Real Talk: Abbey’s Breastfeeding Struggles

In this episode of Abbey’s Kitchen, Abbey is sharing her experiences seven weeks postpartum. One of the big things that has surprised Abbey is how difficult breastfeeding is. Abbey has found breastfeeding is one of the hardest things she’s ever done in her life. So Abbey is going to share with you guys some real talk on her breastfeeding struggles. From the beginning Abbey had a number of challenges with her baby. Her baby was congested, Abbey’s PCOS and lastly her little one had a lip and a tongue tie. They had to have that removed to help him move his tongue. Breastfeeding was pretty much impossible for Abbey due to her low breastmilk supply and a bad latch. Breastfeeding was painful for her and she did not have enough milk to feed her baby. (2:28) What was it like to supplement breastfeeding with formula? As an RD, Abbey has been trained with the philosophy of fed is best, but when it happened to Abbey, it made her feel defeated and became obsessed. She felt like her body should be able to do this and provide this one thing for her baby. (3:32) Did you feel pressure to exclusively breastfeed your baby? Abbey remembers leaving the house with bottles and when she would feed her baby, she felt like so many moms were judging her because she didn’t have her baby on the breast. So many random strangers would ask her if she was breastfeeding right away. Looking back at the struggle, Abbey has started to realize that were all in this together and we don’t need to feel like a failure. At the end of the day fed is best no matter what it is. It’s not just about what’s best for the baby, but what’s best for mom. Once you come to terms with that you will likely have a better relationship with your baby and your partner. Abbey is slowly coming to terms with this and making the most of the cards that she is dealt with. (6:50) Were you surprised at the amount of women who have similar struggles? Abbey got so much feedback once she decided to open up about breastfeeding. Abbey would watch her friends so effortlessly breastfeed is after reaching out to people at home after blogging about it, Abbey felt so much more comfortable hearing other women’s stories. Abbey was surprised that so many of us are struggling in silence. Nobody wants to talk about the feeling of failing as a mother. As an RD, Abbey’s inclination was to look at the foods that can help with increasing milk supply. When Abbey actually looked at the literature, there is not enough research to support that these foods actually work. Having said that, Abbey thinks these foods are still tasty and nutritious! So including these foods is a really easy way to get in enough nutrition to support her baby. Abbey has found that the days where she eats more, she gets the most milk. (10:10) What have you learned through your struggles? The most important thing Abbey has learned is to be kind to yourself. So many other moms are experiencing the same thing, so it’s important you reach out and support one another. At the end of the day moms are doing the best they can in this whole mom thing and that is good enough. For more tips on staying healthy, recipes, dieting and information fit for consumption by foodies everywhere stop by Abbey’s blog. http://abbeyskitchen.com