Baby Name: Beau
Amount of Breastmilk: 1000oz
Instagram: @marykatherine90
Oh boy. Well it has been a WILD ride! Beau is my first child. I come from a family of 6 kids, so I thought as the second oldest I had it all figured out. WHEW was I wrong, haha. My younger sister became a parent before me, so I had her to help guide me. She is a huge breastfeeding advocate. I work in Oncology and have known for years the benefits of reducing cancer risks by simply breastfeeding, so I've always had it on my radar. I was eager to give it my best shot with Beau. He latched right away in the hospital and began drinking like a little champ once my milk fully came in, gaining over an ounce a day! Although he was gaining well, it was PAINFUL every single time I would latch him. I thought a lot of it was due to my nips never receiving so much action. My younger sister was very vocal about her disagreement with tongue and lip-tie diagnosis. We were told Beau had a "slight" tongue tie at birth but to not worry about it. I started him with cranial sacral therapy and chiropractic therapy to help his mouth develop to avoid any tie-release. For four months I relentlessly took him to therapy every week, and sometimes his latch wouldn't hurt and I thought we were getting somewhere! Then, at month 4, my supply suddenly TANKED! I was devastated and Beau was frustrated and biting me. I got a 3rd and 4th opinion on is tongue-tie and then ultimately called Dr Newman's clinic in Toronto for an evaluation. Because my supply had tanked they strongly urged me to go on a medicine I didn't want to go on, to increase my supply so that Beau would go back to my breast once his tie was released. I did end up with mastitis and in the ER 7 days after starting the medicine which was terrifying! A few days later I reluctantly tried the medicine again because I was against giving up on this journey. I titrated into the dosage and stayed on the medicine for 4 months (I am now currently weaning off of it). At month 6 my little guy decided it was more fun to bite mommy's nipples at every feed with his new teeth, than to drink. I sobbed and ended our nursing journey when he was 7.5 months old and am now exclusively pumping because I am so devoted to giving him breastmilk. I know I could give myself more grace and stop the torture but I'm very competitive and want to reach a year with him. The fact that I have been able to save and freeze any of this breastmilk is astonishing to me, and because our journey has been so difficult, the thought of wasting any of these drops is agonizing. I am so so excited that I found your company and this can miraculously help me prolong the use of my breastmilk for my little man! Thank you for making this a reality, it is truly a godsend to someone like myself who just wants the best for her babe and is so willing to sacrifice for it. Knowing I can prolong my breastmilk in this was is curbing my anxiety and allowing me to feel better about ending this chapter.
