My Story

I’m Lauren! 

When I was pregnant with my oldest, Landon, I knew I wanted to breastfeed but had not really seen anyone in my family do it and just thought it would come naturally. Even though I had read lots of parenting books, I was not prepared for the obstacles we would face.

Setting aside a horrible hospital experience…breastfeeding quickly became the HARDEST thing I had ever done.

Nursing caused so much pain. No matter how many hospital lactation consultants I saw, they all said he had a “good latch” and that breastfeeding was just painful. Being a new mom, I left the hospital discouraged and dreaded feedings because of the pain and frustration.

For lack of a better word, Hell, is what we went through the next 4 months. Landon was constantly crying and arching his back. He would spit up after feedings and doctors said he had reflux. I couldn’t understand how something so natural could be this hard and painful. Looking for answers, I came across information on lip and tongue ties. I asked my doctor, 2 PEDS and my gyno (who all literally didn’t even bother to look at his mouth), if he was tied. They all said no and that he was just a “colicky” baby with reflux. I could NOT accept this answer. And praise The Most High, I didn’t because I learned that ‘colic’ DOESN’T EXIST and that it was just a term used when they don’t know what’s wrong.

I finally found an IBCLC who specialized in lip and tongue ties and sure enough, she confirmed he had both a lip and tongue tie! She explained, that without proper movement in the mouth, he was unable to drain the breast efficiently, therefore leading to vasospasm, pain, mastitis, and a crying and frustrated baby. I opted to do revision as recommended and it was a total game changer. Nursing was now literally night and day. After revision I had a new baby. Hands down, this was the BEST decision I have ever made. Breastfeeding was now enjoyable and painless and I was able to bond with my son like I wanted to. That year, I went on to learn so many more things that accompanies breastfeeding (growth spurts, teething, co-sleeping, starting solids, vitamins, etc.). This information beat anything I had read in “What to expect when expecting.” A book that I now consider useless. This is the information new and seasoned moms need to know!

My initial goal was to breastfeed for 1 year. That goal turned into two and then 3, and so on… Fast forward to my second, I had him revisited at 10 1/2 hrs old…never had a single problem nursing and ZERO pain. Despite any hurdles we faced, I was able to breastfeed both my boys for over 4.5 years each. We made it through all the obstacles and I can say I nursed them through (ties, mastitis, vasospasm, thrush, oversupply, painful let down, growth spurts, tandem nursing and aversion). You name it, we went through it. If I can do this, so can YOU!

This whole experience completely fueled my passion for helping mamas and new babies. It opened my eyes to how the mainstream medical community fails new mothers. They are given poor advice from the start and babies are not evaluated for ties. I wish ALL mothers knew, that less then 1% of women truly cannot breastfeed! Wow! Makes you wonder how did we survive as a species BEFORE formula?! With that said…I do believe there is a time and place for using formula but that should be a last resort.

My journey encouraged me to seek out further education and to get certified to help mothers succeed. I will forever be an advocate of revision and want to be able to make sure families have the correct resources and information for that, if they choose to go that route.

I know what it feels like to fight so hard to keep going, while ignoring everyone’s opinions and suggestions to quit and just supplement with formula. While they may mean well, in the end it does a disservice to these mamas who are trying so hard to provide the very best. It is frustrating watching women go through a system that is set up for them to FAIL!

We don’t need to rely on a broken system that wants to break the family. We NEED to rely on our God given body and trust in it to provide nourishment, just as God is our tree of life providing nourishment for us. We NEED to seek the help from those who can support us with resources and with those who want to see us succeed in doing what we are designed to do.

Looking back, I am so GRATEFUL for this trial. It’s given me the wisdom, tools, and knowledge to be able to share and encourage other families.

If you take away anything from this…know there is ALWAYS a reason for what’s going on with baby and any issues you are experiencing with breastfeeding can be worked through. Breastfeeding should NEVER ever hurt! It is NOT normal. If it does hurt, there is a problem (that CAN be fixed).

Your baby isn’t broken. You are not broken. The system and medical community are broken.

Breastfeeding is natural but that doesn’t mean it is easy. It may be instinctual——Your baby is born with reflexes that can help with breastfeeding, like a sucking reflex and rooting reflex——but breastfeeding is a learning process for both mom and baby.

Just like walking, the most natural thing in the world once you get the hang of it. Have you ever seen how many times a toddler falls down when trying to get the hang of it? How many times they hold onto things for support? Then they take their first wobbly steps. Then they get a little less wobbly. Then they walk. Then they RUN. That’s breastfeeding.

So yes, its natural, but not easy… get the support, get your hand held, persevere…crawl, walk, then run! You CAN do this!

YOU are enough.

You were designed by THE Creator of everything to do this!