1 Year of Breastfeeding…

One whole year of breastfeeding...

I never thought I would make it this far let alone have no intentions of stopping…Not after my first breastfeeding experience.

With my daughter, I couldn't wait for this season to be done. It hurt, I never slept, my supply was tanking and I didn't know why. The anxiety was insurmountable and I felt completely alone. The few people I reached out to made it sound like what I was experiencing was normal. "Breastfeeding will make your toes curl." "Get a good balm because you'll be chapped and bleeding pretty regularly." "Oh, you're not sleeping? Welcome to motherhood!"

It was hopeless.

And it ended all too soon...crazy how that feels, huh?

But God.

When we found out we were pregnant with our son, all those same fears and anxieties came back. I didn't want to go through that again. But I knew the benefits and knew I wanted to try my best to give my son a good head start in life, even if it was a short season again.

With the knowledge that I gained from lactation support at the end of my first breastfeeding journey, I developed a love of knowledge in this particular field, which led me to start school for my certification immediately after my son was born. Even then, I couldn't have imagined we'd make it this far.

It hasn't been easy. The nights are still unbelievably long. But this journey has been a healing one.

I'm thankful for the 6 months I exclusively breastfed my daughter and the now year+ that I've breastfed my son. Both kids have been set up for life with higher chances of not developing cancers, asthma, allergies, diabetes, or high blood pressure; higher IQs, better ability to fight off sickness, and lower chances of developing autism.

It has also increased MY chances of not developing breast and cervical cancers, PPD (which I had with my first), lowers stress, and generally just saves you like literally thousands of dollars.

Any amount of breastfeeding can give you and your child a huge percentage of all of these benefits. Do you have past experiences or stories preventing you from enjoying your breastfeeding journey today? Please reach out. I'd love to help you find hope and healing!