Meredith and Alex

Dear Mother and Child, my exclusively breastfed 22 week old son is healthy, happy, and at the 90th percentile in weight and it's all because of you. I cannot thank you enough for all your support, guidance, and patience. I don't know what I would have done without you! I remember the first night in the hospital trying to breastfeed my son after he was born. I didn't know how to position him. He wasn't latching. I had no milk. I felt as if I was already failing him as a mother and he was going to starve. I wanted to breastfeed him and didn't want the hospital staff giving him formula. I needed help. My son needed help.

I called Mother & Child in the morning and an IBCLC came to the hospital later that day. The next few weeks involved lots of home visits as well as me spending a lot of time at Mother & Child. Anxiety surrounded every feed - Would he latch? Would he get enough milk? I thought, 'for something that is supposed to be so natural why isn't this working?!' Although my milk finally came in, my son was still having latch issues.

We used nipple shields until he was 8 weeks old. Breastfeeding is something that both my son and I had to learn. It was difficult and took a lot of perseverance. There were many days I wanted to quit but told myself to take it one feed at a time.

I wish I could tell every mother that is beginning breastfeeding to be patient, relax, and give it just one more day. We have just begun introducing solids. While it is new and exciting, ironically sometimes I wish I could instead just exclusively breastfeed my son until he's five years old. Why?...because it's so easy and convenient. Thank you!

Meredith and Alex