Ah, there are a lot of moments we face as mothers that only other mothers can relate to. My first one was after the arrival of my first-born (third total) kid, and the experience of breastfeeding… or rather the very very painful experience of breastfeeding. 

I drew the line at cotton diapers (most because I already do so much laundry), but beyond my home birth I knew that I wanted to breastfeed for at least a year.  I have been an athlete my whole life and like most women, able to endure a lot, so I was shocked at how breastfeeding did not come naturally to me. 

There was no lack of milk supply… I would wake up in the mornings leaking and beyond packing sweaters for the kids I started packing myself backup shirts because let’s face it, I would probably start leaking in public too. 

So my issue with breastfeeding was just how painful it was. Without getting to vulgar, my nipples felt like they were going to fall off. I winced when my son latched pretty much every time for the first two months. I definitely was convinced I was doing something wrong, so I hired a lactation consultant. She was so sweet and motherly and her $200 home visit advice? “To stick it out and it will get better”. 

Well that wasn’t really the advice I was looking for, I was hoping for more of a quick fix remedy.