of course it nourishes a baby/child, helps with skin conditions, congestion, ear infections,  and it also helps reduce chances of breast and ovarian cancer and many other things!