Supportive Mommas

This evening I was doing some light reading and researching on breastfeeding. When Junie was a baby I was under an insane amount of duress and breastfeeding just didn't work. You can read about that here. I still have some trace of guilt about that especially because my supply was so amazing. I breastfed her for three weeks, developed mastitis, then had my first surgery, then a blood transfusion, then mastitis again and after 2 weeks of exclusively pumping I had had enough. My body needed my attention to be on my own health and after one more surgery and having to pump every three hours just to dump all of that precious milk, I broke. I was done. I could not possibly dedicate one more tear filled hour to trying to feed my baby. I woke up dreading June waking up and having to feed her. I didn't do much research about breastfeeding before she was born because I was very focused on the birth rather than the food. I assumed it would come naturally and that we would be a professional breastfeeding team. None of my plans came to fruition. Not a drug free birth and not breastfeeding.

So this time, knowing that I will have a c-section, I am doing more research. I am taking classes. I am reading books. I am chatting with other moms. In looking for a good nursing bra I came across a great resource - Bravado. They have gorgeous nursing bras (even in my size! woohoo!) and a wealth of information. The article that really caught my eye was this one about the role that your own mother plays in your breastfeeding success. My mom was amazingly supportive of me while I struggled to breastfeed June. She called her friend, a former lactation consultant and baby nurse, to help me with our latch. She called my doula when my nipples were cracked and bloody. She brought me food when I was crying in the corner trying to feed my baby. She had nursed all three of us (my brother was breastfed until 13-14 months and she only stopped because he wanted to) and loved that special bond that it created. Just the other day she said, "I really hope you can breastfeed this baby. It's so special!" All of this support and love without the passing of judgement when I made the hard decision to bottle feed June. I wish everyone had this same level of support that I had.

I rarely faced any negativity when it came to breastfeeding. The closest I came to that was an older family member telling me that it was okay to feed June a bottle and that all of her babies were fed with formula and they were fine (which was debatable). It came out of a place of honesty and care though - she saw me struggling and I'm sure was trying to be reassuring. 

So ladies, what are your thoughts on that article? Was your mom supportive of your breastfeeding? Were you breastfed as a baby? Do you agree that beside your partner your mother is the biggest important supporter of breastfeeding? Let's get talking about boobs!

I at least know this much.