Mommy Margo

​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.”