I’ve previously written about how I didn’t really love breastfeeding Charlie, and how I wasn’t particularly sad about giving it up and pumping exclusively instead. But because I wasn’t really successful at breastfeeding Charlie, I was very nervous about trying again with Olive. If I failed, not only would I feel like I failed at something women have been doing successfully since the beginning of man, but I’d also have to blog about it on Hellobee!

After Olive was born, I tried to breastfeed but she wasn’t latching on that well. I chalked it up to her being too small and weak since she was born 5 weeks early, and started pumping right away so I could feed her as much precious colostrum as I could. When she had to stay an extra 5 days in the hospital, she was exclusively bottle fed colostrum — I was able to produce a lot and Olive had a tiny appetite. When she came home and my milk had come in, I was more than happy to pump and allow my mom to feed her. Giving her bottles let me track exactly how much she was eating, allowed other people to feed her, and I didn’t have to face my fear of breastfeeding failure.

But after my mom left, the reality of how difficult it was to pump while watching a toddler set in. I just didn’t have the time to do it like I did when we only had Charlie. So I redoubled my breastfeeding efforts with Olive. She was already a couple of weeks old, and had been pretty much been exclusively bottle fed up to that point. Miraculously she latched on great, and seemed to love nursing right away. I never even experienced any soreness! It took her a very long time to nurse at first — she could go on for over an hour if I let her! But we kept at it every day, and eventually she became a great little nurser… perhaps too great because she’s been rejecting bottles all day today after being exclusively breastfed for the past 5 days!

Now that I can look back on how I pumped for 9 months with Charlie, I have to give myself a little pat on the back. It was a huge commitment, and breastfeeding is so much easier than pumping! No more washing pump parts and no more warming bottles. Now I just have to work up the courage to be able to nurse in public, which is a lot tougher in the winter since we’re usually out at the playground with Charlie.

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Olive is now almost 3 months old, and I’m definitely enjoying breastfeeding. When I lay Olive on her Boppy, she knows she’s going to get fed and usually gives me the biggest grins, even in the middle of the night! It’s one of the most wonderful feelings in the world, and I’m so thankful that we can share this special bond. I’d love to breastfeed for one year, and who knows? Maybe I’ll even go beyond that!

I’m proof that just because you had difficulty breastfeeding your first child, or you introduced lots of bottles very early on, doesn’t mean that you can’t eventually be successful at breastfeeding!

Did you overcome any breastfeeding stumbling blocks?

Mrs. Bee’s Breastfeeding Journey part 2 of 7

1. I Didn't Love Breastfeeding by Mrs. Bee
2. Breastfeeding the Second Time Around by Mrs. Bee
3. Breastfeeding at 9 Months by Mrs. Bee
4. Breastfeeding at 1 Year by Mrs. Bee
5. Why I Want to Wean... and Why I Don't Want to Wean by Mrs. Bee
6. Adventures in Weaning by Mrs. Bee
7. Olive is Weaned. by Mrs. Bee