A Big Accomplishment – Angie and her children

I gave birth to my firstborn, a son, in November 2009.  I had an uneventful pregnancy, and I gave birth to him after almost 18 hours of labor.  Due to some respiratory concerns, he was whisked away to the NICU for observation.  I knew I wanted to breastfeed, and I had taken some classes.  Due to his time in the NICU and my lack of pressuring the nurses, I did not try to nurse him until later that day.  He was initially given formula in the NICU without my knowledge.  My son was also on antibiotics initially due to a high white blood cell count.  The antibiotics quickly led to thrush for him, followed by thrush for me.

My son was not the best nurser. We had issues with breastfeeding the first several months.  I used a nipple shield to nurse him, and I tried to get him to eat for extended periods of time. He was having issues gaining weight, and we began supplementing with formula.  I would nurse him for forty-five minutes, supplement with formula, and then pump.  This was the routine I followed over and over; even in the middle of the night!  My pediatrician told me my breast milk may not be caloric enough. However, I set out to prove him wrong. I was very determined at this point.

By four months, my son was entirely on breast milk and no formula.  I returned to work and pumped during the day, nursing in the evenings and at night.  At six and a half months, I successfully got him to nurse without a nipple shield.  I continued breastfeeding him until over a year, supplementing when my supply couldn't keep up with his demand.  It was one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. 

In September 2011, my daughter was born.  Initially breastfeeding was a struggle at times, but we both worked at it.  I quit my job after working for a month, and I was able to nurse her without supplementing at all.  I partially weaned her after a year and continued nursing a few times a day past two years.  I let her self-wean when she was ready.

In June 2014, my third child, a son, was born.  He is currently 9 months, and I am still nursing him without having to supplement.  I plan on nursing him as long as he wants to. 

I love holding my babies and having quiet time with them while they nurse.  I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to nurse all my babies and to now stay at home with them.