My son was born at home in 2017: 6lb 8oz. We took a birth class but didn't take a prenatal breastfeeding class because I thought breastfeeding would come naturally! Don't get me wrong, there are people who have an easy time. But it is common to need support. My midwifes came to do our 1 week check up and found brick dust in my son's diaper. They said it was a sign a dehydration. He hadn't gained much weight either, so they recommended a Lactation Consultant. She came to our house and watched us breastfeed. She gave us tips on positioning, latch and set us up with a supplemental nursing system. I also needed to pump between feedings and give him extra milk since it didn't seem like he was transferring milk well. Unfortunately, she neglected to check him for tongue and lip tie. Those first weeks were so frustrating and exhausting. I was so determined to breastfeed! I even got some donor milk to give to my son. Around week 3, I was desperate and I asked if I could try a nipple shield. That helped so much! Baby was getting milk! We went to our 4 week check with the midwives. They could see I was still struggling. They found he had tongue and lip tie which makes it hard for him to latch well and transfer milk effectively. We had him laser treated at 6 weeks. It was scary, but we knew  he was in good hands. I also had to adjust my diet because his stools were not normalizing on their own. Every parent/baby is different. You can have one child that breastfeeds easily and one that struggles. Breast feeding is so beneficial but takes a lot of sacrifice, time and commitment.

The biggest take aways from my story was 1: Prenatal breastfeeding education is worth its weight in gold. Being educated so we could have advocated for ourselves would have helped. 2: Even experienced clinicians aren't perfect. If you receive care and are still struggling, get a second or third opinion!