breastfeeding

Joys and Sorrows of Breastfeeding a baby with a cleft palate – Amanda and Ethan’s story

The following is an excerpt. Please click the title above to read the entire story.

I didn’t always know that I wanted to be a mom like some women. It took me awhile to warm up to the idea. I think I had a major fear of bringing a child into this world and “messing” it up; however, once I married my husband I knew that I wanted a baby. [...]

Breastfeeding “Peeper” – Whozat’s story

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For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a mother.
When I became pregnant at the age of thirty-nine, by in vitro fertilization using my partner “Shrike’s” eggs and anonymous donor sperm, one of the things I looked forward to most was breastfeeding.
It was something I’ve always found fascinating, so I’d done [...]

It pays to be persistent – Liz’s story

The following is an excerpt. Please click the title above to read the entire story.

Meanwhile, I was pumping and trying to build my supply so that I could nurse them when they were strong enough. At first, we were adamant that they not have pacifiers or bottles, but when the nurses said that bottle-fed babies go home sooner, I gave in. It was two days before they even were able to have the first drops of colostrum swabbed on their gums. Slowly, they started to be able to take little bits of my milk from a bottle nipple, once they were off the ventilators. It was five days before we got to hold Jonah, the stronger of the two. I kept asking when I could nurse them, but the nurses told me that it would make their oxygen levels drop, and they had to be on a certain type of ventilator, and all kinds of other excuses.