I’m so excited and honored to be featuring Michelle’s breastfeeding story today! Her story is super special to me….sometimes, no matter how hard you try, breastfeeding just doesn’t work out. And it’s okay! The world won’t end! Michelle and her healthy little man are the PERFECT example!
Hi everyone! My name is Michelle and I am a new mommy (December 27th, to be exact!) of a handsome lil guy who has stole my heart and has his daddy wrapped around his little finger! I blog over at The Vintage Apple and pretty much talk about anything and everything! You can read about my baby boy’s arrival here!
My story about breastfeeding is a little bit different than other mommies’ stories, unfortunately. I planned on breastfeeding my son for 6 months and sadly my body had other plans for me.
The beginnings of breastfeeding for me were perfect…textbook, even. My milk came in the day the baby was born, and I was able to nurse with confidence as soon as he first latched on. Everything seemed perfect. I even learned to pump the first day because I knew I would need the baby to be comfortable with a bottle for when I go back to work and he goes to daycare.
So, I alternated breastfeeding with bottle feeding and the baby did extremely well with both. Turns out, teaching him to drink from a bottle early on was a true blessing in disguise. Two weeks after the baby was born, I woke up one morning in EXTREME stomach pain. The pain would come and go, and I thought I had a stomach bug. I was really scared that I was going to pass the bug on to my baby and didn’t know what to do. About four in the afternoon, the pain suddenly vanished. I was so happy that I wasn’t feeling bad anymore and continued on with my daily routine. Around 11 that night, the pain came back with a vengeance and there was no denying that I had something MUCH worse than a stomach bug. My husband rushed me to the emergency room and I had to have emergency gallbladder surgery.
On top of the gallbladder that was infected, I also had a Urinary Tract Infection that I didn’t even realize I had. So, the ER doctor told me he was going to put me on a very strong antibiotic and breastfeeding would no longer be an option. I was DEVASTATED to say the least.
The medicine that I was on plus the surgery on my body completely dried up my milk.
So…here I am, an exclusive formula feeding mommy. Please know that there is NOTHING wrong with formula for babies. Breastfeeding is not for everyone and sometimes mother nature has different plans for us. Of course I wish I was still able to nurse my little guy, but I know that he is getting plenty of nutrition from the formula that he is on and he is absolutely THRIVING!!!! He is 8 weeks old and gaining weight and growing right on schedule.
Mentally, it took me a while to get used to the idea that I couldn’t nurse my baby anymore. I was really upset and I felt like a disappointment. However, when I saw how fast my baby was growing and saw that he was just as happy and content as any other baby, I quickly got rid of the feelings I once harbored and embraced formula feeding. And now Daddy can help out with middle of the night feedings!
My advice to new mommies: Don’t get frustrated with breastfeeding! Keep an open mind and know that there is so much help out there for nursing mothers! And if you can’t breastfeed for whatever reason…don’t beat yourself up!!!!! It is OKAY!!!!!!!
I welcome any questions you might have!!!! Email me any time about any of this and I would be more than happy to talk to you about my journey !
Thank you so much Julie for letting me share my story with your readers!!!
Thanks Michelle! If you are new to my blog, welcome! You can catch up with the other Breastfeeding Diaries posts and guest posts at the top of my navigation bar!
Love me some Michelle! She definitely has an amazing story and she is such a strong mama! I just love her 🙂
This was a really interesting story, and I'm glad you shared this! I have to say, I'm SHOCKED they didn't have you pump and dump for 24 hours, which is what normally happens (gallbladder removal happens a lot post-partum), and put you on a milk increasing medicine if it was going to decrease your supply. I think that was a huge mistake the hospital made.
I'm glad your kiddo is thriving and you made it through surgery—I can't imagine having a major surgery, recovering from birth, and taking care of a brand new baby!
I have the same story! I didn't have gallbladder surgery, but I did have a lot of gallstones, so they put me on a very low fat diet, and heavy pain medications. So I had to stop breastfeeding as well. I was so upset. I think the worst part of it all, was the judgemental looks I would get from complete strangers. It doesn't matter how a mother decides to feed her baby, she needs all the love and support she can get. She doesn't need glares and accusations.
Thank you for posting this! I had troubles and had to stop before I wanted to also- and it was hard. BUT I refuse to feel bad about it- formula is totally not evil. And I love your happy, thriving, babe 😉
I love Michelle and her honesty!! Everyone's breastfeeding journey is different. Even though I'm (almost) done breastfeeding at a year, we had to supplement with formula due to supply issues.
This is so great, Michele! BFing is definitely a struggle for a lot of mamas and so often doesn't work out. Thanks so much for honestly sharing your story! 🙂
Thanks for sharing, Michelle! I love your positive outlook and I love seeing pictures of Baby Apple!
Amazing series! I really love your story Michelle. I chose to formula feed off the bat and I understand the glares and opinions of others can be awfully silly firsthand:)