Our Journey With Breastfeeding: 18 weeks!

Today marks 18 whole weeks of EBF (exclusively breastfeeding) my baby boy, Wesley Jr!

Nursing Wesley: 2 days old

Each week is a new milestone and I'm always so happy to say we've made it that much longer in this journey together. Because its not just me who has done all the hard work, its him too. Exclusively Breastfeeding means you don't use formula. Most will pump and use bottles. But we are "straight from the tap", the way nature intended. He has also never taken a pacifier. But not all ebf babies are this way. My son definitely knows it's fake. He makes a gaggy face and pushes it out. I've tried it like three times... never works. Different pacifiers too. I just don't think its ever gonna happen. No big deal, just figure I'd try. It's really sweet actually, to know that your baby doesn't want anything replacing you. He's definitely mama's boy!

When Wesley was born, I had a natural birth. NO induction, NO pain relief, NO epidural. WE did it, TOGETHER. "The way you give birth changes you. The baby isn't the only person being born during childbirth. The mother is too."

When Wesley came out, he made a few sounds and was placed on my chest, immediately.

Wesley Jr holding mama's finger after his birth

He held my finger tightly and just looked me in the eyes...

I believe that first time together can be VERY important in how well your breastfeeding journey can go. We got to have immediate contact, I held him for a while before he was even taken to be weighed. During that time, we both had lots of changes happening from hormones, pheromones, and signals in my body to feed my baby. He was able to get a whiff of mama and my body was telling me to produce colostrum for him. After he was weighed and had some warm clothes put on, he was quickly given back to me to nurse. He latched on within 20 seconds of his mouth touching me.

With my daughter, we were BOTH new to it. So a lactation consultant helped me try different positions and used sugar water to get her to latch. But she figured it out. And so did I. She did great with nursing. I had six weeks of breastfeeding her and pumping for her. I wish I had done it longer for us. I was such a NEW mother and had NO support. I let my workplace scare me into quitting all together. They were gonna make me pump in the bathroom! I didn't want to, so I just quit pumping. Then, I stopped breastfeeding because I didn't know how to get my breasts to stop leaking at work! If I had the support from fellow breastfeeding mothers and friends, like I do NOW, I wouldn't have stopped pumping or breastfeeding for her. So we used formula after those 6 weeks. And I didn't know this at the time, but the first 6 weeks are the hardest. If you can get past those- you're doing great!

Mama feeding Gracie Lynn: 2 days old

Wesley nursed wonderfully during our hospital stay. My nurse gave me a paper to fill out every time he nursed. I did that for the first two or three times. It was so often that I just stopped. She would come in and ask how long he nursed and it was always either 30 minutes or a couple times in an hour. So my nurse wasn't worried. We were making a great team together, me and Wesley. When he wasn't sleeping, he was eating.

I wasn't really worried about milk supply. I had too much with my daughter and I never dried up before I got pregnant with Wesley. Even after I had been done breastfeeding for over a year! I'm not sure WHY that was... But I could squeeze milk out for a long time. Then I got pregnant with Wesley and it turned into Colostrum again. Colostrum is usually yellow, but it can be clear. It's the first milk your body produces during pregnancy. You don't need much of it to do the job. What colostrum lacks in volume, is made up for in POWER. Some people refer to colostrum as "high octane" milk because it's full of antibodies and immunoglobins. This helps protect newborns as they come into our world of bacteria and viruses. It's very important and very healthy for baby. It's as though your giving baby his or her first vaccination. It also works as a laxative to help expel the first poo, meconium.

Newborns stomach size

Lots of mothers worry that their baby isn't eating enough and decide to supplement with formula. When that happens, supply usually isn't even an issue and using formula only makes it a real problem. Breastfeeding is basically all about supply and demand. The more baby sucks, the more you will make. Growth spurts are stressful for breastfeeding mothers because baby seems to eat more often or longer than usual. This makes mama think it's her body not doing it's job. But in reality, a growth spurt is normal and baby WILL suck longer and more often to tell your body to make more milk. That's just how it works.

 

So the first few weeks with Wesley were fine. They say it's the hardest because it CAN be painful. Especially if baby hasn't quite figured out a good latch. It takes TIME. Don't think just because baby can't get it right away, that it's impossible. The baby is learning just like YOU are.
 After those first few weeks, the pain subsided and engorgement stopped. I thought engorgement was just how it would always be, but I found out that's NOT the case. When your supply regulates after the first few weeks and again after the growth spurts, they don't really become engorged anymore. Unless you skip a feeding of course. But other than that, they feel normal again. Well, until another growth spurt. So you can tell why I thought maybe something was wrong.

Nursing Wesley is a full time deal. I nurse on demand. Which means: No clocks, No timing of sessions, No limits. HE lets me know when he wants to nurse. It can be for many different reasons. It can be for comfort, so he can fall asleep.. It could be because he's hungry. It could also be because he is thirsty. None are ever rejected. Our son is a very happy baby! He gets to nurse to sleep, sleep using me as a pacifier and gets the special bond that comes with it. He never wakes up crying at night. He's always slept through the night with me. Other than rolling over and latching on to me. He has it pretty good, you could say.

 Overall, I am very happy with our success and very proud of us for making it this far. My goals are to reach 6 months, 1 year and to transition from breasts to sippy cup when he's ready to wean from my breasts. I don't ever want to introduce a bottle. That's just more work for me to clean up! And the process of taking his bottle away could be hard. It wasn't for my daughter, but he could be the complete opposite. So I'd just rather not use one at all.

Wesley is what you would call a "distracted" nurser. His attention is taken from nursing, pretty easily. If I start to talk to someone, whether it's on the phone or in person, he will unlatch and whine until ALL of my attention is on him again. He wants mama to be looking at him and using our time to bond. It's really sweet that he is so attached to me. Some people would say no way, that's too much. But I cherish these times with him and I try not to forget that he will be a little boy soon. Then a young man. Then a man, in someone else's life. So I will do as my baby boy wishes. If it makes our time more special for the both of us.
He is also distracted by any sudden noises or someone talking loudly. If something that sounds interesting is happening while he's eating, he unlatches and listens. Or if it is annoying him, he gets upset until whatever it is, stops. My baby boy just wants his time with me to be special and to feel my eyes looking down at him. He smiles when I talk to him. He loves when I rub his cheek. He blushes. When I'm talking, he will unlatch and just stare at me until I look at him. When I look down, he's has this serious face and then it changes to a giant toothless grin! He throws his face back on to me and continues with his snack. I can tell already, that he just adores me. I love it. Every time. I'm so glad WE are doing this. I can't imagine not doing it. After all the wonderful and happy feelings we've shared. Breastfeeding is a strong bond between mother and child. It's the way we were meant to feel. It's what we were meant to experience together. To have that extra time for US to be close. No one else can be this close, with my baby. Because of these 18 weeks, I wish I could share the feelings and explain how great it is with other mothers. But the only way a mother can understand, is to do it herself. I wish that all mothers AT LEAST give it a TRY. A real one. Its sooo worth the commitment. It's something you'll never ever forget. After you get through the learning part together, you can't understand why you questioned it in the firt place. It becomes instincutal. You know exactly what every sound from your baby means. You know him like he's a part of you. And he is. You're connected not only emotionally, but physically. It's really beautiful. Your link, as mother and baby does not end when the umbilical cord is cut. You will always be connected within your hearts after your baby's birth. (Imagine how much closer you can be to your baby when that link is not cut so soon.) My son and I, have been linked together for an entire pregnancy AND going on 5 months. We are still TOGETHER. He leans on ME to support him with nourishment, comfort, warmth and safety.
I know that not all mothers can experience this with their baby. And I feel for those mothers who desperately long for it. Those who can, should really try. Even if you can't breastfeed, you can still give your baby the best milk. Your milk. The milk specially made and designed for your baby's needs. Not mine and not the woman's down the street. Yours.
There are hundreds and thousands of mamas out there willing to help. Just reach out and ask for it. I will help ANY mama in need of advice or support.


I am a full supporter of nursing in public (NIP). Some people say they support breastfeeding, just not in public. Well, that just doesn't make any sense. We can't tell our babies to stop being hungry just because we are out in public. They have to eat just like a bottle fed baby. And no, I will not pump just to satisfy a stranger. A stranger who has a problem with a baby EATING! Don't look. There is no such thing as "being modest" while breastfeeding. We don't want people to see our breasts. That's NOT the goal. The goal is to get my baby latched on quickly and to enjoy my time out of the house. I was nervous in the beginning. I used a blanket to cover up when we were shopping. But after the first three times, I was sick of it. A blanket is just a bigger way of catching someone's eye. Most people don't even realize you are breastfeeding unless you have on a cover. It shouts "hey, look at me! I'm breastfeeding and hiding myself". I just wear a nursing shirt or an under shirt and pull my top shirt up so he can eat. I was shaking the first time I went uncovered. I felt like everyone was staring at me and giving me looks. But it was my own paranoia from hearing so much negativity around breastfeeding in public. When I realized the second and third time, that no one was looking or making rude comments, I became more comfortable. Now I forget he's even eating sometimes. I have nursed most often in Walmart, while we are checking out or while walking around shopping. I've done it in a couple different stores. I've never had anyone come up to me and tell me to cover up because I smile when I make eye contact and I don't make it look like I'm afraid. The more confidence you have, the better chance you'll have that someone won't take advantage of your vulnerability with a rude remark. So own it! Nurse your baby, wherever and whenever baby needs!

Here are a few breastfeeding pictures of us:

Wesley's FIRST latch and feeding!

Gracie meeting her baby brother for the first time!

Breast is Best!

Just sitting around... Burning Calories!

I hope to continue this journey for as long as possible. My next update will be aroud 20 weeks. I will share new stories, how he's doing with breastfeeding, and if he has any TEETH yet! That will be new for both of us! Wish us luck!