Mum’s Journey: Breastfeeding Isn’t Always Easy… But, I Have a Plan!

That said, I have to admit that the last few weeks have still been a challenge. As a second time Mum, you feel like breastfeeding should be easy… but that’s not always the case!

A Challenging Start to Breastfeeding

About 3 weeks ago, Coby started getting totally distraught during breastfeeding. He consistently vomited early on. Fortunately, the breast milk thickener helped.

He’s also “windy,” so we burp him well to help with that. However, over the last few weeks, he has been so upset during breastfeeds that I’ve aborted the breastfeed and bottle-fed him more times than not.

There have been many days that I’ve ended up bottle feeding every feed. If I didn’t find expressing so quick and easy, I probably would have given up breastfeeding by now.

After the first few days of this behavior, I suspected that Coby had silent reflux, like my first son Charlie. I promptly made an appointment with my GP and we got him on the right medication.

It’s been nearly 2 weeks and it has helped a little but not entirely. I started to worry that something else was going on and considered altering my diet and other things.

Over the last few days, I have been back to the GP, spoken to the Medela LC, Katie, seen an LC for a 1:1 session and seen the pediatrician.

It turns out that the paediatrician said the medication dose was below half what it should be. I also got a lot out of a 1:1 session with an LC who has given me lots of tips for breastfeeding.

Onwards and Upwards

The LC recommended to try a different bottle teat (Medela Calma,) which better mimics how Coby would feed at my breast.

The other few things I have tried are feeding him upright, using a nipple shield again to slightly slow down the flow and feeding lying down rather than sitting. I also will take Katie’s advice and attend my local council breastfeeding clinic every week for a few weeks to get some confidence back.

Katie has been so lovely and supportive on the phone, which made a big difference. Sometimes, you just need somebody to remind you what a good job you’re doing despite things not being where you want them to be

Amongst all of this, I’m so happy that I got my hands on an expressing bra as it has made all this extra expressing even easier. I’ve actually written this from my laptop, while expressing!

The last few weeks haven’t been the easiest. At least I feel like I have the right tools to work with. So, fingers crossed! Now we can turn the corner.

How would you describe your breastfeeding experience? What advice would you give to a mum who is trying breastfeeding for the first time? Let’s have a chat here or on the Medela Facebook page.