Celebrating our journey.
08/29/2022
As we celebrate Black Breastfeeding Week, we are thrilled to share Shantrice’s breastfeeding journey and her Baby Café story.
“Baby Café has been a beautiful support to myself and my son Kyran. Our breastfeeding journey was not the easiest, because my little one spent two weeks in NICU and my milk supply struggled to develop. I tried all the supplements, cluster feeding and pumping, but was still struggling to make enough milk. Due to my production being low, we had to supplement with formula; however, my baby had sensitivity/allergies to almost every formula we tried, and we tried about five different ones due to his tummy issues.
When I arrived at Baby Café, I was tired, but hopeful. I had the chance to tell my story, to have a professional check my baby’s latch, check our positioning when nursing, and review with me what I was already doing and discuss what was working, what was not and what other options we could try. The greatest thing Baby Café did for me was let me know it was OK that we were facing obstacles and remind me that I was doing my best!! That weight being lifted was invaluable. I very often felt like I was failing and letting my son down, especially since he had tummy issues. My milk seemed to be the safest and not producing enough was devastating for me.
All of the countless conversations and support from the lactation consultant, Amanda, with her helping me devise a plan and hearing the stories of the other mamas really helped. Kyran and I kept pressing forward. With the essential support of Baby Café and my wife, now here we are nine months later and he has been exclusively breast fed for five months!! I am what they call an exact producer and returning to work I’m sure has also affected that, but I would say we are definitely a Baby Café success. Not because I’m solely breastfeeding, but because one of my biggest takeaways has been that an unhealthy/unhappy mommy is not good for baby, and I have been able to set a realistic goal that will be best for both me and my son regarding our breastfeeding journey. We are both healthy, happy, and thriving! ❤
To learn more about Baby Café and to get information on times to attend visit, https://texasmilkbank.org/events-resources/
