About

About me

My name is Mary and I am the mother of three lovely boys.

After a relatively straightforward and long-lived breastfeeding relationship with my first son I was totally unprepared for the tough time I experienced breastfeeding my second. From when he was only a few weeks old my little boy appeared unable to tolerate my breastmilk, developing severe reflux and eczema, and suffering from what was later described as “intestinal hurry”. I received very little support from medical professionals to continue breastfeeding and was told on numerous occasions to wean my baby son onto formula. I spent months searching online for resources that might help us get to the bottom of his problems and for support from other mothers who had perhaps walked in similar shoes. I joined a few online support groups but the consensus was always that my baby would only get better on formula. Being a rather stubborn soul, I refused to accept that artificial baby milk was going to be any better for him than my breastmilk. I eventually found one other mother as determined as I was to breastfeed, whose son had similar issues to mine.

Sal and I became good friends online and later in real life, supporting each other through a maze of weird and wonderful treatments. We were each others’ lifelines in that hazy, crazy time and I don’t know how I would have coped without her friendship and support. Through all our searching neither of us had found anyone else who truly understood what we were going through.

With great determination, many tears, and the support of our friendship Sal and I both managed to breastfed our small boys for a period well beyond anyone’s expectations. You can more about my breastfeeding experience here and you can read Sal’s story here.

About ibreastfed.com

There are thousands of women who desperately want to breastfeed their babies but don’t find the support they need when the odds are stacked against them. I created ibreastfed.com as a celebration for those of us who have battled through seemingly insurmountable breastfeeding problems and made it out the other side, and as a source of inspiration for those of us who are doing it tough right now.

Breastfeeding requires dedication and perseverance. Unfortunately, we sometimes find it difficult to share positive breastfeeding stories within our parenting communities. There is often so much misinformation and guilt surrounding breastfeeding that is easier simply not to discuss it than to risk causing great offence or be seen to be bragging about our own achievements, no matter how difficult they were to attain. The result is that many positive and moving stories of successful breastfeeding remain untold, when those exact stories are the ones that can encourage and inspire if heard by open ears.

ibreastfed.com aims to provide a safe but accessible place for women to share their breastfeeding success stories. As the collection grows, the stories on this website will include mothers’ experiences of breastfeeding babies who are small, sick, weak, sleepy, and who are unable to suck properly, digest effectively, and appear to be allergic to their mothers’ milk. I expect to include the experiences of mothers who have physical disabilities or conditions which have made correct positioning and attachment a challenge, who have had emotional/psychological/psychiatric hurdles to overcome, and who have breastfed through their own chronic or serious illnesses. I will have stories from mothers who have breastfed multiples, breastfed after breast surgery, breastfed despite never having quite enough milk, weaned then successfully relactated, breastfed adopted babies, and overcome many other challenging situations.

If you have an inspirational breastfeeding story to tell, I’d love to hear from you. Please read the Q & A page for more information then go to the Participate page to submit your story.