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Mommy Margo

10/25/2020

While breastfeeding can be an incredibly fulfilling experience for a mother and her child -- much like any journey -- it does have its ups and downs. Breastfeeding is not always smooth sailing. This week, Margo Soliman shares how she overcame the roadblocks of this facet of motherhood. In an online interview, Mommy Margo shares her experiences in nursing her two beautiful daughters, Morgan (3 years) and Maxine (11 months).
Upon asking her about the difficulties she encountered during breastfeeding, Mommy Margo firstly mentioned how both her daughters had lip ties, a condition wherein the upper lip is tethered to the gum line. This limits lip movement; in her experience, this prevented her daughters from latching on properly early in their newborn periods.

Her daughters’ mouths slipping off her nipple while nursing, shallow latches, clogged milk ducts, and short but frequent nursing periods were only a few of the many obstacles she overcame. Throughout it all, however, Mommy Margo stayed patient and highlights the importance of seeking out medical advice. This led her to avail of a safe surgical intervention to address her second daughter’s lip tie and improve her breastfeeding experience.

Another significant challenge Mommy Margo encountered was finding out her younger daughter had food (and environmental) allergies. Her younger daughter, Maxine, has been exclusively breastfeed for 11 months. Being the primary source of her youngest daughter’s nutrition, Mommy Margo had to eliminate certain food in her diet, restricting herself to a limited range of food ingredients. She had to make sure the food she ate was safe for her daughter, a very tricky thing since the food items her daughter is allergic to are in almost every dish out there. Sadly, every rash that appeared on her daughter’s body would constantly make Mommy Margo blame herself for the meals she had the previous day. She knew there was no absolute way to pinpoint what could’ve caused the rash or discomfort, given that multiple factors could have caused it. She says, “I cannot personally say that we have overcome this difficulty yet, but through the help of her medical specialists, we at least were able to determine what food items she is allergic to as a guide for her diet as well as mine.” Thankfully, with the help of healthcare professionals and her personal determination to adjust her diet, Mommy Margo is now able to manage her daughters’ allergic reactions.

In relation to this, Mommy Margo really does advocate for healthy eating, not just for babies but for moms as well! She believes eating nutritious meals herself was the best way to start providing her daughters with the healthiest meals as soon as she gave birth to them. After this newborn period, eating healthy in turn helps in milk supply. Mommy Margo reminds moms that the length of breastfeeding nor the amount of milk one makes should be factors in a competition. “Each breastfeeding journey is as unique as our babies are.”

Breastfeeding has positively impacted Mommy Margo’s relationship with her daughters. Through each nursing session, she felt the connection between her and her children develop beyond the physical act of holding them in her arms. She expounds by saying, “It is during breastfeeding that I was able to first soothe or calm them down, when I first discovered their eating habits, when I first saw their content and full faces and even their first smiles.”

Lastly, we asked Mommy Margo what about breastfeeding would she want people to know. Her response was,

“What I want society to know about breastfeeding is that breastfeeding is one of the most natural yet magical expressions of love a mother can give to her baby. The wonders of breastmilk, even up to this day, is something science cannot fully explain. The magic of the mother’s body being able to change her breast milk composition based on her child’s health is just one of the many beauties of what breastmilk and a nursing mother can do. Breastfeeding isn’t easy. It takes a lot of dedication, patience and persistence to mold your own unique journey of breastfeeding your child.”

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Mommy Anita

10/18/2020

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Recalling the beginning of her breastfeeding journey, Mommy Anita is quick to bring up one of her first challenges - getting her baby to latch properly. She comically tells us that it was because she had flat nipples, and never expected nipple size nor shape to ever affect latching. There was a lot of crying on her baby’s end, and just as much stress on hers. Her baby was losing weight and so had to make the decision to momentarily cup feed and bottle feed him with her milk.

“It was very frustrating because I always thought I'd be able to breastfeed directly”, she said. Mommy Anita reminds us once again that breastfeeding does not come without unforeseen obstacles, especially for first time mothers. However she does tell us that overcoming these is possible with a good support system. Together with her loved ones and fellow mothers, Mommy Anita was able to get Mav to latch directly on his second month. Despite the many times she felt like giving up, she says that the bond she felt whenever Mav would latch was strong enough for her to be persistent and patient. This led her to fully realizing how big a responsibility it was to be a mother. In her words, to be one’s source of survival and food, but also comfort and security.

“I realized that breastfeeding is hard! It's painful, it’s messy, it's the most important thing your baby needs and it's a lot of pressure. But it's the labor of love, and it's rewards are beautiful.”

Mommy Anita says this fondly thinking of how nice it is to see Mav 'milk drunk' and fast asleep after a good feed.

Her journey as a first time mother simultaneously took place with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. At one point, Mommy Anita came down with a fever. Despite this, her doctor advised her to continue breastfeeding with taking proper precautions, such as wearing a mask.

“I want society to know that breastfeeding is so essential, especially now that there is a pandemic, our babies need the antibodies found in breastmilk to strengthen their immunity. And it doesn't cost a thing!”

Mommy Anita expresses this while advising new moms who are considering breastfeeding to stay healthy, don’t give up and enjoy it because it doesn’t last forever. And lastly, she encourages new moms to donate their extra milk to help fellow mothers and babies in need.

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Mommy Rae

10/10/2020

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Mommy Rae has been raising her twins for a year now, and talks about her experiences on breastfeeding with Milk Matters. She shares that the beginning was not so easy, “When they were newborns, I fed them every 2 hours and all throughout, I was always the only one to feed them. No one else ever gave them a bottle.” Mommy Rae says that one of the most difficult parts was getting the schedules right, and it was much tougher with two babies. “Breastfeeding twins was really difficult, especially scheduling. The best advice I got from another twin mom was to always feed both babies together and to sleep when they slept otherwise you’ll never rest. Learning how to tandem feed was a challenge. We watched YouTube videos and I could basically never feed them together on my own. The twin pillow was really helpful. I also think feeding them immediately when they came out was really helpful in establishing a good latch from the beginning.”

After a year of growth and learning, Mommy Rae looks back on this beautiful journey, “If I could do anything differently, I’d try and put less pressure on myself to get it perfect. It’s in their nature to breastfeed, they’ll basically figure it out for themselves.” She also realized that it can actually be pretty easy to breastfeed compared to having to wash bottles, prepare formula, and take all that gear when leaving the house.

“I think breastfeeding has definitely strengthened my bond with my babies. Even though it was sometimes very hard, it was always my special time with them.”

Despite the challenges that come with breastfeeding, she feels that breastfeeding has made her closer to her babies. “I think breastfeeding has definitely strengthened my bond with my babies. Even though it was sometimes very hard, it was always my special time with them. Now they still nurse for comfort when they’re sick or just when they need comforting for any reason. It’s nice to know there’s something I can give them that makes them feel better no matter what.”
Mommy Rae hopes more people are aware that breastfeeding is hard for many moms; they need all the support they can get. “Don’t hesitate to offer a mom a seat or a glass of water.” As for her fellow moms, Mommy Rae advises, “Try and latch them as early as possible after birth and drink a TON of water to establish your supply. Also research about the health benefits of breastfeeding for the baby. It helps when you’re feeling discouraged to remember all the nutritional and immune benefits. Talk to other breastfeeding moms to get support.”

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