Andrea Price Photography: August 2015

I had the pleasure of meeting so many mommies this month between portrait sessions, The Big Latch On and a lovely group photo I took last week for Every Little Thing Birth and Beyond 360 magazine. The movement to normalize breastfeeding is definitely growing and seeing so many mommies come together to do so has been quite amazing. Reading their individual stories from struggles to success tugs at my heart strings. Some have brought me to tears! Some of them have hit so close to home. Each mother has their OWN unique journey but one thing is all the same: Support is IMPORTANT to a breastfeeding journey. I will be doing a separate post with a list of support groups and local specialist. If you see this before I have completed that list, please feel free to contact me and I will help you find the support that you need!

"As many first time mom's prepare for their new baby, I had a birth plan/aftercare plan and breastfeeding was high on the list. Every book and article made it sound so simple and beautiful as if every newborn immediately latches on to the boob at first skin to skin contact. That was not the case with my son, Aiden. I wasn't able to hold him for the first 45 minutes due to some complications and once we were skin to skin, he was so exhausted from birth that he went into a deep sleep and didn't wake up for approximately 14 hrs. A lactation consultant attempted to get a latxh within those first 14 hrs but he wouldn't stay awake, nor did it seem that his little mouth could open wide enough to latxh into my nipple much bigger than his tiny mouth. In the meantime, I requested a pump and started pumping so that his first taste of milk would be from me. I attempted to latch him numerous times throughout the three day stay with help from three different LC but it wasn't turning out the way that I envisioned it, nor did the LC seem to have adequate time to spend with me working on our issues. I was feeling an array of emotions and failure was one of them. Why didn't any of my readings discuss when breastfeeding doesn't go as planned? I never thought about hiring my personal LC for afterbirth to advocate for me when my busy nurses and LC started to complain about my child needing to consume "x" amount of milk and kept listing formula as an option. What was the point of having on staff LC if they couldn't help me? I started doubting myself in the hospital and supplemented with formula. Someone mentioned WIC having a Lactation counselor on staff to assist mother's for free, so I called and was able to set up an appointment the following week. I had so much anxiety knowing that I had to still figure out a way to give my child breast milk even though he wasn't latching. The day after we were discharged from the hospital, I bought an electric pump and dedicated every min to pumping so that I didn't have to give my son formula. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for formula because at least I knew he was getting nourishment but it wasn't apart of our plan. That following week we finally met with the counselor at WIC and I was so nervous. I was nervous because I didn't want another person looking at me with sympathy and telling me sorry they didn't know why he wasn't latching. The counselor was extremely empathic and listened to my concerns without being rushed or having to attend to the next mom. She explained that that not only were I heavy chested but my nipples were twice the size of Aiden's mouth, making it difficult to latch him using the football hold. She explained that the "tea cup" hold would work best and demonstrated. She was able to latxh my son on the first try and I started to cry. She unlatched him and had me attempt the hold myself and having my son latch on for the first time in a week was the first time I didn't feel like a failure. But now that he was latched, I felt extreme pain and couldn't imagine how this could be beautiful. She explained that the pain and clicking noise was a result of a possible tongue tie. That was another hurdle to get over but at least we had gotten Aiden to latch. At his second pediatric appointment, a tongue tie was confirmed and fixed soon after. I suffered through the pain some feedings and pumped for the first six weeks. Once we both were comfortable in our breastfeeding relationship, we slowly weaned off the bottle and have been exclusively breastfeeding ever since. Aiden will be 2 on August 14th and we see no end in sight."

"When I was pregnant with Julian I thought I was going to have this beautiful home birth and he would do the newborn crawl to my breast. It was going to perfect, beautiful and completely natural. Well, I had my beautiful home birth, but when my baby was placed on my chest he made no efforts to feed at all. Finally, the midwives suggested that I offer him my breast. He was not very interested and when he finally did suckle he wouldn't open his mouth wide for a good latch. He was drawing milk, which was unknown to me at the time, but I ended up having cracked and bleeding nipples and a little fighter at the breast. These early moments were full of tears, frustration, and anger towards my precious infant. The anger would be followed by immediate guilt. This whole experience left me feeling like an awful parent. Then I met Pat Lindsey, a lactation consultant, and my baby nursed painlessly for the first time. Yes! I only needed one appt. and we improved tremendously. A few days later I met with Allika Garries-Alce as well. I had a free appt. with her through Kaleen, my midwife. She was beautiful and full of new information and encouragement. I continued to improve and although my babe was a fighter for the first couple of months my support and encouragement continued in Lika's Leaking Ladies, Allika's Breastfeeding support group. This early support was key to my new found relationship. All this happened within the first couple of weeks after Julian's birth. Although, we still have issues on and off, I now know how lucky I am to have mostly resolved them so quickly. I do feel as though my early frustrations made it harder for us to bond. So, these beautiful pictures show me how hard I worked and how far I've come to build this awesome relationship with my baby. They bring tears to my eyes, joy to my heart and I am safe in the knowledge that I have a rockin' breastfeeding bond with my little one."

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When asked what part of having a baby I was looking forward to most, my answer was always breastfeeding. I grew up seeing the women in my family nurse their babies and had even pretended to nurse my dolls. I imagined having my baby naturally, snuggling my little one skin to skin and nursing them right away. Instead, I ended up spiking a fever during delivery so my baby was quickly taken off to the transitional nursery for evaluation and antibiotics.

I was thankful my husband was able to stay with our son while they cleaned me up and advocate for my desire to breastfeed. My baby and I were separated for almost five hours. When my son was wheeled into my room, I immediately wanted to nurse him. With the help of the nurse, I was able to position him and get him to latch on. “You’re a natural,” she told me. I was happy to finally be holding and feeding my baby. The pediatrician who evaluated my son said all looked well. He did mention that my son had a tongue tie but did not think it was a problem. The second night in the hospital I started to get the feeling something was wrong.

My little one was crying constantly and kept wanting to nurse. The nurse brought us a pacifier and told me he was just comfort sucking on me and that I should discourage it. The pacifier seemed to help and we finally got some rest. We were discharged the next day. When we got home, it became apparent something was still not right. My son was constantly wanting to nurse and it was so painful when he latched that I was in tears. The nurse practitioner at the pediatrician’s office gave me some pointers and said he seemed perfectly fine. Over the next few days, it was obvious that things were not perfectly fine. He continued to nurse and cry constantly. “Sounds like someone is going through a growth spurt,” the nurse told me. She gave me list of lactation consultants I could call. Making that call was the best decision I made.

The lactation consultant came to our home. She immediately pointed out the tongue tie and also a lip tie. I was
alarmed to learn my son was not gaining weight. He was weighed again after eating, and we learned he was not
transferring well. I was devastated that my little one was not able to get all he needed from me. My supply was tanking because he was not taking much. The next few weeks were a blur of pumping after every feed, supplementing with my pumped milk, oral motor evaluations and mouth stretches and follow-up appointments. I cried a lot. I was worried my son and I would not bond because I was having to put him right down or hand him off after feeding to pump. He had finally started to gain weight, so I reminded myself that it was worth it even if it was hard.

We decided to get his lip and tongue tie revised by a pediatric dentist in Tampa. We made the two-hour drive
with our 4-week-old son. The procedure was quick, and he nursed right after. I immediately felt a difference, and I was happy to be nursing pain free. We followed up with the lactation consultant a week later, and he had gained almost a pound. He was transferring well, and I could cut down on pumping. I was so relieved.

I thought it was going to be smooth sailing, but I noticed my son still wanting to eat frequently and also arching
his back and crying. I knew he was getting enough to eat so I was concerned. The word colic was brought up, but I felt there was more to it. He was spitting up often and had what looked like very inflammatory baby acne. The lactation consultant said it looked like reflux and suggested I cut dairy out of my diet. After much convincing, we were able to get medication that greatly helped the reflux. We were sent to a GI specialist who had us do an ultrasound and a barium swallow. We also worked with the office nutritionist. Formula was brought up a few times, but I refused. I knew nothing would be better for him that what I was giving him.

With the proper dosage and changes in my diet, the reflux improved and his skin cleared up. My child went from
being labeled as colicky to happy. He is now all smiles. I like to say my breastfeeding journey has been more of an
adventure. Through advocating for my own breastfeeding relationship, I have met amazing women who share similar circumstances and have found opportunities to be involved in amazing organizations. At 8 months old, my son is still breastfeeding and there is no end in sight. He is happy and healthy and just amazing. Although our journey was challenging, I would do it all again. Every time he looks up at me with that big smile, I smile back knowing I am giving my son the best I can give him every day."

"Breastfeeding is the best thing I have ever done and I'm so grateful for this incredible journey. Capturing this beautiful relationship between my baby girl and myself in a photograph is something I will treasure for the rest of my life."