My 10-Year Breastfeeding Journey🤍

Each of my four babies had their own story, and each one taught me something new.

My First

He was born with a tongue tie that was clipped the day he was born. I thought breastfeeding would be easy because it’s natural, right?

Instead, it was frustrating. He was early, jaundiced, and sore from the tie release. He wanted to sleep and keeping him awake for a feed was a task of its own. We finger-fed him for the first couple of days while we learned together.

I was told I had “shallow nipples” and should use shields, and breastfeeding might not work for us. I wanted support. I was determined.

Once we went home, I found a lactation consultant who encouraged me and gave me real tips. A week or so in, he started nursing every 2 hours, night and day for a few months. He nursed until 16 months and self-weaned when I was expecting again.

Later, at 7 years old, he needed another tongue tie release for speech, jaw and palate growth, and teeth crowding.

My Second

Her start was smoother. She was born just shy of her due date, after a quick labor, and came out ready to nurse.

When my milk came in, it came in fast and heavy. She spit up after every feed and cried a lot. The same LC supported me again, and laid-back nursing helped. We did chiro and CST to support her body’s tension as well, but looking back, she was probably getting more milk than her tummy could handle.

She loved to comfort nurse and grew into a cute pudgy little baby. She nursed exclusively for 25 months and self-weaned when I was expecting again.

She didn’t need a release, but she did myofunctional therapy to ease her tongue tension and promote proper tongue posture at the age of 6.

My Third

This one was painful, really painful.

I asked multiple times if she had a tongue tie, since her brother did.

I got different answers, but my doctor said that as long as she was gaining weight, no release was needed.

At the time, the only option for another opinion I was given/knew about was a referral to an ear, nose, and throat doctor - who likely wouldn’t do a release if weight gain looked fine.

So, I accepted the pain.

I pushed through blocked ducts, sore nipples, and endless amounts of nipple cream. She still nursed exclusively for 25 months.

Four years later, she finally had a tongue tie release to support her palate growth and help her breathe better through her nose.

Thankfully, things are different now.

There’s more awareness of the long-term effects of ties, and more options for assessment; dentists, myofunctional therapists, chiropractors, and SLPs who know what to look for and who/what to recommend.

My Fourth

The beginning was rough again.

My nipples were sore, and breastfeeding my fourth baby triggered strong uterine contractions.

Mix those two things together in the first few days… wowza.

This time, I trusted my gut.

I asked my chiropractor and the SLP who had been supporting my son’s tongue tie release to check her.

They confirmed she had a lip and tongue tie.

At 3 weeks old, we had her ties released.

The difference was immediate.

Nursing became comfortable, and I never had a single blocked duct with her, such a contrast to my third.

She’s almost three now and still nurses before naps and bedtime. I always said I’d let my children self-wean, but after 10 years of nursing almost non-stop, I’m ready for my body back, fully. She’s stubborn, so we’ll see how that goes!

Each baby’s journey was different. Each one brought challenges, joys, and lessons.

And together, they shaped 10 years of my life as a breastfeeding mother 🤍

Nicole ♡