I'm a bottle baby and I'm fine and I'm glad my mother wasn't shamed for it. I see all these heartbreaking stories and it's just horrible. There's so much pressure on women to be perfect all the time forgetting we are human. Nobody is a "bad mother" for choosing a c-section, or feeding formula, no matter the reason. You are a good mother if you love your baby and that's it.
I love how you have the courage and honesty to share all these experiences which are crucial to know yet hardly anyone talks about very often. Thank you and congratulations on making it this far!
Yay, for a positive breastfeeding story. People need to share positive stories more because new moms only hear horror stories. When actually most woman can have a positive breastfeeding experience.
I hate it when they advertise "Breast is Best" How about "Fed is best" Whether it's formula or BF, it doesn't matter. As long as you feed your baby, that's the most important part. With my Bub she came out really small, so I had to Supplement with formula after BM. After she was 2wks old, she didn't lose much weight at all and started gaining really fast. So I'm glad I did what I did. :)
Breast is best is a scientific fact. Breast milk is full of antibodies and has the perfect blend of fats, proteins and carbs for baby. Its just a fact. Breast is best, but fed is necessary! It should NEVER be used to shame mom's who use formula. The fed is beast slogan was created by an organization that promotes fearmongering and leads women to believe if they breastfeed they will starve their baby. A lot of people dont realize it is the slogan of an organization and not just a nice saying. There is nothing wrong with formula, it is a miracle of modern science and is wonderful for moms and babies who need it! Just wanted to say the difference and origins of the two slogans. :)
Staci Bishankhe I think we need to stop saying "Breast is best" in general. Everyone knows breastmilk is tailored for your baby, but that phrase makes moms who have to formula feed feel like they aren't doing the "best". Fed is best and we need to get rid of the stigma of formula.
Only 17% of mothers are breastfeeding at one year in the US, which makes it very obvious there is a major lack of education of breastfeeding. Formula has been pushed for decades now, most of this generation was given formula as a baby. Breast is best is an effort to educate women about breastfeeding and the benefits of breast milk. Breast milk will always be what is best for baby when it is available. Considering that only 1 in 5 women are breastfeeding by the time baby is 1, I think that shows the stigma of formula isnt a considerable problem in this country. What is a problem is the lack of support and education available to women who want to breastfeed. Formula should be used when it is medically necessary for baby, but the simple fact is that science has yet to replicate breast milk. Not everything can be "best". Best is an absolute term. Fed is NECESSARY when the alternative is not feeding your baby. Women should be proud of feeding their baby and if they have to use formula they should be proud that they are doing what they were meant to do - care for their baby however they need to.
Yeh no shit Breast milk is most ideal but it just shits me when you get made to feel like a failure if you don't BF your baby. You know it's wrong when babies die because doctors and nurses keep telling new first time mum's that "it's fine, it's fine, your BM will come in, just keep trying. Don't use formula yet". Babies die! And that's a fact too. Fed is best - whether formula or BM.
Thanks for sharing this. I feel like your videos can really help a lot new moms and future moms. You talk about topics that really happens- the good, the bad, and the ugly! I'm a mom of two and my milk didn't come in until the 4th day for both of my babies. The second time around was much easier as I knew what to expect, but as a first time mom with my son it was so frustrating. He wound latch on properly, but I knew he wasn't getting much because he wasn't having enough wet and poopy diapers. Ultimately, I had to supplement with formula for a few days until he started gaining weight again. Breastfeeding isn't easy. It literally sucks the life out of you 😂. Would I do it all over again? Heck yeah! Knowing that I can produce milk to nourish my baby is such an amazing feeling!
@@chinnisuresh1442 i had the same situation as you. The most i was ever able to pump out in a 24 hour period was 13 oz/390 mls and my son was drinking 30 oz/900 mls in a 24 hrs period by then. i was always so depressed about how much time i was investing into pumping for him only to get so little out. I finally stopped by 7 months, it was too much emotionally and physically but he was growing well on mostly formula and his doc was always pleased with his growth at every visit. So if you feel you need to stop and give only formula it’s going to be ok 👍🏻
I think it would be really interesting to hear from your husband how he felt throughout the whole process in terms of your labour and breastfeeding and everything else that comes along with having a baby. We don't often hear from men and their experiences as a new father so I think it would be fascinating! I'm also really glad that you are so open when it comes to pregnancy and motherhood because so many people glamourise it and hide all the difficult aspects that it actually comes with, so it's great that you are making people more aware of the reality!
+lilaclillylover23 we are actually already planning on filming a video with ben to share his side, which I'm really looking forward to hearing myself. 🤗
I'm a 21 year old college student just enchanted by the majesty of the capacity of the female body, and loved how you communicated your story. Although far away from child-rearing, as a subscriber, I learned a lot. Congratulations on your journey with your daughter :)
I'm so glad you made this video! I just gave birth Saturday and having the same issues of producing enough milk for the baby and the anxiety of knowing you didn't feed them enough is heartbreaking. Knowing what you went through and what I'm going through right now definitely helps me s lot because it lets me know I'm not out there alone in the same situation. So thank you Jen!
Hi Jen, I'm usually one of those silent viewers that wish to stay anonymous but seriously, I can't help but comment on this video (and after watching all of your preggy playlists in sequence) how thankful I am for your sharing these really honest and down to earth stories. I'm learning so much about what I will be going through in the next several months and the following months post-partum. Keep these stories coming, Jen. You're awesome!
I love how honest you are in your videos! I'm no where near having a baby or anything but watching and hearing your stories about pregnancy and all the changes in your body has really educated me and made me appreciate my mom and other mothers out there even more. Thank you for sharing your pregnancy journey with us, I feel like many of your advices will become useful for me somewhere far away in the future! ❤
Man I don't have a baby neither am I pregnant. But I just love love love listening to you talking ♡ it is really nice to hear your stories ♡ you are such an amazing woman!!
Omg you’ve said it all perfectly. None of the other breastfeeding videos on UA-cam talk about all these important details! Literally this is the stuff first time moms need to know beforehand. You’re so adorable by the way!🥰
Thanks for the honest video. Trying to nurse my early full term posterior tongue tied baby was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was so much work: months of having the baby latched on for countless hours per day, line feeding, a bout of jaundice, pumping round the clock, seeing multiple doctors, six lactation consultants, physical therapists, etc. He's now six months and while it's mostly pumping here, I so treasure the handful of times per day I'm able to nurse my little one. Sometimes breastfeeding isn't what we expected it to be and it doesn't always work out for everyone. That's okay. The hormones combined with self imposed expectations and societal pressures make seem it seem like the biggest potential failure as a mom. Yes breast milk is great, but formula isn't the end of the world. And neither is exclusively pumping. Enjoy those babies, in the end it goes by too fast. ❤️
thank goodness for your momtember series. i myself am a new mom. my little princess comes to this world on september 14th. this series really help me feel like i am not alone in this new motherhood journey. as a new mom, it is really stressful especially with the breastfeeding, the scars and body that hasn't been fully recovered yet as well as the sleepless nights. but like you say in this video, i know all of this will be worth the efforts. a happy and healthy baby is what we all want and that is the greatest reward as a mom :)
For me, despite trying very hard, the milk supply just wasn't enough. Part of it is poor latching, part of it is just that my body doesn't produce enough milk. I ended up pumping and giving my baby half formula and half breastmilk, and did it for 7-8 months. For me, pumping beyond the point where milk was coming out actually helped send the signal to my body to produce more milk, but it only worked to a certain point, beyond which my baby was still hungry, which is why I supplemented with formula. The disappointment is immense because there's SO much saying that the body would always produce enough, that it almost seems socially unacceptable to NOT breastfeed, like you're a failure in not providing the best for the baby when not exclusively breastfeeding. Well guess what - the true failure is when the baby starves because Mummy wants to feel like she's doing her job breastfeeding! I think it's more important to do your best breastfeeding but be open and pay attention to your baby and what he/ she needs! So my advice to new mummies are to do your best, but don't beat yourself up if you do have to supplement or feed formula, relax and just do your best!
I absolutely love these informative and honest mum talks of yours. I really appreciate that you tell both the good and bad, and don't just focus on either one. It's also great and super helpful that you share some TMI infos about the body changes etc...thank you so much for these videos!
I’m pregnant with baby #1 and I’m so grateful I have all your pregnancy videos to go back to and watch. Thank you so so so much for always being real with us. Congrats on your 2nd baby and I’m so excited to see your journey with Ben and Aria!
Thanks for sharing, that is the only positive breastfeeding stories I have heard. No one around me have successfully breastfed and I think their oversharing actually scared me for life. Good to know there are different way this could end.
I formula fed my babe from 4 months on. I supplemented up to that point bc I couldn't produce enough. I did everything I could, saw so many specialist, drank nasty teas, used a very expensive pump, nothing worked. I tried so hard. And I had to go back to work by the 4 month so I continuing to try to BF was almost impossible. You are very lucky. It breaks my heart still that I couldn't exclusively bf her but she's now 20 months, very healthy and thriving. If/when I have my 2nd, I will try again. Hopefully 2nd time will be better.
Jen these videos are amazing. I'm about to be a new mom in 11ish weeks and no amount of professional help soothes the nerves like a personal story like this. Please keep them coming!
Jen, you made me cry, laugh and then cry again. As a breastfeeding mom of an 11-month old, everything you just said was so accurate and relatable. My goal is to breastfeed my son until he's two so i'm not stopping anytime soon. It's the most exhausting yet most satisfying thing I've ever done. Kudos to all the mommies out there who already made it and congratulations to you Jen for making it this far. You are an inspiration. ❤️
Thank you for sharing and for talking about things that you never hear about. I am 26, I have never been pregnant yet but the whole pregnancy thing has always been a question mark for me. I feel like I want to know everything before stepping into pregnancy and your videos are helping a lot! I have also been watching your videos for 7 years now and I'd like to congratulate you for the quality of your content. You definitely have a talent for teaching and explaining things.
Jen, thanks for sharing your story! Feeding your baby the first time can be very demanding and almost discouraging because for the amount of time you invest in feeding your baby. And when mom invests so much time, they usually have this heavy expectation that they're baby should be healthy and gaining weight. So, when the results don't show as expected, it's really discouraging for the amount work they put in. Breast feeding is still a stigma, especially when it comes to breastfeeding in public. Not to mention the times working moms have to step out of their office to pump breast milk. The whole process is just a hassle... but if a mom is determined it's really rewarding. Even though health care staffs recommend mothers to breastfeed their child for at least 12 months, most moms usually stop by the first month, so good for you Jen for successfully meeting your goal. One thing to keep in mind for new moms is that..... baby's stomach is TINY. If we overfeed them, they throw up. If we feed them too fast, they also throw up. Better not to throw up than not feeding enough. Breastfeeding gives a perfect amount. And even if some mom's don't produce enough milk the first couple of weeks it's fine, because the hormone is going to kick in and create the perfect amount for the baby. Remember, first-day milk or colostrum should be the size of a cherry. Day two should be the size of the walnut. By one week it should be the size of the apricot, and by the first month, it should be the size of a large egg. So even if we think we're not giving enough, the reality is, we are. Just have to keep feeding the baby as demanded and our bodies will react to the amount that baby needs.
Thank you so much for this video! I am about to become a new mom and I just loved every second of this video. I’ve had so much anxiety towards breastfeeding and I just want everything to go okay and your video made me feel SO much more relaxed and confident
I am not currently a mom, but I am in that phase of life where my husband and I are trying to decide if we do want kids. I appreciate how honest and real you have been in each of these videos and love this series!
I EBF my daughter for 9 months and it was the most tiring 9 months of my life 😅 I miss the breastfeeding bond for sure but I'm thankful we were able to go for that long!
I think it's so interesting and fascinating to hear these stories about your early motherhood experiences. I watched your first video for momtember and now this one and I want to say thank you for sharing this extremely personal stuff with us. I'm not a mom but I appreciate it all the same. I think it can help a lot of other women in similar situations, so thanks so much for sharing! :)
I think generally first time mom's are harder on themselves because they just don't know! I look back and I think why did I stress so much! I'm so glad that my pediatrician was reassuring and encouraging during those stressful times.
I wish i saw this years ago. I struggled so much with breastfeeding and felt like a failure for so long. But looking back I wish I could undo all the anxiety and self blame and tough it out longer. Different people were telling me things left and right and in the end i quit after a month. So proud of you for being so strong and determined!!! Super commendable!!!
Love love LOVE you for taking the time to share your experiences with breastfeeding. Your tips and comments will no doubt go a long way in helping other new moms when dealing with this special time in their babies lives. Thank you!
Jen I just wanted to say thank you so much for these stories!! I'm an adopted Chinese woman, and though I'm not considering babies yet, I literally have NO ONE to go to within my family who has the same body type as me as my family is Caucasian. My mother obviously never gave birth, as both me and my sister are adopted. I feel like I'm learning so much that I NEVER would have known about pregnancy, like the fact that some women just can't breastfeed? Or that labor can last days??? Your extremely personal and brave journey is shedding so much light on questions I've had about the possibility of having my own child one day that have been in the dark. Thank you so much!!!
How I wish I had my baby earlier! Your video spoke to so many aspects of breastfeeding pains. Yet your reassuring messages would make me much calmer. I wish more new moms can see your touching and honest video because we need more experience sharing like this so that mothers don't feel anxious, guilty about the entire breastfeeding experience, because it is such a natural and beautiful thing! I agree with you, i am so happy that I breastfed my baby!
I have a 3 week old and have been trying to exclusively breast feed, and I have to say thank you for this video. I really needed to hear a lot of this.
New subscriber here! Love your videos! I'm Korean-American, too, and we're planning our baby's dohl in a few weeks! I could really relate to a lot of things you shared regarding your breastfeeding journey. We are exclusively breasted too :-) Thanks for making this video!
Thank you for sharing this!! There arent enough real life experiences about BF out there! I've been BF 3 years straight with 3 babies. First my twins and now my singleton who will be 1 in a week. BF my twins was very difficult with latch issues, tongue ties, exclusively pumping for a few months, lots of pain, inverted nipples and mastitis. Luckily, after BF for 2 years and through my pregnancy, when my third came along, I had no pain and no issues. Through the past 11 months I've pumped to donate milk to mama's who aren't able to produce as much. Its been satisfying but I know it'll be hard to wean, when the time comes, knowing this is my last baby.
I'm nursing my son right now! Thank you so much for the positive outlook and sharing your story. It was painful for the first 2 weeks for me but otherwise, it's been wonderful! Everyone has different experiences and I would definitely recommend to any new mom to try if that's what they want to do!
I'm just over a month of breastfeeding and it's like i'm almost listening to you tell me my story so far. thanks for that, makes me think it gets better x
I'm one of those mothers who weren't producing enough milk for my baby. It was very hard handling with the negative thoughts and not being able to breastfeed was my number one fear while pregnant. I felt depressed for a while but accepted what was happening for the sake of my baby. I was done with crying over it. My baby eats a lot and my milk didn't come in on time. My baby though, who is now on the bottle is growing healthy and stronger each day. And I thank God for giving me the strength to overcome my depression.
Thanks for sharing Jen. We had our daughters around the same time (Jessica was born on 4th July) and I relate so much to what you've said in your video. Well done to all the mamas out there, you're doing a fantastic job! xxx
Thanks for sharing your story! Before having my daughter I also told myself I'll give breastfeeding my best try and see how it goes. Supply wasn't my issue (I'm 6 months in and still have oversupply) but it was my daughters tongue tie. Her tongue couldn't extend because of a tight frenulum causing her to suck extra hard. My nipples were bleeding by day 2, chapped and raw. Even air made them throb with pain. I got a consultant who let me know that she 100% had tongue tie. We ended up having to make a decision to get her tongue tie cut on week 2. It was either that or continue feeding her on my bleeding nipples, and hope for the best. The pain was so bad I was constantly sobbing while feeding my daughter. As soon as we had her tongue tie cut feeding was PAINLESS. I realized "oh wow...so breastfeeding is actually not supposed to hurt." There were some people out there that made me feel terrible for cutting my daughters frenulum - but 6 months on and realizing how minor of a procedure it was for the trade off of painless breastfeeding...so so so worth it. Every mommy has to make their own choices that are best for their babies and themselves.
I could be wrong since I haven't gone through this myself, but isn't cutting tongue ties better for breastfeeding AND better for speech development later on as well? You did the right thing, mama! She won't remember it but you made a decision that helps both of you to be healthier and happier in the long run. It's just one of the many decisions you'll make as a parent for her long-term well being. Thank you SO much for sharing your experience because I know there are tons of moms out there who are or have struggled with babies with tongue ties as well!
You are exactly right! Many people haven't heard of tongue tie and don't realize release is actually a super easy procedure and very beneficial both short and long term. Thanks for giving us mommies confidence to share our own stories. :)
Thanks for sharing this! I am a mom who breastfed for 18 months as well as working full time. It was very difficult in the beginning and I feel really proud of myself that I was able to breastfeed this long. I feel it is the faith and determination in my mind that drove me to accomplish this whole journey successfully. When breastfeeding becomes a natural and routine thing to do, I just feel that it is also difficult to stop, and I really enjoyed the intimacy with my baby. Throughout the whole process, I feel more attached to my baby and it built up a strong connection with him. It also made me feel the importance of being a mom. Breastfeeding is a meaningful thing to do and it definitely benefited my baby and mom in terms of health and relationship.
Thank you for sharing your experiences from birth to breastfeeding. It's kind of strange talking about this topic with my own mother because of our culture and the traditional way I was brought up. My husband and I just got married this past summer, and ever since my parents & other relatives have been asking us about when we're going to get pregnant. Before we were married it was "When are you getting married?" Now it's "When are you going to have kids?" My mom always offers to help us taking care of the future child but hasn't given actual advice. It's always tips from the medical perspective, like "You should have the baby soon to avoid health risks when you're too old". I'm only 28 lol. I have been subscribed to you for awhile (since watching your tutorials for monolids), and these Momtember videos are so helpful. It feels like you are the older sister I never had. I wish you, your husband and Aria + family the best ^_^
I have 3 kids and my first 2 i didn't have the patience to breastfeed them but my last baby I did breastfed her and I LOVED it. I love the closeness that I get with her. Love your video Jen
For being in health care in US, i'm so sorry about your new mom experiences. I understand how much pressure there is in breastfeeding your child 🙁 I've seen many new mothers cry and feel like they're a failure. It's a common feeling You talked about this very well! Good job mama!
I'm a mom of 4 (2 boys & 2 girls). I wasn't able to breastfeed since I couldn't produce literally any milk. I am also small chested and I always felt that because I am small chested then I would never be able to breastfeed, which actually happened. Although I understand that it is not because of the size but the body. It was still pretty difficult to tell others and get them to understand my situation because they just think I'm selfish or don't care because I was not breastfeeding.
Am a 2months and a half mother with big boobs but with very little milk.....Each time i try to pump i just get 20-30mils only....imagine starving a child for
YES! New mother here and my breastfeeding journey was super rocky especially at the beginning. Thank you SO much for touching on all aspects of the good and bad of breastfeeding! I tried talking to my mom about this at the beginning but it was just so frustrating because she didn't understand since she didn't BF. I was constantly in fear of it producing enough milk for my baby. I actually preferred pumping at the beginning because my baby had an awful latch so pumping was more comfortable for me plus it was easy to see how much she was eating. Then I had the dreaded clogged duct a few weeks ago and started tO EBF for two weeks straight and realized afterwards that I never wanted to go back to pumping because there's just SO much stuff to clean with pumping!!! Unfortunately I'm going back to work next week so I had to start pumping again to get her used to a bottle again... would LOVE to see a video about transitioning aria to solids and about her sleep schedule! Would also love to see a what's in your diaper bag vid!
I really love when you sit down and just talk , even thought this topic isn't for me but I enjoy listening to you , please make more of these videos ❤️❤️❤️
It's interesting to hear about your mum stories - thanks for sharing! :) My mom couldn't produce breast milk on her own, so she had to drink some bitter herbal tea. (At first, my dad and the nurse pressured my mum, saying to her that she "didn't love her baby enough" which would be the reason she couldn't breastfeed me.) Turns out that her own mother couldn't breastfeed, my uncle and my mum were both formula fed. At least I kinda know what to expect when I ever find myself in this situation.
ManaLookie I feel terrible that your mom was pressured by her husband and nurse about her it being able to produce milk. I am certain that she already felt like a failure of a mother to you without anyone putting extra pressure.
I'm 9 days into motherhood and just had my first tear filled day with feeding due to low supply. I immediately jumped on UA-cam for tips and tricks from other mamas and found your channel. Immediately subscribed ❤️ thank you for sharing
Wow! I wish I would have seen this before my baby was born! This is still so helpful and I am 2 months in! Love this video, it is so informative and positive and relatable. Glad I came across this video because now I can share it with my cousin who just gave birth and has been worried about milk production.
I love you Jen! I've been following you forever since I was a teenager, I mean years, back to your Kansas, acne routines, and everything, your first video with wongfu! I am so proud to see how far you've come! I'm married now and planning to have a baby soon, thanks for all these awesome information ;) hehe
Hi Jen, you are very lucky that you were able to exclusively BF your baby and even more lucky that you hit your goal. It was my dream before I had my baby that I will exclusively BF. But things didn't work out as plan. I was a 1st time mom with no help on what to do. My husband works a week after I gave birth, my baby had a latching issue that I didn't know at first until I asked a doctor and it turned out she has a upper lip tie. I ended up exclusively pumping up to 7 months but to be honest with it was really really hard. But seeing my baby now, oh my gosh!!! Every pain, every fever and every sacrifice that I went through are all worth it!!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing your experience. Cheers to all the mommas out there.
I love your video Jen! You made me cry 😭😭😭 as soon as you said you met your goal. I breastfeed my daughter to 16months, my goal was 12 but I loved breastfeeding. I had a really hard time at the start and it took 2weeks for my milk to come in. I felt like I didn't want to let go of all the hard work I went through to get to that point. Then one day my daughter just started to refuse my breast and only wanted cows milk. At that point I felt happy and sad at the same time. Happy that we didn't have to go through the process of stopping breastfeed and sad about no longer having the bond we shared while breastfeeding. ❤️❤️❤️ love your videos. Keep up the good work 👍👍👍
PSA: To avoid low supply take calcium magnesium supplements, drink electrolytes, and eat an extra meal a day... were told to breastfeed but not given enough education on how to keep that supply going which is 💔 Happy feeding!
Thanks for the video . I can so relate . I had a baby two weeks ago. I hate pumping . I am at this stage where feeding and sleeping is mostly my days. But I enjoy it . Thanks again . It’s just nice to know there is people going through same thing somewhere else .
Thank you so much for these Mommy videos! Watching these videos and hearing you openly talk about your experience really helps me have these conversations with my mom. Please continue to share!
I still remember how my first few days were hell as i had to go through painful moments where my nipples were sore and blistered and breasts so engorged with milk. But I never give up. I wanted to feel 'complete'. Plus my baby refused formula milk . I'm as petite as Jen only slightly bigger and taller and I still breastfeed my son who's turning 2 at the end of this month. Constantly I get people asking when will i stop breastfeeding him. My answer is when he wants to. He eats a good diet and does drink milk like soy milk or almond milk every now and then. I've tried so hard when he was a baby to feed him formula but he just refused. I'm happy to breastfeed him. 😊
bebeKay: where did you get the information that after 6 months, the quality of a mother's milk will decline? As far as I know it's totally not true. I know moms whose babies didn't drink any milk other than their mother's milk until 2 but they're all very healthy and chubby babies. Actually, studies show that babies who are breastfed for more than 2 years actually have an advantage in terms of immune system and intelligence.
bebeKay That is totally false. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least 2 years. Human milk should be the MAIN source of nutrition for at least the first year. I’m an RN in the OB and NICU field and have done lactation studies and consulting for 25 years.
Thank you Jen! That was very very informative as I am also a new mum! Now that you've put it out there I don't think I'm that crazy after all!! Looking forward to Aria's sleeping routine video as my son still doesn't sleep through the night (7months now)!! Love your videos!!
I'm breastfeeding my son, and he had horrendous skin problems from when he was about 3/4 months old. Turned out he was allergic to wheat, dairy, oats, nuts and soya! At that point he was only breastfeeding, so I had to cut all of those out of my diet, which was soooo hard! Later he was retested and only reacted to wheat, dairy and nuts. He's now turned 2 and still breastfeeds, mainly just when he wants to go to sleep. Thank you for sharing your story!
Thank you for being so detailed and honest. I had a rough start, also went through mastitis, but still breastfeeding at 19 months while pregnant again. I don't think my baby's ready to wean any time soon. And like you mentioned, I'm not ready for him to wean either. So I'm really glad you mentioned post-breastfeeding hormones and depression because I didn't know that could happen. Now, at least I know what to expect.
Thanks for sharing such a vulnerable experience. I'm currently breastfeeding our 3 month old and the first month was definitely one of the most difficult and stressful things I had to go through. My milk didn't come in until day 5 and even then I wasn't making enough milk and had to supplement with formula for the fist month. Plus I had such a forceful letdown on my left breast that it was so painful to breastfeed her from that side... But I stuck it out and now it is so much better. I still struggle with my supply but I'm making enough that I haven't had to give her any formula for the last 2 months so I'm super proud! My goal is breastfeed for at least 6 months but I'm pretty satisfied that I made it this far.
I'm having my first baby this November. I feel exactly like how u felt. It's just weird and awkward but I really want to breastfeed. Hope my experience will turn out as good as yours. THANKS FOR STARTING THE VID WITHOUT A LONG INTRO. You jumped right in so I don't have to skip the first 2 minutes
Thank you for sharing! I love your honesty. It is incredible what the female body can do to ensure the health of a baby. The video has been very informative and I am looking forward to my first breastfeeding experience. I hope it is a positive one as well!
Thank you for sharing this. I love your honest opinions. I’m having my first baby soon and your experience of the good and the bad really make me less anxious.
Jen (AND ALL PUMPING MOMS): try the Freemie cups. It makes pumping so much more tolerable. No pumping bra needed, you just stick the cups (connected to your pump) in your bra and voila. So much better than the little bottles and membranes. I made it a year exclusively breastfeeding baby, and while I too hated pumping (it's such a time suck), and the Freemies were a big help.
Thank you for sharing your journey. I am in week 2 of breastfeeding after being in the nicu. So we are transitioning from bottle back to breast. Not easy but so rewarding. I appreciate your honesty and knowing that I have a reminder to just trust my body
Great video, Jen! I'm not a mom myself (nor plan to be one), but I love this series and your candidness about topics that are hard to ask questions about.
You're videos really speak to me... thank you for making me feel like I'm not to only one! Breastfeeding my girl whos 9 months now with a goal of 1 year, it was hard up until 3 months... now its totally been worth it! High 5 mama...
My favourite video from you! I was lucky as I had an emergency c section but my milk came I at four days. Like you, I said I hoped to BF my baby. If not, formula is okay too! I didn't feel pressure or stressed out despite the lactation consultants being so pushy. My son was born small (4lb 8oz) at full term because of unforeseen circumstances and I was always worried I wasn't feeding enough. Even today there are some days we use formula when we need to. I made my goal of six months BF... now he is slowly self weaning. He is now a fat 7 month old and thriving. Parents, fed is best! #fedisbest.
Thank you for the video Jen! I wanted to breast feed my baby so badly (I'm not sure if it ever occurred to me that there was a possibility I wouldn't be able too) but it wasn't a success for me. I remember asking the nurses, doctors, lactation specialists, basically anyone who knew anything how I would KNOW that my baby was getting milk and no one would give me a straight answer! It was so incredibly frustrating! My baby was having rising bilirubin counts (developing pretty bad jaundice), spent a lot of the time crying, and wouldn't stay latched to me (even with a good latch) for the first week plus of her life. Our pediatrician finally recommended I supplement with formula and it was a god send. All of a sudden she slept for hours on end, her weight was going up, bilirubin was going down and she was so happy. My baby was doing so much better. But to this day (she's 2 years old) I still have lingering feelings of failure over not being able to provide such a basic thing for my baby. I loved hearing your story, it was wonderful insight on something I hopefully get to experience one day if I become pregnant again.
Omg! I gave birth a week ago and it was exactly how it went for me! On top of that my mom was not really helpful or nice about the whole situation, telling me that I should give up on breastfeeding already and go for the formula.... that i am starving her grandchild :( Thank you so much for sharing! It feels less lonely! I would love to breastfeed exclusively for at least 6 months, but im ok with supplementing meanwhile.
Here 3 years later. My little boy will be a month old in a few days😩 but our journey started great and quickly got bumpy when leaving the hospital.. while we were there (same as yourself) the LC were complementing my baby’s latch and bragging on us to everyone on how natural it was to us and how great we were doing. Right before we were discharged we had to supplement for the first time by syringe to try and get my baby to latch for longer than a couple minutes. We went to see another LC when he was 5 days old bc i had been pumping a 2oz bottle before every feed just to get him to eat and keep my supply (mine came in on the 2nd day and i did not want to risk drying up). We have used a nipple shield ever since but he is eating and thats all that matters! It definitely is mentally and physically draining at first. I cried almost everyday for the first couple weeks and felt like it was my fault because I was internally frustrated when it was time to feed and I was so tired. I finally was able to quit blaming me and quit blaming my baby bc I finally realized that the process was new for both of us and even though we had so many complements in the hospital, in reality it didn’t come totally natural to us and we just had to work it out! I hope I am able to breastfeed him to atleast the 1 year mark but I think I would love to go longer if he wants to🥰
Due to my experience of having two boys. Feeding a baby formula, especially to a newborn can be tricky. They suck in a lot of gas from the bottle. So, it's a good idea to feed them a few ounces, stop, and burp. Then, feed them some more ounces. If they take the whole bottle all at once, they do throw up. I had a very hard time breastfeeding my two boys, they had a hard time latching properly. I had to supplement with formula and pump exclusively for the first 2-3 months. I hated pumping, it hurt too much. Plus, I didn't produce much breastmilk. I pumped as much as I can, only getting 2 ozs per pump session. I was very depressed and blamed myself for being a bad mom. I would cry every day. I had a c-section with my first (now 7 yrs old) and my second (now 2 yrs old), I had a VBAC. In the end, my boys are healthy, happy, and full of life. Seeing that, I feel that I did something right. And I am much more content in that sense. Thanks for sharing your journey Jen! Glad to hear you were able to successfully breast feed Aria for 1 year 🙂
Thanks for sharing this video. There's so much pressure put on moms to breastfeed and if you don't you seem to have failed motherhood. Sometimes I'm even afraid to share I bf my kids especially when my friends seem to have difficulty. I'm really not a bf snob! Lol
Thanks for sharing first of all.. when my son was born, I battled postpartum depression, a pretty ugly one.. i did try to breastfeed though.. for 2 months i did the very best I could.. it wasn't easy with the depression.. my milk just wouldn't come in and part of it was to blame on the fact that my son couldn't latch on.. or if he did he would get angry or frustrated because he wasn't getting enough.. he's born a big baby.. to this day when he's hungry, he needs to eat immediately or else.. so thats how i landed in this vicious cirkel where I kept feeling worse and more useless every day.. it got so bad that I thought of removing myself from the equation.. I would get extreme suicidal thoughts. That's when I said enough is enough.. Now I'm pregnant the second time around and your video just gave me a little hope.. thanks..
My son is 14 days old now. I’m struggling to make enough milk for him. Drinking water, eating Lactation cookies, etc... he had gained a few ounces at his last appointment but it wasn’t as much as they hoped so they gave me a huge bag full of formula cans to try supplementing. I broke down in the office and cried and cried. I haven’t slept a ton and now I to feel like a failure. I’m pumping more and giving him bottles of what I can pump (sometimes it takes me several pumping sessions to even make 3 damn ounces.) thanks for sharing your story. I hope it gets better for me as well.
Love your honest experience. My first experience was similar like yours ; worried, anxious and guilty everytime my baby cried for not having enough milk. And on top of that your whole body is still healing from the delivery. On the 2nd experience i took it easy and learn to relax for things to kick in naturally. And Yes i did use formula (just for top ups) this time for the first few weeks, couldnt bare to starve my baby. But after that milk flow started to pour in :)) Thank God!
Oh my word...I felt the same! I just gave birth to my daughter on August 6th with C section. My milk didn't come in for 5 days and I had to supplement with formula plus use pump around the clock. It's been so hard trying to help her latch on to my breast when she was getting used to the bottle. I felt like a failure for the first two weeks. Thankfully, she's latching fine now and only wants my breasts haha. It's definitely a journey. Thank you for sharing Jen!
Hi Jen! My baby was actually born with a cleft lip. Thank goodness it was mild, but he still did not latch, and i believe it was more of an anatomical mismatch. He'll be 8 months the end of this month and I'm still pumping. I hate it but he doesn't like formula and I want to make the effort for him. Pumping is the worst, especially when you work full time. The freedom I will have once this is over will be incredible. That, and my breasts are in such bad shape - bruised and itching for the past month. I need to go to a doctor but won't have time for some weeks. Oh well :(
It took me 7 days for my milk to come in with my second baby. It's different for every mom and every pregnancy too! With my first baby, it came in at 4 days, but I wasn't able to produce enough milk, so we supplemented. But somehow with my second, I've been able to exclusively breastfeed. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Don't stress and love that baby!
The concept of 10% body weight loss being the max is so frustrating! If you've had any IVs during the labor process (or if you've been pumped full of LOTS of fluids for a cesarean) your baby's birthweight is inflated from water weight! My middle child was 9 pounds even and my youngest was just over 8. Thankfully my pediatrician is very much a "trust your instincts" doctor because otherwise I would have given up breastfeeding entirely. As far as my journey goes, I only nursed my eldest for two weeks. External circumstances (lack of support) and lack of knowledge contributed to that. My middle child I nursed and then exclusively pumped for several months. It is a pain, but if any new moms are reading this I highly recommend ordering extra pump parts if you're going to be pumping frequently! I think I got a couple extra sets for $12 each on Amazon. I'm currently nursing my four month old daughter. It has been a completely different experience! I think as you said anatomy is a huge part of it. I pumped for my second child because the pain never stopped and I didn't know to have him checked for a tongue or lip tie--which in hindsight is likely the case. But my daughter? Right at the two week mark the pain stopped! And I even had a cracked nipple and bled so much she had a blood mustache but it didn't hurt! I don't think I'm necessarily trying HARDER to make it work with my daughter, but we're just an inherently better fit AND I'm much more knowledgeable. I highly recommend any new moms joining local La Leche League or other breastfeeding support groups before giving birth just to read through some of the frequent issues and solutions. Fed is obviously best. My eldest who was primarily formula fed has had very few illnesses, and the same with my middle child who only had a few months of breastmilk! They've got EBF cousins who have had more frequent viral and bacterial illnesses, so the whole concept that breastmilk is a cure-all preventative magical mana from heaven liquid is unfair to moms who struggle with guilt from switching to formula. Do what you need to do to stay sane--your baby needs you healthy and happy most of all.
I'm a bottle baby and I'm fine and I'm glad my mother wasn't shamed for it. I see all these heartbreaking stories and it's just horrible. There's so much pressure on women to be perfect all the time forgetting we are human. Nobody is a "bad mother" for choosing a c-section, or feeding formula, no matter the reason. You are a good mother if you love your baby and that's it.
B RS absolutely! ✊️ have you read the book "Push Back"? i think you'd appreciate it!
I love how you have the courage and honesty to share all these experiences which are crucial to know yet hardly anyone talks about very often. Thank you and congratulations on making it this far!
Yay, for a positive breastfeeding story. People need to share positive stories more because new moms only hear horror stories. When actually most woman can have a positive breastfeeding experience.
I hate it when they advertise "Breast is Best"
How about "Fed is best"
Whether it's formula or BF, it doesn't matter. As long as you feed your baby, that's the most important part.
With my Bub she came out really small, so I had to Supplement with formula after BM.
After she was 2wks old, she didn't lose much weight at all and started gaining really fast. So I'm glad I did what I did.
:)
Breast is best is a scientific fact. Breast milk is full of antibodies and has the perfect blend of fats, proteins and carbs for baby. Its just a fact. Breast is best, but fed is necessary! It should NEVER be used to shame mom's who use formula. The fed is beast slogan was created by an organization that promotes fearmongering and leads women to believe if they breastfeed they will starve their baby. A lot of people dont realize it is the slogan of an organization and not just a nice saying. There is nothing wrong with formula, it is a miracle of modern science and is wonderful for moms and babies who need it! Just wanted to say the difference and origins of the two slogans. :)
Staci Bishankhe I think we need to stop saying "Breast is best" in general. Everyone knows breastmilk is tailored for your baby, but that phrase makes moms who have to formula feed feel like they aren't doing the "best". Fed is best and we need to get rid of the stigma of formula.
Only 17% of mothers are breastfeeding at one year in the US, which makes it very obvious there is a major lack of education of breastfeeding. Formula has been pushed for decades now, most of this generation was given formula as a baby. Breast is best is an effort to educate women about breastfeeding and the benefits of breast milk. Breast milk will always be what is best for baby when it is available. Considering that only 1 in 5 women are breastfeeding by the time baby is 1, I think that shows the stigma of formula isnt a considerable problem in this country. What is a problem is the lack of support and education available to women who want to breastfeed. Formula should be used when it is medically necessary for baby, but the simple fact is that science has yet to replicate breast milk. Not everything can be "best". Best is an absolute term. Fed is NECESSARY when the alternative is not feeding your baby. Women should be proud of feeding their baby and if they have to use formula they should be proud that they are doing what they were meant to do - care for their baby however they need to.
Thank you for saying this!
Yeh no shit Breast milk is most ideal but it just shits me when you get made to feel like a failure if you don't BF your baby.
You know it's wrong when babies die because doctors and nurses keep telling new first time mum's that "it's fine, it's fine, your BM will come in, just keep trying. Don't use formula yet". Babies die! And that's a fact too.
Fed is best - whether formula or BM.
I've never heard much about these little details about new motherhood; they're so good to know for when I have my own children someday, so thank you!
Thanks for sharing this. I feel like your videos can really help a lot new moms and future moms. You talk about topics that really happens- the good, the bad, and the ugly! I'm a mom of two and my milk didn't come in until the 4th day for both of my babies. The second time around was much easier as I knew what to expect, but as a first time mom with my son it was so frustrating. He wound latch on properly, but I knew he wasn't getting much because he wasn't having enough wet and poopy diapers. Ultimately, I had to supplement with formula for a few days until he started gaining weight again. Breastfeeding isn't easy. It literally sucks the life out of you 😂. Would I do it all over again? Heck yeah! Knowing that I can produce milk to nourish my baby is such an amazing feeling!
RoseAustin C. Ii
My baby wouldn't latch and I have now been exclusively pumping for 9 months. It is possible to be a happy pumper!
Did u ever feel pumping reduce breast milk ? I m also feeding breastmilk through pumping only.
I too on the same boat ... Low milk , baby not latching, my baby is one month old..just Pumping.. But getting only little... Verydepressed
@@chinnisuresh1442 i had the same situation as you. The most i was ever able to pump out in a 24 hour period was 13 oz/390 mls and my son was drinking 30 oz/900 mls in a 24 hrs period by then. i was always so depressed about how much time i was investing into pumping for him only to get so little out. I finally stopped by 7 months, it was too much emotionally and physically but he was growing well on mostly formula and his doc was always pleased with his growth at every visit. So if you feel you need to stop and give only formula it’s going to be ok 👍🏻
I love how positive and honest this video is
I think it would be really interesting to hear from your husband how he felt throughout the whole process in terms of your labour and breastfeeding and everything else that comes along with having a baby. We don't often hear from men and their experiences as a new father so I think it would be fascinating! I'm also really glad that you are so open when it comes to pregnancy and motherhood because so many people glamourise it and hide all the difficult aspects that it actually comes with, so it's great that you are making people more aware of the reality!
+lilaclillylover23 we are actually already planning on filming a video with ben to share his side, which I'm really looking forward to hearing myself. 🤗
lilaclillylover23 amazing suggestion!!! So excited for Jen to post more about being a Mommy, and hear Ben's thoughts
I'm a 21 year old college student just enchanted by the majesty of the capacity of the female body, and loved how you communicated your story. Although far away from child-rearing, as a subscriber, I learned a lot. Congratulations on your journey with your daughter :)
I'm so glad you made this video! I just gave birth Saturday and having the same issues of producing enough milk for the baby and the anxiety of knowing you didn't feed them enough is heartbreaking. Knowing what you went through and what I'm going through right now definitely helps me s lot because it lets me know I'm not out there alone in the same situation. So thank you Jen!
Hi Jen, I'm usually one of those silent viewers that wish to stay anonymous but seriously, I can't help but comment on this video (and after watching all of your preggy playlists in sequence) how thankful I am for your sharing these really honest and down to earth stories. I'm learning so much about what I will be going through in the next several months and the following months post-partum. Keep these stories coming, Jen. You're awesome!
I love how honest you are in your videos! I'm no where near having a baby or anything but watching and hearing your stories about pregnancy and all the changes in your body has really educated me and made me appreciate my mom and other mothers out there even more. Thank you for sharing your pregnancy journey with us, I feel like many of your advices will become useful for me somewhere far away in the future! ❤
Man I don't have a baby neither am I pregnant. But I just love love love listening to you talking ♡ it is really nice to hear your stories ♡ you are such an amazing woman!!
Omg you’ve said it all perfectly. None of the other breastfeeding videos on UA-cam talk about all these important details! Literally this is the stuff first time moms need to know beforehand. You’re so adorable by the way!🥰
you should get some sort of award for this series
Thanks for the honest video. Trying to nurse my early full term posterior tongue tied baby was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was so much work: months of having the baby latched on for countless hours per day, line feeding, a bout of jaundice, pumping round the clock, seeing multiple doctors, six lactation consultants, physical therapists, etc. He's now six months and while it's mostly pumping here, I so treasure the handful of times per day I'm able to nurse my little one. Sometimes breastfeeding isn't what we expected it to be and it doesn't always work out for everyone. That's okay. The hormones combined with self imposed expectations and societal pressures make seem it seem like the biggest potential failure as a mom. Yes breast milk is great, but formula isn't the end of the world. And neither is exclusively pumping.
Enjoy those babies, in the end it goes by too fast. ❤️
thank goodness for your momtember series. i myself am a new mom. my little princess comes to this world on september 14th. this series really help me feel like i am not alone in this new motherhood journey. as a new mom, it is really stressful especially with the breastfeeding, the scars and body that hasn't been fully recovered yet as well as the sleepless nights. but like you say in this video, i know all of this will be worth the efforts. a happy and healthy baby is what we all want and that is the greatest reward as a mom :)
For me, despite trying very hard, the milk supply just wasn't enough. Part of it is poor latching, part of it is just that my body doesn't produce enough milk. I ended up pumping and giving my baby half formula and half breastmilk, and did it for 7-8 months. For me, pumping beyond the point where milk was coming out actually helped send the signal to my body to produce more milk, but it only worked to a certain point, beyond which my baby was still hungry, which is why I supplemented with formula. The disappointment is immense because there's SO much saying that the body would always produce enough, that it almost seems socially unacceptable to NOT breastfeed, like you're a failure in not providing the best for the baby when not exclusively breastfeeding. Well guess what - the true failure is when the baby starves because Mummy wants to feel like she's doing her job breastfeeding! I think it's more important to do your best breastfeeding but be open and pay attention to your baby and what he/ she needs! So my advice to new mummies are to do your best, but don't beat yourself up if you do have to supplement or feed formula, relax and just do your best!
skygaz3r 👏👏👏
I needed to read this, I’m glad I stumbled across this video, Thank you🙏🏼
I absolutely love these informative and honest mum talks of yours. I really appreciate that you tell both the good and bad, and don't just focus on either one. It's also great and super helpful that you share some TMI infos about the body changes etc...thank you so much for these videos!
I’m pregnant with baby #1 and I’m so grateful I have all your pregnancy videos to go back to and watch. Thank you so so so much for always being real with us.
Congrats on your 2nd baby and I’m so excited to see your journey with Ben and Aria!
Thanks for sharing, that is the only positive breastfeeding stories I have heard. No one around me have successfully breastfed and I think their oversharing actually scared me for life. Good to know there are different way this could end.
I formula fed my babe from 4 months on. I supplemented up to that point bc I couldn't produce enough. I did everything I could, saw so many specialist, drank nasty teas, used a very expensive pump, nothing worked. I tried so hard. And I had to go back to work by the 4 month so I continuing to try to BF was almost impossible. You are very lucky. It breaks my heart still that I couldn't exclusively bf her but she's now 20 months, very healthy and thriving. If/when I have my 2nd, I will try again. Hopefully 2nd time will be better.
Jen these videos are amazing. I'm about to be a new mom in 11ish weeks and no amount of professional help soothes the nerves like a personal story like this. Please keep them coming!
Jen, you made me cry, laugh and then cry again. As a breastfeeding mom of an 11-month old, everything you just said was so accurate and relatable. My goal is to breastfeed my son until he's two so i'm not stopping anytime soon. It's the most exhausting yet most satisfying thing I've ever done. Kudos to all the mommies out there who already made it and congratulations to you Jen for making it this far. You are an inspiration. ❤️
Thank you for sharing and for talking about things that you never hear about. I am 26, I have never been pregnant yet but the whole pregnancy thing has always been a question mark for me. I feel like I want to know everything before stepping into pregnancy and your videos are helping a lot! I have also been watching your videos for 7 years now and I'd like to congratulate you for the quality of your content. You definitely have a talent for teaching and explaining things.
Jen, thanks for sharing your story! Feeding your baby the first time can be very demanding and almost discouraging because for the amount of time you invest in feeding your baby. And when mom invests so much time, they usually have this heavy expectation that they're baby should be healthy and gaining weight. So, when the results don't show as expected, it's really discouraging for the amount work they put in. Breast feeding is still a stigma, especially when it comes to breastfeeding in public. Not to mention the times working moms have to step out of their office to pump breast milk. The whole process is just a hassle... but if a mom is determined it's really rewarding.
Even though health care staffs recommend mothers to breastfeed their child for at least 12 months, most moms usually stop by the first month, so good for you Jen for successfully meeting your goal.
One thing to keep in mind for new moms is that..... baby's stomach is TINY. If we overfeed them, they throw up. If we feed them too fast, they also throw up. Better not to throw up than not feeding enough. Breastfeeding gives a perfect amount. And even if some mom's don't produce enough milk the first couple of weeks it's fine, because the hormone is going to kick in and create the perfect amount for the baby. Remember, first-day milk or colostrum should be the size of a cherry. Day two should be the size of the walnut. By one week it should be the size of the apricot, and by the first month, it should be the size of a large egg. So even if we think we're not giving enough, the reality is, we are. Just have to keep feeding the baby as demanded and our bodies will react to the amount that baby needs.
Thank you so much for this video! I am about to become a new mom and I just loved every second of this video. I’ve had so much anxiety towards breastfeeding and I just want everything to go okay and your video made me feel SO much more relaxed and confident
I am not currently a mom, but I am in that phase of life where my husband and I are trying to decide if we do want kids. I appreciate how honest and real you have been in each of these videos and love this series!
I EBF my daughter for 9 months and it was the most tiring 9 months of my life 😅 I miss the breastfeeding bond for sure but I'm thankful we were able to go for that long!
I think it's so interesting and fascinating to hear these stories about your early motherhood experiences. I watched your first video for momtember and now this one and I want to say thank you for sharing this extremely personal stuff with us. I'm not a mom but I appreciate it all the same. I think it can help a lot of other women in similar situations, so thanks so much for sharing! :)
I think generally first time mom's are harder on themselves because they just don't know! I look back and I think why did I stress so much! I'm so glad that my pediatrician was reassuring and encouraging during those stressful times.
I wish i saw this years ago. I struggled so much with breastfeeding and felt like a failure for so long. But looking back I wish I could undo all the anxiety and self blame and tough it out longer. Different people were telling me things left and right and in the end i quit after a month. So proud of you for being so strong and determined!!! Super commendable!!!
Love love LOVE you for taking the time to share your experiences with breastfeeding. Your tips and comments will no doubt go a long way in helping other new moms when dealing with this special time in their babies lives. Thank you!
Jen I just wanted to say thank you so much for these stories!! I'm an adopted Chinese woman, and though I'm not considering babies yet, I literally have NO ONE to go to within my family who has the same body type as me as my family is Caucasian. My mother obviously never gave birth, as both me and my sister are adopted. I feel like I'm learning so much that I NEVER would have known about pregnancy, like the fact that some women just can't breastfeed? Or that labor can last days???
Your extremely personal and brave journey is shedding so much light on questions I've had about the possibility of having my own child one day that have been in the dark. Thank you so much!!!
How I wish I had my baby earlier! Your video spoke to so many aspects of breastfeeding pains. Yet your reassuring messages would make me much calmer. I wish more new moms can see your touching and honest video because we need more experience sharing like this so that mothers don't feel anxious, guilty about the entire breastfeeding experience, because it is such a natural and beautiful thing! I agree with you, i am so happy that I breastfed my baby!
I have a 3 week old and have been trying to exclusively breast feed, and I have to say thank you for this video. I really needed to hear a lot of this.
New subscriber here! Love your videos! I'm Korean-American, too, and we're planning our baby's dohl in a few weeks! I could really relate to a lot of things you shared regarding your breastfeeding journey. We are exclusively breasted too :-) Thanks for making this video!
Thank you for sharing this!! There arent enough real life experiences about BF out there!
I've been BF 3 years straight with 3 babies. First my twins and now my singleton who will be 1 in a week. BF my twins was very difficult with latch issues, tongue ties, exclusively pumping for a few months, lots of pain, inverted nipples and mastitis. Luckily, after BF for 2 years and through my pregnancy, when my third came along, I had no pain and no issues. Through the past 11 months I've pumped to donate milk to mama's who aren't able to produce as much. Its been satisfying but I know it'll be hard to wean, when the time comes, knowing this is my last baby.
Hannah Hernandez hygggzvgfgdg
I'm nursing my son right now! Thank you so much for the positive outlook and sharing your story. It was painful for the first 2 weeks for me but otherwise, it's been wonderful! Everyone has different experiences and I would definitely recommend to any new mom to try if that's what they want to do!
I'm just over a month of breastfeeding and it's like i'm almost listening to you tell me my story so far. thanks for that, makes me think it gets better x
Love this video! People don’t talk about what your body goes through enough!
I'm one of those mothers who weren't producing enough milk for my baby.
It was very hard handling with the negative thoughts and not being able to breastfeed was my number one fear while pregnant. I felt depressed for a while but accepted what was happening for the sake of my baby. I was done with crying over it. My baby eats a lot and my milk didn't come in on time. My baby though, who is now on the bottle is growing healthy and stronger each day.
And I thank God for giving me the strength to overcome my depression.
Thanks for sharing Jen. We had our daughters around the same time (Jessica was born on 4th July) and I relate so much to what you've said in your video. Well done to all the mamas out there, you're doing a fantastic job! xxx
Thanks for sharing your story! Before having my daughter I also told myself I'll give breastfeeding my best try and see how it goes. Supply wasn't my issue (I'm 6 months in and still have oversupply) but it was my daughters tongue tie. Her tongue couldn't extend because of a tight frenulum causing her to suck extra hard. My nipples were bleeding by day 2, chapped and raw. Even air made them throb with pain. I got a consultant who let me know that she 100% had tongue tie. We ended up having to make a decision to get her tongue tie cut on week 2. It was either that or continue feeding her on my bleeding nipples, and hope for the best. The pain was so bad I was constantly sobbing while feeding my daughter. As soon as we had her tongue tie cut feeding was PAINLESS. I realized "oh wow...so breastfeeding is actually not supposed to hurt." There were some people out there that made me feel terrible for cutting my daughters frenulum - but 6 months on and realizing how minor of a procedure it was for the trade off of painless breastfeeding...so so so worth it. Every mommy has to make their own choices that are best for their babies and themselves.
I could be wrong since I haven't gone through this myself, but isn't cutting tongue ties better for breastfeeding AND better for speech development later on as well? You did the right thing, mama! She won't remember it but you made a decision that helps both of you to be healthier and happier in the long run. It's just one of the many decisions you'll make as a parent for her long-term well being. Thank you SO much for sharing your experience because I know there are tons of moms out there who are or have struggled with babies with tongue ties as well!
You are exactly right! Many people haven't heard of tongue tie and don't realize release is actually a super easy procedure and very beneficial both short and long term.
Thanks for giving us mommies confidence to share our own stories. :)
Thanks for sharing this! I am a mom who breastfed for 18 months as well as working full time. It was very difficult in the beginning and I feel really proud of myself that I was able to breastfeed this long. I feel it is the faith and determination in my mind that drove me to accomplish this whole journey successfully. When breastfeeding becomes a natural and routine thing to do, I just feel that it is also difficult to stop, and I really enjoyed the intimacy with my baby. Throughout the whole process, I feel more attached to my baby and it built up a strong connection with him. It also made me feel the importance of being a mom. Breastfeeding is a meaningful thing to do and it definitely benefited my baby and mom in terms of health and relationship.
Thank you for sharing your experiences from birth to breastfeeding. It's kind of strange talking about this topic with my own mother because of our culture and the traditional way I was brought up. My husband and I just got married this past summer, and ever since my parents & other relatives have been asking us about when we're going to get pregnant. Before we were married it was "When are you getting married?" Now it's "When are you going to have kids?" My mom always offers to help us taking care of the future child but hasn't given actual advice. It's always tips from the medical perspective, like "You should have the baby soon to avoid health risks when you're too old". I'm only 28 lol. I have been subscribed to you for awhile (since watching your tutorials for monolids), and these Momtember videos are so helpful. It feels like you are the older sister I never had. I wish you, your husband and Aria + family the best ^_^
I have 3 kids and my first 2 i didn't have the patience to breastfeed them but my last baby I did breastfed her and I LOVED it. I love the closeness that I get with her. Love your video Jen
For being in health care in US, i'm so sorry about your new mom experiences. I understand how much pressure there is in breastfeeding your child 🙁 I've seen many new mothers cry and feel like they're a failure. It's a common feeling You talked about this very well! Good job mama!
Thanks for this video Jen. I'm a new mom and this brought me to tears because I can totally relate. 😘
I'm a mom of 4 (2 boys & 2 girls). I wasn't able to breastfeed since I couldn't produce literally any milk. I am also small chested and I always felt that because I am small chested then I would never be able to breastfeed, which actually happened. Although I understand that it is not because of the size but the body. It was still pretty difficult to tell others and get them to understand my situation because they just think I'm selfish or don't care because I was not breastfeeding.
Am a 2months and a half mother with big boobs but with very little milk.....Each time i try to pump i just get 20-30mils only....imagine starving a child for
Pennah Babz Hru doing how? I had similar experience
YES! New mother here and my breastfeeding journey was super rocky especially at the beginning. Thank you SO much for touching on all aspects of the good and bad of breastfeeding! I tried talking to my mom about this at the beginning but it was just so frustrating because she didn't understand since she didn't BF. I was constantly in fear of it producing enough milk for my baby. I actually preferred pumping at the beginning because my baby had an awful latch so pumping was more comfortable for me plus it was easy to see how much she was eating. Then I had the dreaded clogged duct a few weeks ago and started tO EBF for two weeks straight and realized afterwards that I never wanted to go back to pumping because there's just SO much stuff to clean with pumping!!! Unfortunately I'm going back to work next week so I had to start pumping again to get her used to a bottle again... would LOVE to see a video about transitioning aria to solids and about her sleep schedule! Would also love to see a what's in your diaper bag vid!
I really love when you sit down and just talk , even thought this topic isn't for me but I enjoy listening to you , please make more of these videos ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for sharing your story. It means so much to share such a personal story.
It's interesting to hear about your mum stories - thanks for sharing! :)
My mom couldn't produce breast milk on her own, so she had to drink some bitter herbal tea. (At first, my dad and the nurse pressured my mum, saying to her that she "didn't love her baby enough" which would be the reason she couldn't breastfeed me.) Turns out that her own mother couldn't breastfeed, my uncle and my mum were both formula fed.
At least I kinda know what to expect when I ever find myself in this situation.
ManaLookie I feel terrible that your mom was pressured by her husband and nurse about her it being able to produce milk. I am certain that she already felt like a failure of a mother to you without anyone putting extra pressure.
I'm 9 days into motherhood and just had my first tear filled day with feeding due to low supply. I immediately jumped on UA-cam for tips and tricks from other mamas and found your channel. Immediately subscribed ❤️ thank you for sharing
Wow! I wish I would have seen this before my baby was born! This is still so helpful and I am 2 months in! Love this video, it is so informative and positive and relatable. Glad I came across this video because now I can share it with my cousin who just gave birth and has been worried about milk production.
I love you Jen! I've been following you forever since I was a teenager, I mean years, back to your Kansas, acne routines, and everything, your first video with wongfu! I am so proud to see how far you've come! I'm married now and planning to have a baby soon, thanks for all these awesome information ;) hehe
Hi Jen, you are very lucky that you were able to exclusively BF your baby and even more lucky that you hit your goal. It was my dream before I had my baby that I will exclusively BF. But things didn't work out as plan. I was a 1st time mom with no help on what to do. My husband works a week after I gave birth, my baby had a latching issue that I didn't know at first until I asked a doctor and it turned out she has a upper lip tie. I ended up exclusively pumping up to 7 months but to be honest with it was really really hard. But seeing my baby now, oh my gosh!!! Every pain, every fever and every sacrifice that I went through are all worth it!!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing your experience. Cheers to all the mommas out there.
I love your video Jen! You made me cry 😭😭😭 as soon as you said you met your goal. I breastfeed my daughter to 16months, my goal was 12 but I loved breastfeeding. I had a really hard time at the start and it took 2weeks for my milk to come in. I felt like I didn't want to let go of all the hard work I went through to get to that point. Then one day my daughter just started to refuse my breast and only wanted cows milk. At that point I felt happy and sad at the same time. Happy that we didn't have to go through the process of stopping breastfeed and sad about no longer having the bond we shared while breastfeeding. ❤️❤️❤️ love your videos. Keep up the good work 👍👍👍
PSA: To avoid low supply take calcium magnesium supplements, drink electrolytes, and eat an extra meal a day... were told to breastfeed but not given enough education on how to keep that supply going which is 💔
Happy feeding!
Samantha Herrera and drink a LOT of water!!! And also if possible get sleep wherever possible - produces prolactin
What is psa
Thanks for the video . I can so relate . I had a baby two weeks ago. I hate pumping . I am at this stage where feeding and sleeping is mostly my days. But I enjoy it . Thanks again . It’s just nice to know there is people going through same thing somewhere else .
Thank you so much for these Mommy videos! Watching these videos and hearing you openly talk about your experience really helps me have these conversations with my mom. Please continue to share!
i love this mommy series!! thank you so much
I still remember how my first few days were hell as i had to go through painful moments where my nipples were sore and blistered and breasts so engorged with milk. But I never give up. I wanted to feel 'complete'. Plus my baby refused formula milk . I'm as petite as Jen only slightly bigger and taller and I still breastfeed my son who's turning 2 at the end of this month. Constantly I get people asking when will i stop breastfeeding him. My answer is when he wants to. He eats a good diet and does drink milk like soy milk or almond milk every now and then. I've tried so hard when he was a baby to feed him formula but he just refused. I'm happy to breastfeed him. 😊
PeachyMangoPie its really nice that you can still breastfeed. However, after 6 months the quality of your milk will decline. So 2 years is a lor..
bebeKay: where did you get the information that after 6 months, the quality of a mother's milk will decline? As far as I know it's totally not true. I know moms whose babies didn't drink any milk other than their mother's milk until 2 but they're all very healthy and chubby babies. Actually, studies show that babies who are breastfed for more than 2 years actually have an advantage in terms of immune system and intelligence.
bebeKay That is totally false. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least 2 years. Human milk should be the MAIN source of nutrition for at least the first year. I’m an RN in the OB and NICU field and have done lactation studies and consulting for 25 years.
This is gold - liquid gold. Thank you for making this video.
Thank you Jen! That was very very informative as I am also a new mum! Now that you've put it out there I don't think I'm that crazy after all!! Looking forward to Aria's sleeping routine video as my son still doesn't sleep through the night (7months now)!! Love your videos!!
Love all these videos about being a new mom. Very helpful information!
I'm breastfeeding my son, and he had horrendous skin problems from when he was about 3/4 months old. Turned out he was allergic to wheat, dairy, oats, nuts and soya! At that point he was only breastfeeding, so I had to cut all of those out of my diet, which was soooo hard! Later he was retested and only reacted to wheat, dairy and nuts. He's now turned 2 and still breastfeeds, mainly just when he wants to go to sleep. Thank you for sharing your story!
Thank you for being so detailed and honest. I had a rough start, also went through mastitis, but still breastfeeding at 19 months while pregnant again. I don't think my baby's ready to wean any time soon. And like you mentioned, I'm not ready for him to wean either. So I'm really glad you mentioned post-breastfeeding hormones and depression because I didn't know that could happen. Now, at least I know what to expect.
Thanks for sharing such a vulnerable experience. I'm currently breastfeeding our 3 month old and the first month was definitely one of the most difficult and stressful things I had to go through. My milk didn't come in until day 5 and even then I wasn't making enough milk and had to supplement with formula for the fist month. Plus I had such a forceful letdown on my left breast that it was so painful to breastfeed her from that side... But I stuck it out and now it is so much better. I still struggle with my supply but I'm making enough that I haven't had to give her any formula for the last 2 months so I'm super proud! My goal is breastfeed for at least 6 months but I'm pretty satisfied that I made it this far.
I'm having my first baby this November. I feel exactly like how u felt. It's just weird and awkward but I really want to breastfeed. Hope my experience will turn out as good as yours. THANKS FOR STARTING THE VID WITHOUT A LONG INTRO. You jumped right in so I don't have to skip the first 2 minutes
Thank you for sharing! I love your honesty. It is incredible what the female body can do to ensure the health of a baby. The video has been very informative and I am looking forward to my first breastfeeding experience. I hope it is a positive one as well!
Thank you for sharing this. I love your honest opinions. I’m having my first baby soon and your experience of the good and the bad really make me less anxious.
Jen (AND ALL PUMPING MOMS): try the Freemie cups. It makes pumping so much more tolerable. No pumping bra needed, you just stick the cups (connected to your pump) in your bra and voila. So much better than the little bottles and membranes. I made it a year exclusively breastfeeding baby, and while I too hated pumping (it's such a time suck), and the Freemies were a big help.
Thank you for sharing your journey. I am in week 2 of breastfeeding after being in the nicu. So we are transitioning from bottle back to breast. Not easy but so rewarding. I appreciate your honesty and knowing that I have a reminder to just trust my body
Great video, Jen! I'm not a mom myself (nor plan to be one), but I love this series and your candidness about topics that are hard to ask questions about.
You're videos really speak to me... thank you for making me feel like I'm not to only one! Breastfeeding my girl whos 9 months now with a goal of 1 year, it was hard up until 3 months... now its totally been worth it! High 5 mama...
Your videos have been so helpful! Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability!
My favourite video from you! I was lucky as I had an emergency c section but my milk came I at four days. Like you, I said I hoped to BF my baby. If not, formula is okay too! I didn't feel pressure or stressed out despite the lactation consultants being so pushy. My son was born small (4lb 8oz) at full term because of unforeseen circumstances and I was always worried I wasn't feeding enough. Even today there are some days we use formula when we need to. I made my goal of six months BF... now he is slowly self weaning.
He is now a fat 7 month old and thriving. Parents, fed is best! #fedisbest.
Thank you for sharing! I love these kind of videos lately. ❤❤ I love you for being so open
Thank you so much for being so vulnerable and sharing with us!
"Were they changed? Yes. Were they ruined? No."
Amen, sister. Amen. 👊
Thank you for the video Jen! I wanted to breast feed my baby so badly (I'm not sure if it ever occurred to me that there was a possibility I wouldn't be able too) but it wasn't a success for me. I remember asking the nurses, doctors, lactation specialists, basically anyone who knew anything how I would KNOW that my baby was getting milk and no one would give me a straight answer! It was so incredibly frustrating! My baby was having rising bilirubin counts (developing pretty bad jaundice), spent a lot of the time crying, and wouldn't stay latched to me (even with a good latch) for the first week plus of her life. Our pediatrician finally recommended I supplement with formula and it was a god send. All of a sudden she slept for hours on end, her weight was going up, bilirubin was going down and she was so happy. My baby was doing so much better. But to this day (she's 2 years old) I still have lingering feelings of failure over not being able to provide such a basic thing for my baby. I loved hearing your story, it was wonderful insight on something I hopefully get to experience one day if I become pregnant again.
Omg! I gave birth a week ago and it was exactly how it went for me! On top of that my mom was not really helpful or nice about the whole situation, telling me that I should give up on breastfeeding already and go for the formula.... that i am starving her grandchild :( Thank you so much for sharing! It feels less lonely! I would love to breastfeed exclusively for at least 6 months, but im ok with supplementing meanwhile.
Here 3 years later. My little boy will be a month old in a few days😩 but our journey started great and quickly got bumpy when leaving the hospital.. while we were there (same as yourself) the LC were complementing my baby’s latch and bragging on us to everyone on how natural it was to us and how great we were doing. Right before we were discharged we had to supplement for the first time by syringe to try and get my baby to latch for longer than a couple minutes. We went to see another LC when he was 5 days old bc i had been pumping a 2oz bottle before every feed just to get him to eat and keep my supply (mine came in on the 2nd day and i did not want to risk drying up). We have used a nipple shield ever since but he is eating and thats all that matters! It definitely is mentally and physically draining at first. I cried almost everyday for the first couple weeks and felt like it was my fault because I was internally frustrated when it was time to feed and I was so tired. I finally was able to quit blaming me and quit blaming my baby bc I finally realized that the process was new for both of us and even though we had so many complements in the hospital, in reality it didn’t come totally natural to us and we just had to work it out! I hope I am able to breastfeed him to atleast the 1 year mark but I think I would love to go longer if he wants to🥰
Due to my experience of having two boys. Feeding a baby formula, especially to a newborn can be tricky. They suck in a lot of gas from the bottle. So, it's a good idea to feed them a few ounces, stop, and burp. Then, feed them some more ounces. If they take the whole bottle all at once, they do throw up. I had a very hard time breastfeeding my two boys, they had a hard time latching properly. I had to supplement with formula and pump exclusively for the first 2-3 months. I hated pumping, it hurt too much. Plus, I didn't produce much breastmilk. I pumped as much as I can, only getting 2 ozs per pump session. I was very depressed and blamed myself for being a bad mom. I would cry every day. I had a c-section with my first (now 7 yrs old) and my second (now 2 yrs old), I had a VBAC. In the end, my boys are healthy, happy, and full of life. Seeing that, I feel that I did something right. And I am much more content in that sense. Thanks for sharing your journey Jen! Glad to hear you were able to successfully breast feed Aria for 1 year 🙂
Thanks for sharing this video. There's so much pressure put on moms to breastfeed and if you don't you seem to have failed motherhood. Sometimes I'm even afraid to share I bf my kids especially when my friends seem to have difficulty. I'm really not a bf snob! Lol
Thanks for sharing first of all.. when my son was born, I battled postpartum depression, a pretty ugly one..
i did try to breastfeed though.. for 2 months i did the very best I could.. it wasn't easy with the depression.. my milk just wouldn't come in and part of it was to blame on the fact that my son couldn't latch on.. or if he did he would get angry or frustrated because he wasn't getting enough.. he's born a big baby.. to this day when he's hungry, he needs to eat immediately or else.. so thats how i landed in this vicious cirkel where I kept feeling worse and more useless every day.. it got so bad that I thought of removing myself from the equation.. I would get extreme suicidal thoughts. That's when I said enough is enough..
Now I'm pregnant the second time around and your video just gave me a little hope.. thanks..
Thank you so much for sharing your experience.❤ I'm becoming mom in 2 months and I'm learning so much! :)
My son is 14 days old now. I’m struggling to make enough milk for him. Drinking water, eating Lactation cookies, etc... he had gained a few ounces at his last appointment but it wasn’t as much as they hoped so they gave me a huge bag full of formula cans to try supplementing. I broke down in the office and cried and cried. I haven’t slept a ton and now I to feel like a failure. I’m pumping more and giving him bottles of what I can pump (sometimes it takes me several pumping sessions to even make 3 damn ounces.) thanks for sharing your story. I hope it gets better for me as well.
Love your honest experience. My first experience was similar like yours ; worried, anxious and guilty everytime my baby cried for not having enough milk. And on top of that your whole body is still healing from the delivery. On the 2nd experience i took it easy and learn to relax for things to kick in naturally. And Yes i did use formula (just for top ups) this time for the first few weeks, couldnt bare to starve my baby. But after that milk flow started to pour in :)) Thank God!
Oh my word...I felt the same! I just gave birth to my daughter on August 6th with C section. My milk didn't come in for 5 days and I had to supplement with formula plus use pump around the clock. It's been so hard trying to help her latch on to my breast when she was getting used to the bottle. I felt like a failure for the first two weeks. Thankfully, she's latching fine now and only wants my breasts haha. It's definitely a journey. Thank you for sharing Jen!
Hi Jen! My baby was actually born with a cleft lip. Thank goodness it was mild, but he still did not latch, and i believe it was more of an anatomical mismatch. He'll be 8 months the end of this month and I'm still pumping. I hate it but he doesn't like formula and I want to make the effort for him. Pumping is the worst, especially when you work full time. The freedom I will have once this is over will be incredible. That, and my breasts are in such bad shape - bruised and itching for the past month. I need to go to a doctor but won't have time for some weeks. Oh well :(
thank you for making this video Jen!
It took me 7 days for my milk to come in with my second baby. It's different for every mom and every pregnancy too! With my first baby, it came in at 4 days, but I wasn't able to produce enough milk, so we supplemented. But somehow with my second, I've been able to exclusively breastfeed. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Don't stress and love that baby!
thank you for sharing your story. i actually went through the same thing and it made me feel im not the only one.
The concept of 10% body weight loss being the max is so frustrating! If you've had any IVs during the labor process (or if you've been pumped full of LOTS of fluids for a cesarean) your baby's birthweight is inflated from water weight! My middle child was 9 pounds even and my youngest was just over 8. Thankfully my pediatrician is very much a "trust your instincts" doctor because otherwise I would have given up breastfeeding entirely.
As far as my journey goes, I only nursed my eldest for two weeks. External circumstances (lack of support) and lack of knowledge contributed to that. My middle child I nursed and then exclusively pumped for several months. It is a pain, but if any new moms are reading this I highly recommend ordering extra pump parts if you're going to be pumping frequently! I think I got a couple extra sets for $12 each on Amazon.
I'm currently nursing my four month old daughter. It has been a completely different experience! I think as you said anatomy is a huge part of it. I pumped for my second child because the pain never stopped and I didn't know to have him checked for a tongue or lip tie--which in hindsight is likely the case. But my daughter? Right at the two week mark the pain stopped! And I even had a cracked nipple and bled so much she had a blood mustache but it didn't hurt! I don't think I'm necessarily trying HARDER to make it work with my daughter, but we're just an inherently better fit AND I'm much more knowledgeable. I highly recommend any new moms joining local La Leche League or other breastfeeding support groups before giving birth just to read through some of the frequent issues and solutions.
Fed is obviously best. My eldest who was primarily formula fed has had very few illnesses, and the same with my middle child who only had a few months of breastmilk! They've got EBF cousins who have had more frequent viral and bacterial illnesses, so the whole concept that breastmilk is a cure-all preventative magical mana from heaven liquid is unfair to moms who struggle with guilt from switching to formula. Do what you need to do to stay sane--your baby needs you healthy and happy most of all.
Thanks for sharing! I would’ve never thought about weaning hormone shifts.
Thank you, Jen! I am on my 8th month pregnancy and your mom's videos are very helpful to prepare myself. ❤️