by Jamie Reed posted in Parenting

At every stage of my pregnancy, I was anxious without cause. I was convinced I'd experience extreme morning sickness (and had none at all). I just knew I?d have a three-day labor that was incredibly painful. (Nope, didn?t feel a thing.) One thing I didn't worry about" Feeding the baby.
I just assumed since my body had been awesome at the whole pregnancy and labor part, I was in the clear. So when I found myself with a very low milk supply combined with a baby with some issues latching, I was surprised at how difficult it was for me to let go of the idea of breastfeeding.
My sweet baby boy latched easily right after he was born. And that was the only time. My hospital stay was filled with calls to the nursery to send someone to help with every feeding. I tried new positions, nipple shields, massage. It took my baby a few tries each time to latch, but he'd eventually get it and eat for a few minutes, satisfying the consultant, and me, that he was doing just fine. Only he wasn't fine. And by the time we had our first pediatrician visit a few days after birth, he had lost too much weight and was showing signs of dehydration. We left the doctor?s office with formula supplement and reassurance from the doctor that my milk would be fully in soon and to keep breastfeeding, supplementing, and pumping to increase my supply. So, I fed and I pumped. And I fed and I pumped some more.

I had appointments with a lactation consultant. I locked mysel...