The Great Mum Adventure: My Breastfeeding Journey

When James was born, I knew I wanted to breastfeed, for how long? I didn't know.

James latched right away - but his latch wasn't great - and I didn't know what the hell I was doing. The first few weeks were TORTURE! I didn't get him to latch on properly while in the hospital, and he made my nips raw and sore. I also had a small crack in it which made feedings terrible. When we got home from the hospital I was a lot more comfortable. I didn't have nurses coming in and watching me... I remember before I would feed James, I would count to 3 then latch him quickly - cringe in pain and then all would be good. That lasted for about 4 weeks. After that it was smooth sailing.

I exclusively breastfed James for six months, and then introduced rice cereal - this is something we WILL NOT be doing with Graham. I know more now than I did with James. When James was 15.5 months old - HE decided he was done with nursing. I probably could have stopped giving him cow's milk, but at that point in time I think I was done. Even though I was very sad he stopped. I even tried forcing him for a few days, but to no avail - our breastfeeding time had come to an end.

Now, with Graham - I am determined to make it till at LEAST 18 months. We are also going to do Baby Led Weaning (BLW) and NO rice cereal. I'm doing things a little different this time around. I know more than I did with James.

So far - Graham is a great little nurser! *Uh is that a word?* I will say I think he has a shallow latch, but he's not hurting my nipples, and is fully draining the breast when he eats. So I don't think there isn't any cause for concern. When we went to see the midwife at 3 weeks - I asked her to watch me nurse to see why Graham would latch, then quickly unlatch and scream - her conclusion - I have a strong let down and I was choking him right out of the gate. He didn't like to be held in the 'standard' cradle hold so now we are doing 'laid back breastfeeding'. Fancy name huh?! All it is, is I lay back reclined slightly, so he doesn't choke on my breast milk. I find it a lot more comfortable as well and he seems to have a deeper latch.

I also find he eats really well when lying in bed. But since I can't just lay around all day in there, reclined on the couch works great as well.

We are almost a month into breastfeeding (tomorrow he's a month old!) and Graham is gaining weight like no tomorrow - he was born at 9.8 lbs - lost .8 lbs in the first few days. By a week old he gained it all back - a week later he was 10.12 lbs - and at his 3 week check up he was 11 lbs 2.5 oz!

I am very happy with his weight gain and I am SO happy that I can provide him with the best possible start in life.

I will continue to do updates on our breastfeeding journey. Look for Graham's One Month update tomorrow!