Surviving And Thriving: Christine’s Story

In our series, “Mom’s Story,” members of our community share snapshots of their real, personal journeys through motherhood. Every story is different. We ask all members to be respectful in their comments on these posts. Offensive or disparaging remarks will not be tolerated.

With motherhood, we are given a challenge that seems impossible in the beginning. And yet somehow we all survive and even thrive. We have no idea what we are capable of and I think motherhood teaches us we can do so much more than we know.

When I first came home with a newborn, it was horrible, scary and exhausting. I had mastitis with my first-born and had to be hospitalized for 3 days. Because of that, I have been living in fear of breastfeeding ever since. With my second baby, my milk came in within 30 hours, I had blood blisters on day 2, and got mastitis on day 4. Coming home with all of that happening, plus hormonal changes and sleep deprivation was a recipe for disaster. I was a mess. I was so engorged, my baby was eating every hour and I had a 2-year-old to contend with on top of it all.

But the professional breastfeeding support I got through Mahmee was life changing! I was scared to death I would end up in the hospital again, leaving my husband to care for two difficult children all by himself. Within a couple of hours, Meghan from Mahmee taught me how to handle and fix all of my issues. She had an answer for everything and her suggestions worked fast. The immediate gratification gave me hope and reduced my stress big time.

There is so much to breastfeeding that nobody knows. It is not an easy thing, but with the right support, it can be effortless after a short learning period. I so wish I would have had this support the first time around. I would have continued breastfeeding long after 12 weeks. You need a huge community of support to be successful and happy as a mother. The pregnancy books neglect to mention building these networks before baby comes.

Today may be rough, but tomorrow is another day and most likely it will be easier. The tough phase WILL end. The hormones make it seem like it will go on forever, but you will be vacationing happily with your kids someday soon and forget about the tears you cried at 3am every morning for 3 weeks.

Looking for extra support during your newborn’s early days at home? Reach out to one of the healthcare professionals on our team for more personalized care for you and your baby.