mama story: life as an exclusive pumper with oversupply

exclusively pumpingAmy VanHarenOctober 11, 2018exclusively pumping, oversupply, first time

mama story: I am taking this breastfeeding journey day by day

I went into labor at 31 weeks and was on light activity until my water broke at 36 weeks and I had him in 3 hours. During delivery the doctor was not able to get my placenta out. After an hour of pushing on my stomach he had to reach up and pull it out causing severe bleeding.

I became anemic from all the blood loss; I lost over 1,000 cc's of blood and needed a transfusion.

mama story: I wish I'd asked for help much sooner

I was able to start breastfeeding immediately after birth. I had a little trouble with getting him to latch at first, but the L&D nurses helped us out, and we had no other issues the rest of our day and a half in the hospital.

Within the first day or two at home, I noticed some pain in my nipples and some cracks developing.

first timeAmy VanHarenSeptember 6, 2018breastfeeding, first time, nipple trauma, tongue tie, oversupply, undersupply

mama story: overcoming hurdle after hurdle to nurse my little girl

There are an almost-insurmountable number of decisions for first-time parents. White noise machine? Wipe warmer? Sleep sack? Bassinet? In the midst of all of these decisions, one thing I was certain of was my plan to try to breastfeed. Unfortunately, all of my book-reading, class-attending, and video-watching could not prepare me for the many (MANY!) hurdles in those early days of breastfeeding.

mama story: when breastfeeding is f*cking painful

Before I had our firstborn I told my husband, "I don't want to be stressed about feeding him. I want to try to breastfeed, but if it doesn't work I want us both to be on the same page and be happy that our child is fed. It seems like a lot of moms really stress out a lot about feeding, and it just doesn't seem worth it. Fed is best, right?" My husband nodded in approval.

breastfeedingAmy VanHarenAugust 23, 2018first time, nursing, breastfeeding tips, nursing pain

mama story: how we went from nursing every 2 hours to sleeping through the night

I was around 30 weeks pregnant with my child (first + only), when my doctor asked me if I was planning on breastfeeding.

I remember not knowing how to answer.

breastfeeding, sleep, tough stuff, milk supplyAmy VanHarenAugust 16, 2018first time, infant weight loss

mama story: pumping was my lifeline to my baby in the NICU

At my 20 week ultrasound appointment all I could think about was the excitement of seeing my healthy baby and learning the gender. I never considered that we'd get a diagnosis for a defect.

Defect. That word was an instant dagger into my perfectionist, "type A" heart. I'd already failed my baby.

mama story: what I learned from nursing four babies in eight years

I had our first child, Lila, when I was 21 years young.

Nothing prepared me for the first weeks, the swelling, the pain, the cracked nipples and leaking boobs.

seasoned, working, first timeAmy VanHarenJuly 19, 2018mama story, seasoned, working mom, working, first time

mama story: everything I wished I'd known about my baby's tongue tie

Breastfeeding. It shouldn’t be painful, your nipples shouldn’t become flattened or discolored, and if any of these are occurring, your baby probably just has a bad latch- try again. Practice makes perfect, right?

how to: find the best first foods for your baby

as a breastfeeding mama, you've fed your baby liquid gold since birth. which can make it overwhelming to introduce foods to your baby’s diet––how could anything match all that goodness your baby has been consuming?

first timeAmy VanHarenApril 16, 2018first foods, first time, eating, stonyfield farms, yobaby