BREASTFEEDING QUESTION & ANSWER
BACKGROUND INFO
First of all, since I had Sophia nursing has been one of the hot topics and I’ve been very open over on my IG stories about this ‘journey’ [lol]. It has been VERY challenging for me. I’ve said it before and I will say it again but I am so not a milk machine and I have accepted that. It is crazy because growing up I saw others nursing babies so easily and never heard that it could be hard so I was in a lonely place after I had Luke. I remember he didn’t latch well initially but I was informed that was normal for boys. And then we came home and tried to get into a routine for nursing and pumping and honestly it was horrible. I spent day and night worried about it and trying to make more milk. I hardly ever slept because I noticed I got a little bit more milk in the middle of the night so I would wake up to feed Luke and then I’d wake up to pump! I would pump for 30 minutes and get like 2 ounces…. no kidding. I took all of the things everyone recommended like cookies, Fenugreek, etc, and none helped. I remember when Luke was around 6wks old my mom walked into the kitchen and said “Emily, you are killing yourself over this. It will not be the end of the world if you supplement and slow down on the breastfeeding.” Y’all! HER WORDS KILLED ME. I was deadset on my baby being exclusively breastfed until month SIX – it was supposed to be such a natural, ‘easy’ thing and it ended up being the greatest challenge for me! I knew since he was a large baby and he was always hungry that I could not keep up but I was so determined. ANYWAY, ever since I posted sharing how challenging it was and how it really brought me down, I have had thousands of girls reach out sharing similar stories. It was so nice to finally be cheered on and understood. That is totally the best part of the internet – I didn’t have a lot of friends who struggled with production BUT I made several new ones online!❤️❤️❤️
Well, that first paragraph is kind of the background info – with Sophia who was born in April of this year – it was a bit easier. She latched immediately!!‼️‼️‼️‼️ I was so proud and so excited. When we were in the hospital after her delivery the nurses would come in and check on us and they would say “wow, she is always eating away!!’ And I was literally so proud! However, my milk supply was not enough for that chunky babe! After we had been home a couple of weeks John said “Emily – it is time to supplement!’. I was pumping but I was not getting enough to last her if we had to go work on a project and leave the house. This go-round was easier and I was prepared mentally. I had low expectations but it was so exciting seeing how well she latched and how much she loved to be in my arms nursing. I did have many of you and my other bloggers friends recommend Legendairy Milk supplements and those were a game changer! [Search the brand in the search tool and you can find more info and a discount code!] Anyway, now that you have the full background info I’ll jump into the questions!
Q&A
Are you still nursing Sophia? || No! I’m officially done! It is bittersweet but TBH – it had to happen. Her pediatrician warned me that my allergy meds would affect milk supply and they did. So I suffered with horrific allergies and they got so bad that John said I had to take my allergy meds again. Once I got to taking those daily I saw my supply decrease – but my allergies improved definitely gave us ALL a better quality of life, lol!!
How did you survive engorgement and your milk coming in – any recommendations? I saw you posted about cabbage! || My milk coming in was probably the most painful thing that happened with Sophia!! I remember waking up one morning and thinking “WHAT IN THE WORLD!” Severe pain. Looking back I remember feeling panic – but many people commented and said to stick cabbage in my nursing bra– but only for 20 minutes 2x per day. So I did that for 3 days and it helped soothe the pain. Be careful because this will stop milk production – only 20mins is all you need! Anyway, if I were helping a friend register here are the things I’d recommend THESE cooling pads [refridgerate!], THESE 3-in-1 breast therapy packs [ they can be heated or cool and YOU WILL NEED BOTH!], and also lots and lots of THIS – keep it in your handbag, diaper bag, night stand, etc. I kept small ones everywhere because being proactive about the cracking in your nipples is essential! Also hot showers and drinking lots of water helped – the showers are so dang important. I would 100% recommend purchasing these and having them around your house before even having baby! There’s nothing worse than loading up the crew just to go get a couple of things that you could have just ordered online in advance. AND if you don’t need them you can donate. I had a lot of things in my special baby box from after I had Luke – and some of them I used this time around but not with Luke! All babies are different and like different things so you never know what they will want!
What pump[s] did you use? || I used a Medela Freestyle w/Luke and I used the Spectra with Sophia and they were both great honestly. With my busy lifestyle / travel / etc. I actually would say that the Medela is a better option. I liked that I could clip it to my nursing bra and walk hands free! The Spectra is amazing though. ALSO‼️ MAKE SURE YOU GET THIS!!‼️ This will be a MILK + LIFE saver!! I would have lost so much milk without this thing. It is literally the best invention and will become a life line, lol! I love it!
Did you supplement? || YES YES YES. And‼️ do no be ashamed to supplement OR to formula feed. Seriously – it is not the end of the world! In the hospital when I had Luke [9.5lb Luke?] they asked if I wanted to give him supplement and I said “no way!”. I don’t know why but I was like “nope, I’m gonna EBF!”. And if you read the first paragraph then you know I had to start supplementing because I could not keep up! He and Sophia both are big eaters and eat so often!
Do you like your Baby Brezza? || WE LOVE IT! When I had Luke I considered purchasing it but I had a friend tell me not to – and then my BFF in Ohio had a baby in December and she is almost totally breastfed but if they do have to supplement they use the Brezza. I asked her if she really loved and it and she said ‘yes! You will have to get one!’. My friend does not really buy anything she does not need so I kinda new it meant a lot for her to keep suggesting it. Anyway, we got one and WE LOVE IT. It is a life saver — it is literally a Keurig for formula. Also, we have the Baby Brezza Dryer & Sterilizer and we love it as well – it is a must! We had a cheaper one back with Luke and it is nowhere near as convenient or good as the Baby Brezza that dries everything! [I wrote quite a bit about this in THIS blog post.]
Favorite bottles? || We still love and swear by the Como Tomo. They are all we used for Luke and also for Sophia. They are soft and squishy – not hard which is nice and they just seem to be more of a hit for our babies. Both babies prefered the Como Tomo AND they are also cute! ??♀️
What formula do you use or do you have any recommendations? || I get this a LOT and I am actually working on an IGTV video about this. With Luke we used THIS one and with Sophia THIS ONE. I did a lot of research on my own to try and understand what formula was ‘the best’ and what was most like breast milk. I literally learned so much that when I talk about it out loud it sounds rehearsed because I am SO bad at science. Basically there are formulas now that are formulated with DHAs and MFGM that help replicate it to breastmilk as closely as possible. MFGM [Milk Fat Globule Membrane] is what is found in a woman’s breastmilk and it is also what helps support a baby’s cognitive development. There have been advances in dairy technology over the years and now they’ve been able to create a formula with MGFM. It is all based on BABY! Your baby may have an allergy or may have a sick stomach – so you will have to try some out and figure out what actually works for you. With Luke it was pretty easy to find one but with Sophia we had to try a couple of different types.
How do you wear the clothes you do while nursing? || I get this a LOT and I think people forget that I write a fashion blog for a living! I’m not a big ‘mommy blogger’ style of website – my audience comes mainly for fashion & beauty & travel. I do lots of extra posts about lifestyle / home info when I notice an influx of questions relating. SO that being said, I wear outfits on my blog that are on trend or outfits that I’d be wearing whether I had babies or not! Since I am an entrepreneur I don’t get vacation time or maternity leave which is why you will see me posting on any of my platforms daily all year round! Anyway, I never shopped for nursing friendly clothing when I was nursing Luke or Sophia. But to be 100% upfront – I don’t nurse in public. I did 0 times with Luke and maybe 3x with Sophia! I do not mind others nursing in public but it is not for me at all. I would prefer to nurse from home or even in my car. That being said when I am home with my babies I wear oversized sweatshirts and comfy shorts or sweatpants. No glam here – I’m usually juggling babies, cleaning house, and working so I dress more for comfort and ease.
How did you store milk you pumped?! || I didn’t, dadgum it. I never made enough to store away – which was very depressing because I had always saw myself with a freezer full of milk – and it didn’t happen. I would pump enough to last if I needed to go to a day full of meetings or if I had a lot of calls lined up. Now I did buy THESE bags before I discovered I could not make much milk but I never got to use them so I donated them.
Any extra products for nursing you’d recommend? || YES. A Boppy pillow! These saved me – my back still hurts from months of nursing slumped over – but when I was home nursing I’d nurse in bed with this around me. She would nurse for hours and hours throughout the day so that made it to where I could have she and myself be semi-comfortable
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Thanks to Wal-Mart for sponsoring today’s post.
wow, reading this made me so emotional and just brought back so many memories of when i was so adament on breastfeeding my 1st born. it was such a struggle just like you had with luke. he never latched on properly but yet was very aggressive with my breast and he was so hungry i just never had enough milk supply at all. and i tried everything my mil said to try…the fenugreek, eating more etc etc…it was super heart-breaking that i couldn’t supply enough and it reached a point where my nipple (tmi sorry lol) was bleeding bc he was so hungry and stuff. so i had to obviously stop.
but what was hurtful was that my mil would say u are not eating enough and u need to eat more to get more milk supply. like that was no the case at all….every women’s body is different, i ate and i still didnt get enough. doesn’t matter what i did…she just kept saying the samething to me over n’ over and that hurt so much…my body was just one of those that didnt supply enough and i’m sure many others just like yourself dont either and other women they can supply enough. i wanted to tell my mil that it just wasn’t possible but i kept my mouth shut…it was a terrible time for me and very hard being a first time mom esp with the breastfeeding issue.
then when i had my 2nd baby..he latched on great and a had little bit more supply, but he was bigger baby and i’m a petite women lol so i knew he needed more so i supplemented right away and i didnt care at that point what anyone said bc i brought my self down so much the 1st time around that i wasn’t happy when i should have enjoyed being a mom the 1st time around. so i did what i wanted….
i’m so glad i was never alone in this and other women can relate esp you emily, bc i read ur posts and follow you everyday…and u are so inspiring as a mother and person overall…thank you so so much for this post!
Thanks for sharing your story. I’m not a mother just yet, but this topic already causes me anxiety! When I was a baby, my mom couldn’t breastfeed me, or my sister, at all. It didn’t work for her, a single time. She’s always telling me that nothing bad come of it at all, but there was a lot of judgment, especially back then, that there was something “wrong” with her. I know times have changed, but I still see people being so judgmental and horrible online, like a woman is a failure as a mother if she can’t breastfeed. It’s wonderful to hear your story and make me feel less anxious, that it’s normal and acceptable if women can’t. I think that’s just as important a message as the support for BF.
hi michelle,
you are totally right. if you read my comment above, i struggled and there was a lot of judgment on this topic when i had my first born. it was not a great experience for me…and just thinking and remember those moments does get me down at times…
i hope you don’t have to go through with that once you become a mom…
Thank you for sharing your experience. I think there still isnt enough information out there to help women be informed about breastfeedIng. Its supply and demand for sure, and allergy medicine is Known for dryIng women up. More often than anything its not that women’s boDies cant produce milk. But as a society women are busy working And unable to dedicate the time to latch baby often which is key.
I Am still breaStfeeding and have been supplementing too So all the feElings you expressed i get so much. Breastfeeding is so natural but doesnt come natural at allll! HaHa. I thought i was supposed to have freezers full of milk based on what i saw on social media. You are a hard working mama anD your Babies are fed and haPpy. Doing awesome!
Super mom!
I dont have kiddos to breastfeed, but Likes face is so precious! I love his personality. Blessed family for sure XO
Hi! Did you know this photo (of you in your kitchen) is being used my frigidaire. I was on pinterest searching kitchen inspo and after looking close i thought i recognized you. just wanted to let you know bc i remember this photo being used for your breastfeeding post….
yes!! They asked for permission!