Alison’s Breastfeeding Story.

I didn’t really think too much about breastfeeding, I just assumed I would. All my family has breastfed their babies, so I knew there would be lots of support for me. I went to a breastfeeding workshop at the hospital and took my mum. They showed us a video of a baby after birth crawling up their mum’s tummy and finding its way to the breast. I thought it was absolutely amazing. When my first baby was born, I was keen to see if it actually does happen and it really did, it was very straightforward. There was absolutely no pain, it felt so lovely to cuddle my baby and feed him. I absolutely loved it from day one.

Over time, all the professionals were satisfied I was doing a great job. My baby was gaining weight, I was fine, all was good, natural and easy, just as I had expected. But in the early days, I fed a lot more than I expected. Some days it felt like I sat there for the whole day breastfeeding. I always forgot to set myself up with the remote control, a drink and a snack!

The main issues I faced were that our families lived about a 2 hour tube and train journey away and I could never get comfortable with feeding on the tube and he always seemed to need some no matter how I tried to prepare and he would instantly cry when others held him leading to many comments of ‘he is hungry, why don’t you give him a bottle?’ This created a lot of anxiety in the early days and often left me in tears on the phone to my mum who would just say ‘well let him have some more than....and make sure you drink plenty and have something to eat’.

Our breastfeeding journey lasted far, far longer than I ever thought it was . I had no plan but to just let it fizzle out, let nature take the lead. At 2.5 he stopped asking for it. Over time, I could only see enormous benefits to breastfeeding. When Hugh broke his elbow, we went to A&E and I breastfed him whilst we waited, he sat there in the waiting room and he just breastfed, no crying at all. On flights, he would just sit on my lap and help himself as he wished. I didn’t have to buy milk or wash bottles, in the night, I could practically sleep through a feed (especially as he got older). It’s also encouraged me to think twice about taking medicine if I feel unwell and seek a natural remedy instead.

I often wonder how much a coffee shop would charge if they could offer a shot of milk that had the benefits that breast milk apparently does! I was happy when our journey finished, it was just all so natural and had fizzled out with nobody really noticing. At the time I was about 3 months pregnant. However, at 6 months pregnant, something must’ve happened to my hormones because Hugh couldn’t stop looking at me like I was a walking Dairy Milk, constantly asking for milk.

My husband and I tried everything - mostly giving him snacks and drinks, telling him he is a big boy etc etc, it was hard work. Now the baby has arrived, he is desperate. He won’t stop Felicity but is always trying to have the other breast, especially if he is tired. I feel very unprepared for this. There is so much advice and help out there for people to ‘keep going’ but not much about stopping! This time round, I have bought a breastfeeding apron which I love and have been listening to audiobooks during night feeds, to avoid any 3am parent googling and I make sure there I always a big glass of water and a snack to hand!