mamashonestjournal

First things first, fed is best. Formula, pumping, or exclusive breastfeeding, whatever works for your family is okay. Everyone has their own journey, and none of it makes you less of a parent.

Now the truth about breastfeeding that no one tells you, it is hard. Really hard.

When my daughter first latched, I experienced cracked, bleeding nipples every single time. Every feeding left me in tears. Some days I cried through the whole session, wondering how anyone survives this.

By the time she was barely a month old, I had to go to the emergency room in the middle of the night with mastitis. My whole breast was on fire, she could not latch, and I felt completely helpless.

Breastfeeding is more than pain, it is an adjustment. You have to learn how to move like the pro moms you see online, stand while holding your baby, cook, clean, do everything, while constantly being available on demand. Your body is not really your own anymore, it becomes a lifeline for your child, to eat whenever they need, day or night.

Weaning is just as hard. I am still working on it because she is so attached, and even after sixteen months of breastfeeding, nursing a toddler occasionally can still be emotional and upsetting.

And yet, despite every nightmare moment, there is a beauty in it. The bond that forms during breastfeeding is irreplaceable. There is nothing quite like that closeness, that connection, that unconditional giving of yourself for your child.

Breastfeeding is messy, painful, exhausting, and sometimes heartbreaking. But it is also one of the most powerful ways to nurture a tiny human, and that bond lasts forever.