Hi, My name is Julie and…
Today I went to my first support group meeting.
A breastfeeding support group. Because breastfeeding is hard, y'all. Like really hard. I’d even venture to say it’s harder than actual labor and delivery. Not as painful (though sometimes that’s debatable), but definitely harder because it lasts for days, weeks, months. You need a level of endurance and perseverance that I hope I have.
When I finally decided to have a baby and put on the “Mama” hat, I set a personal goal to make it to 6 months of breastfeeding. There have been more than one occasion that I want to throw in the towel and just go to formula because it seems easier (but seriously what do I know… grass is always greener, right?)
However, the reality is that I am lucky enough to produce enough milk to meet Nora’s needs and she is a champion latcher/sucker, so the only reasons I’d give up breastfeeding would be for selfish reasons and I’m not going to do that. I mean there I times I really, really want to, but I’d feel guilty. And I’m Catholic, so I already have enough guilt going on. Two nights ago, we/I had the hardest night I’d had since bringing her home. Homegirl was waking up 30-45 minutes after I’d put her down wanting to nurse again. She did that from about 10 pm until 3 am. I thought there was no way I could do this another day, let alone 5 more months!
So, I hightailed it to the interent and found a breastfeeding support group full of other moms with babies like mine and older than mine. It was SO nice to hear that yes, it does get better, and hearing some of the struggles the other moms go through with their kids (one kid was 4 months old and still eating every 2 hours on the dot, round the clock. omg.) really helped put things in perspective and give me the encouragement I need to press on.
They meet every week and I plan on going as often as possible. If you are breastfeeding and interested in a support group, here’s where I found mine and they have groups all over the country.
This has officially become a TMI blog.
