My
breastfeeding story begins almost 5 years ago, when my oldest was born. He
was so tiny. I had a traumatic birth with him, but one thing I knew for sure,
is that I wanted to breastfeed. After my C-section, it took the nurses over an
hour to bring me my baby. But I got him latched on and nursing, without any
help of the nurses, who didn't actually try to help. It also took the nurses
over 29 hours before they decided to get me up and out of bed. (This
information is super important!) For the next 15 days, I spent every
moment with my newborn, I would nurse him, we'd both take a nap, and when I
awoke I would change his diaper and start all over again with that routine.
During those 2 weeks, I didn't really take care of myself; I was more focused
on my baby. I didn't eat very much, keep myself hydrated or get up and moving a
whole lot - because no one told me to. When I got to the 15th day, I noticed
something was wrong, it felt like I had pulled a muscle in my groin area, but I
hadn't done anything to make that area hurt. Something told me to look at my
legs and check things out, and I discovered my left leg to be a
pinkish/purplish color, while my right leg remained normal. I knew this wasn't
right and made an immediate trip to the nearest ER. After being there for a few hours,
they discovered that I had a DVT, also known as a deep vein thrombosis or
a blood clot. They discovered I had a
hereditary blood clotting disorder which would make future pregnancies higher
risk. That day also ended my nursing
journey with my oldest son, because even though an OB/GYN was okay with me
nursing and taking a blood thinner, to help dissolve the newly found blood
clot, the ER doctors were not familiar with how it would affect the baby and
forced me to stop.
Fast
forward 3 1/2 years later. I had a healing Family Centered Cesarean
section after 22 hours of un-medicated labor. During the last 3 hours my baby's
heart beat was closely monitored as it dropped following my contractions. He
was born and immediately placed on my chest while in the operating room. He
immediately started nursing before surgery was even over. At that moment, I
knew we would have a great nursing relationship. I had to be on the same blood thinners I was
on after the discovery of my blood clot, which WERE breastfeeding friendly
after all.
We've had a fairly easy nursing journey, except
for a few minor bumps of dealing with uneducated people who are against nursing
in public. But as his 18 month nursing anniversary approaches, it's very clear
that this bond is something that will never break. We will continue on until we
are both ready to move past this special gift that God has given us. I am truly
amazed at how awesome a woman's body is and how it continues to nourish a baby
as long as necessary. One thing I know for sure is that our journey won't end
here. ♡
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