My second breastfeeding journey has healed wounds I didn’t know I had

I knew I wanted to breastfeed again after such an incredible special journey feeding my firstborn Freddie for 25 months. It’s important to me both my boys have the same start in life.

Harvesting colostrum during pregnancy

This time I harvested colostrum from 36 weeks in my pregnancy, something I didn’t know about 1st time round. Although I knew I didn’t ‘need’ the colostrum it was reassuring to have it as a back up should baby struggle with latch, if I was too tired to feed or if we had issues with feeding.

In the end he only had two syringes and the rest has been added to bottles of expressed milk for extra goodness. He took really well to feeding from me and with my previous knowledge I felt confident in what I was doing. I was able to better advocate myself in hospital too!

There were issues with latching in the beginning

Walter was born at 6lb 12oz and he did have some latch issues. I thought his shallow latch was due to his small size and him learning how to feed. I stuck at it using the flipple technique and various positions to get a deep latch. But when the pain didn’t settle I knew something was wrong. While we were still under the midwives they assessed for tongue tie but couldn’t diagnosis officially.

I reached out to my local breastfeeding support team (F.A.B Families and Babies) who were able to advise and then my midwife put in referral for tongue tie. We didn’t wait long which I was thankful for as the pain was becoming unbearable. The consultant at the clinic confirmed tongue tie which was a huge relief as I was worried there wouldn’t be one and the pain couldn’t be explained. I fed Walt straight after the procedure and burst into tears from the instant relief I felt to feed him with no pain.

I fed Walt straight after the procedure and burst into tears from the instant relief I felt to feed him with no pain.

I am more confident breastfeeding this time around

It has been much less stressful this time despite an emergency section and tongue tie. I haven’t had any apps to track feeding or been obsessed with how long he is at the breast. My confidence and experience have meant I’m taking Walt’s lead and feeding on demand. His weight gain has been amazing so I know to trust in my body.

I don’t clock watch in the night and have been more relaxed about cosleeping so I get rest and sleep alot more. I’ve learnt there is no rod for my own back and this hard part of parenting goes by so fast.

I’ve made sure to include my oldest boy as much as possible

My biggest worry about breastfeeding again was how my three year old Freddie would cope whilst I was breastfeeding his baby brother. I stopped feeding Freddie in August 2022 and got pregnant in September so I was worried (with there not being much time in-between) he would be really jealous. Or that perhaps he would experience a regression but so far we’ve had no issues.

I also was apprehensive about how Freddie would feel whilst I was breastfeeding as it is so time consuming and demanding in the beginning. However, I needn’t have worried about this either as he has been amazing! Freddie talks about Walter having milk from Mummy and will help get a Muslin cloth if asked.

Preparing Freddie for having a baby brother really helped

What I think helped was that we talked about the baby early on in my pregnancy and found books really helped. One of the books my Mum got us had a mum breastfeeding in so we talked openly to Freddie about baby having milk from Mummy.

Including Freddie when I’m breastfeeding has not only been really important to me but also to him (see lots of cute pictures of him holding Walt’s hand while he nurses). Fred will sometimes ask if he can feed Walter and lift up his top which is very sweet.

Including Freddie when I’m breastfeeding has not only been really important to me but also to him

My second breastfeeding journey has healed lots of wounds

It’s become clear to me that my second breastfeeding journey with Walter has healed lots of wounds I didn’t know I had. I had Freddie in 2020 at the height of the Pandemic when there was little to no breastfeeding support. I was at home alone with a newborn trying to figure out breastfeeding. Now, with Walt, I get to do lots of baby classes and are out the house everyday. It has given me some closure from the lonely maternity leave I had first time. I have such a strong village now and my support network is amazing.

This time I haven’t set any goals for how long I want to feed him for. I’m going with the flow and savouring every moment as this will be my last breastfeeding journey. I feel so honoured and proud to have nursed both my children.

I’m going with the flow and savouring every moment as this will be my last breastfeeding journey.

Books to prepare your toddler for a new sibling

Here are a selection of books to help prepare your toddler for having a new baby brother or sister. These books are from Amazon and boobingit receive a commission from any books purchased.