Preggie Pals

latch

Discovering My Breast Hypoplasia

March 19th, 2013 by Savannah Stanton

Am I just not meant to breastfeed? That’s what I asked myself after struggling with Brody and now with Loralai! If you are reading this, you probably either have breast hypoplasia, think you have it, or are just looking for answers like I was! The best advice I can give is to let you know that you are not alone and definitely NOT a failure!  

From the second I became pregnant with my first-born, Brody, I studied up on breastfeeding. I knew I wanted to do it for at least a year, and I didn’t imagine anything would go wrong! I happily awaited the day I would start seeing anything coming out of my breasts! That day came, late in pregnancy so I assumed everything in my boobs worked great and I just needed my precious boy to be born and latch on! Well, he was born, and he did latch on, but it seemed to me like my boobs never really caught on! (more…)

Problems with Breastfeeding Latch

January 12th, 2013 by Chloe Ward

Every once in a while it will strike me. The similarities between toddlers and wild animals are abundant, and frankly pretty funny. What happens when your toddler spies a large group of children? They run like a pack. Some bit of defenseless food falls to the ground? They attack. Most notably, when a toddler finds something worthy of becoming their pray, they will hunt until they are successful.

I had a run in with this phenomenon the other night while getting my little wild animal ready for bed. We sat on the bed facing each other, him already zipped up in his footie jammies. I began to change into my own pajama top. I took my shirt off, his target was in sight. I reach for my pajamas, his stare doesn’t waver. I begin to put the shirt over my head, my guard is let down, and he attacks. (more…)

Overcoming Early Breastfeeding Challenges

November 23rd, 2012 by Anita Story

My youngest son, Stone, was born on April 13, 2012.  Before his birth I read every breastfeeding book in our library system and some of them I read twice!  I was so looking forward to exclusively breastfeeding.  I thought of it every day!

My goal was to say that Stone never had even one drop of formula.

We were skin to skin at breast from the moment he was born.  I was expressing colostrum as much as possible and he would suck the drops off my nipple or finger.  Unfortunately, he didn’t ever latch properly.  I was already frustrated. (more…)

Breastfeeding: Celebrating Two Years!

October 28th, 2012 by Shannon Stubbs

October 9th marked our two year breastfeeding anniversary for my daughter. I know that isn’t something most people think of as a big deal, but for me, it sure was.

I remember that very first time I breastfed her. I felt like doing a happy dance when she latched on right away! Such a smart girl right away. She knew exactly what to do. Throughout our breastfeeding journey, we only met one obstacle….my milk supply. It was such a struggle at first. She weighed 7 lbs 10 ounces at birth, but lost quite a bit of weight. She was down to 6 lbs 8 ounces within a few days. The pediatrician was wonderful, but then she started blabbing about having to give her formula. She said, breastfeed her on both sides for 10 minutes. Then pump, give her what you pump, then offer her formula. It was really exhausting! (more…)

Tight Frenula and Breastfeeding

Episode 16 | August 17th, 2012

When a new mother begins to breastfeed her child, she spends much of her time focusing on bringing in her milk supply and getting the perfect latch. But sometimes a tight frenulum, or tongue-tie, greatly hinders this process. How do you know if your baby has this problem? What are your options for treating it? And how effective are these treatments? (more…)