When I was carrying my son, breastfeeding was the last thing on my mind. Everytime anyone would talk to me about breastfeeding, I would (for no reason) get defensive and say, not all women can, we will see how it works.
You see, in my family, in my generation, barely anyone of my siblings or cousins breastfed. So I never thought it was much big of a deal.
The day I gave birth (had a c section), I was mostly out. The hospital I delivered in, just started baby S on Formula from Day 1, without asking. Since I didn't know any better, I didn't think much of it. This continued for 2 more days, wherein I didn't even try to latch the baby much for first three days. I later realized how much of a damage that can do to your breastfeeding journey later.
Baby latched on Day 3 but I was in a world of pain. He would take 45-60 mins to complete a feed and then will be hungry soon again. My nipples hurt, there was chafing, cracks, soreness to the extent that I would cringe everytime baby would latch. I started dreading feed times. To top it all baby always seemed to be hungry. So we had to supplement with formula at least once a day.
I started seeking support on a lot of online forums, Facebook groups etc. The more I read, the more I realized how important breastfeeding is. And how that's practically the gold standard in baby's nutrition needs. That's where I found out about ILCA and was recommended to see an IBCLC. When I searched, I came across Dr. Manisha Gogri. I and my husband immediately took a call to visit her as we thought the sooner the better.
To day I feel that that was the best decision we made and it practically saved my breastfeeding journey. She helped us work on baby's latch, detected a little tongue tie, helped us work around that. She helped me with ensuring proper support and deep latch, detected a supply issue and helped me build up my supply. She also helped me overcome the nipple soreness and a little bacterial infection that I had caught on the nipples.
After this, there was no looking back. It was still a learning curve for me but things just got better and better.
Today, baby S is 10 months old. He is exclusively breastfed. I infact joined work once he turned 7 months, I have fortunately been able to pump at work and provide for his daily daycare requirements.
He is a healthy and a happy baby and I absolutely adore the bond we share as a result of a successful nursing relationship.
