Charlotte Hogg
Fort Worth, TX
During those first few weeks, I never would have imagined that we would make it through the first year. Or that I eventually would donate a freezer full of breastmilk to the Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas and go on to nurse my own son for 32 months.
The first few days of breastfeeding were looking bleak. Before I left the hospital, a nurse suggested that I use a nipple shield and syringe. When we came home, I was pumping between feeding attempts. My commitment to learn to breastfeed became my husband’s commitment, too. Every feeding, Chris carefully put the syringe in the hole of the nipple shield--a task not much easier than threading a needle, especially with a crying wife and baby trying to nurse--without a negative comment. Feedings took an hour or more, and then an hour or two later we were trying again. I was consumed with making it work.
We weaned from the nipple shield when our son was about two months old. As we stopped using it, each successful feeding brought a little more confidence. When I was traveling for my husband’s work with my son, I found a breastfeeding support group connected to a hospital. Breastfeeding was going well, and I wanted to make sure it continued.
I worried that my husband was wondering whether all our effort was worth it, but he diligently took me to the Breastfeeding Resource Center and took notes. He never questioned my desire to keep trying.
I know breastfeeding sounds like a lot of work, and I don’t want to discourage anyone from learning to do it. I hope women know it’s not an either/or situation – either it’s easy for you or you can’t do it. I struggled for a long time, asked for lots of help, and kept trying.
When my supply dwindled at nine months, I pumped like crazy, worried that I wouldn’t have enough for our son, and my supply came back, leaving me with more than enough. I filled our freezer with milk for the milk bank, and I continued to nurse our son into his second year.
Amid the well-meaning voices who offered advice that sometimes led to self-doubt, my husband's unconditional breastfeeding support steeled me, especially in those early, fragile days. I doubt that I would have had success nursing without him, and I will always be grateful to him for approaching breastfeeding as a team player rather than someone on the sidelines.
Like learning to breastfeed, deciding to become a milk donor can at first be daunting. I want everyone to know that becoming a milk donor was easier than I would have guessed. It took 15 minutes to be screened, I had my son with me, and it didn’t cost anything.
I feel like an ambassador. When I visited the Milk Bank and saw the pictures of all the babies who are helped by donor milk, I was proud that I could donate my breastmilk. It’s not something that everyone can do, so as one who was able to help, it was essential to do so.