Gratituesday: Breastfeeding Support

As part of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, I wanted to stop and be grateful for all who have helped me in my breastfeeding journey.

Before I gave birth to Buggy, I decided I wanted to breast feed him.  I wasn't opposed to formula at all.  I just saw myself as "crunchy" and wanted to do the all-natural thing.  I didn't do any research at all - it was natural, so surely it must be easy.  I was confident it would be no trouble at all.

Boy was I wrong!  Buggy was a month early.  I was completely freaked out and unprepared.  When he was handed to me, I had no idea what to do.  I knew at some point I would need to feed him.  He seemed too small to nurse at just 5 pounds 2 ounces.

Thank the Lord for Tina, the hospital lactation consultant.  I had no idea the hospital provided this service.  I thought lactation consultants were just for the wealthy.  Wrong!  Tina got us going and helped us through the first few months.  At home, I discovered a breastfeeding support and help forum on babycenter.com.  Those ladies taught me so much and helped me through some really rough times. We nursed for 15 months.

Now with my second, I was so much more informed.  Tina was eager to help again and made sure we were on the right track.  Once again, my entire family rallied around and supported my decision to breastfeed.  Armed with tons of support and a wealth of information, we embarked on our breastfeeding journey.

This time around has been quite easy comparatively.  Yes, we had a rough start health-wise around the house with a bout of the stomach flu for ALL of us (baby included) the day I came home from the hospital which landed me in the ER.  I am so thankful I was pumping right away to help Buggy recover - I had enough stored for Baby while I was in the ER.  As soon as we were all mostly healthy, Buggy came down with herpangina (hand, foot, and mouth disease).  Basically, we were all ill for about the first month.

Now, Baby is approaching his third month "birthday."  He has gone from 5 pounds 13 ounces at birth to a whopping 13 pounds 5 ounces as of his last weighing nearly two weeks ago!  Mama is making cream!

I just love how God has created us to nourish and caring for our little ones.  I love watching my baby grow on just my milk (we needed to use a lot of formula with Buggy).  I am so grateful for all the support that has enabled us to succeed.

 What are you thankful for this Gratituesday?  Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here.  If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for! Check out Heavenly Homemakers for other posts about gratitude.


Just a disclaimer, I am not opposed to formula.   I am not judging those who use formula either by choice or by necessity.