Approaching One Year of Breastfeeding... Again!

Baby Lane; note iPhone with supercharger

Lane’s first birthday is coming up on Tuesday, and I’m getting excited because it means I’ve hit one year of breastfeeding. I want to scream with happiness just writing that, even though I had little doubt I’d meet the goal- she’s my second kid, and in my 2 years and 4 months of nursing her older brother, I became educated about breastfeeding by attending mothers’ groups run by either LCs or lactation counselors, reading books and blogs, and listening to many mothers’ stories of breastfeeding successes and challenges.  I knew that even if I encountered an obstacle such as tongue tie or a baby with food allergies (problems I didn’t even know existed until after I gave birth), I had reliable, expert help just a phone call away.

Still, I knew obstacles were possible.  I could have had a baby born with a medical issue like like an unformed palate or even a health problem that put her in the NICU, both of which would complicate the oh-so important first fews days of breastfeeding.  I could have had problems when I went back to work at 8.5 months, like a care provider who overfed her milk, or even a power outage that ruined a painstakingly built-up extra milk stash in the freezer.  In addition to all of the fascinating science I’ve learned about breastfeeding, I’ve learned just how many societal and medical factors can interfere with breastfeeding.