Kayley & Everly
“If we manage the first couple of days I’ll be happy”- That’s what I told myself and everyone who asked how I planned to feed my baby. It’s how I prevented myself getting too stressed about it; “I’ll do my best but what will be will be”. My Daughter Everly arrived a month early. We had to stay in hospital for a few days after she was born which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. During our stay, the staff worked with us to get Everly to latch, which proved to be a challenge in itself. It took Everly a few days to master her latch, so in the meantime I had to harvest colostrum and feed my Daughter via syringe. With my patience wearing thin and feeling demoralised, I was ready to throw in the towel; I’d done my best, we’d managed the first couple of days, I was done! The staff at the hospital had other ideas, they supported me and we cracked it, she latched and there was no turning back. Two months on, Everly would scream in pain during every feed….Reflux! Feeding became emotionally draining. How could something so healthy and beneficial cause my baby so much pain and distress? I blamed myself. Again, we’d done our best, we’d managed two months, our journey was over. But it wasn’t, with the support of Health Visitors and our GP, Everly was prescribed medication which kept her reflux under control; we were back on track. We are now 7 months into our breastfeeding journey and we have exceeded my expectations. I can’t imagine motherhood without breastfeeding. Its her nutrition, her comfort, her safe place and feeding has become our favourite time of day. The bond it has created between us is something beyond compare and its thanks to the support I’ve received that we have made it this far. Now when people ask how long I plan to breastfeed, I reply “If we manage one year, I’ll be happy.”
Mother Nurture is an ongoing portrait series created to celebrate breastfeeding Mothers. If you would like to take part drop me a message at hello@sarahhailephoto.com