Jaxon Cole *Birth Story*

INTRODUCING JAXON COLE ARFSTROM!

I have to say, once again we were blessed with such a smooth labor and delivery, not to mention a great doctor and team of nurses that made the experience that much more amazing!

Here's how it all went down:

My due date was December 8th.

From the very beginning, I said my guess for when Jax would be born was "either December 2nd or 3rd". My guess with Gavin was way off, so I really figured I'd be just as wrong this time around too... 

On December 2nd, around 5:00pm I made myself a nice strong, double dose of Raspberry Leaf Tea (which is said to help induce labor...). I drank this stuff all the time in the last week or so of my pregnancy with Gavin, trying to induce labor... and it didn't do a thing. So I really figured nothing was going to happen.

 That evening I also had my niece and nephew over at our house, watching them while my sister Leah and her husband were out. The plan was that at 8:00pm, I would take them home and Aaron would stay back with Gavin and get him to bed. 

Well, baby Jax had other plans!

Right as I was about to leave with my niece and nephew... 

MY WATER BROKE!!!

I was in total shock! 

I wasn't having any contractions (besides my normal braxton hicks).
(IT WAS THE TEA!!!)
;)

Right away we called my doctor to fill him in, and I made a quick call to Leah to let her know they probably needed to end their night out early ;)

At about 9:30pm my Mom came over to our house because she was on Gavin duty while we were gone at the hospital. We actually didn't end up leaving for the hospital until about 10:30 pm. I was just starting to have some good contractions. My sister Leah met us there and was going to be our little photographer :)

At 11:30pm the nurse checked me, I was dilated to 3...which I had been for a couple weeks. Contractions at this point still weren't any stronger, so we walked the halls for about 5 minutes, before I decided that was enough of that! (since my water had broke, I just felt like a nasty, leaking mess walking around......and it didn't take long before I realized I'd had enough of that!) 

We went back to my labor room and I bounced on a labor ball, which I actually really liked! We put in my all time favorite Christmas movie, Christmas Vacation :)
Contractions were still not really picking up much.

At 2:30 am after a lot of bouncing and rocking on the labor ball, the nurse checked me again. I was dilated to 5! My contractions were finally just starting to pick up a little bit. I was finally not able to talk through them, and they were every 3 - 3 1/2 minutes apart.
By this point, Aaron is already napping (which I'm SO glad Leah caught on camera!).
I'm a ridiculously independent laborer... Leah kept offering to rub my back, my legs, my shoulders, and I kept turning her down because all I could do during contractions was close my eyes and focus on my breathing... which she also caught on camera :) For whatever reason that was my go to position for every single contraction... cover my eyes and breathe!

Somewhere around 3:30-4am I decided to get the epidural. I was starting to progress fast, and was in the transition phase- I was getting shaky and nauseous. I was dilated to 7.

At 4:00am the epidural was in... at 5am the epidural still hadn't taken effect!!
My doctor checked me and I was dilated to 8.

I was pretty much mentally preparing myself for the fact that I just wouldn't be getting any relief from the epidural... they had me flipping from side to side, and all I know is I had an anesthesiologist coming in numerous times checking me, and giving me some sort of extra something or another (at that point in labor I was mentally checked out) until FINALLY the epidural took effect!!
I honestly don't even know exactly what time it was, all I know is I finally wasn't in pain or nauseous!

HAPPY DANCE!!!!

(....Oh, and if you were wondering, Aaron is still sleeping at this point...)

I want to say it was around 6:30am that they checked me and I was fully dilated, but I wasn't having pressure yet so they were going to let me "labor low" (which I did the same thing with Gavin)... basically just keep having contractions until I have pressure or I need to start pushing. This usually shortens the pushing phase.

Shortly after I could feel some slight pressure with each contraction, so they checked me and he was right there! It was time to start pushing!

At 8:05am I started pushing, and 1 contraction later (a grand total of 3 pushes, 10 seconds each) and
at 8:05am,
Jaxon Cole was born!!!!

I was in total shock! None of us could believe I delivered him that fast! It was SO surreal!
With Gavin I pushed for an hour, so I was expecting that to be the case this time around- WRONG!
30 seconds and I had this sweet baby in my arms!
(my other sister Sarah who was also with us, videoed the delivery on my phone, and I'm SO glad she did! It's so fun and crazy to go back and watch how fast it all happened! ...I also love being able to relive that moment over and over)

He was wide awake and alert for about the first 2 hours after he was born, it was so precious.
There's just nothing like FINALLY meeting your baby.
It's hard to even put into words the emotions you experience.
We're so thankful everything went as smooth, and as amazing as it did.

God once again answered all of our prayers, and helped us welcome our newest little miracle into the world.

Now enjoy some extra iPhone pics :)
...because I literally have a million...

Not only did this man sleep through 90% of my labor... but he also took more naps in the hospital than I would have even thought possible!! ... I, on the other hand, in this photo, have had ZERO sleep in like 2 days.
But I sure do love him :)

Gavin's 2nd Birthday

My little boy is turning 2 in a couple days...
(enter sappy mom post...)

I honestly can't believe my sweet baby boy is 2 years old.

I can remember the day he was born like it happened yesterday.

Everything about it.

Everything from (finally) being in labor, the delivery, and then that awesome, miraculous moment I first laid eyes on him and snuggled him on my chest.

Heavenly.
I honestly think every now and then we have little bits of heaven here on Earth...little glimpses as to  what pure bliss feels like...and finally holding your newborn baby for the first time is most definitely one of them.

Now, somehow 2 years later, here we are with a little boy who runs around like a wild man all day, gives the sweetest kisses, and still manages to melt and steal my heart every single day.

 
 
 
 
 
I think I've just given into the fact that I will NEVER understand how time can possibly fly by so fast.

I've also given into the fact that this little 2 year old boy has taught me more about myself than anyone else has so far in my life.
Most importantly, he's taught me that love at first sight absolutely does exist,
and that though not all days are easy, every single day is a blessing and should never be taken for granted.

At 2 years old my sweet little Gavin loves:

to swim- he's an absolute little fish in the water

going for 4-wheeler rides

playing in dirt (of course)

anything to do with trucks, tractors, motorcycles

"mowing" the yard with his little mower

picking on Harley

his blankie :)

and so, so much more!!

I spend every day, all day with this little guy, and I would not trade that for the world.
Watching him grow and learn about this big world around him,
is such a blessing.
I honestly thank God every day for blessing me with this little sweet heart.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!!!!!
Mama loves you more than you will ever know!

18 "Mom Things"...

In honor of my sweet "baby" boy being 18 months old, I decided to share with you 18 "Mom Things".

Things No One Tells You About Being Mom

1. You will cry. A lot. Before having Gavin I was NOT a crier. Not at sappy movies...not at weddings... I just didn't cry. Good lord, after having Gavin if I had a dime for every time I teared up or cried over something, I swear I'd be approaching billionaire status. I'm such a sap now. 

2. You will constantly question where time goes. "How has it already been a year", "It feels like it was just yesterday", "I can't believe he's so big". Another, "if I had a dime for every time" I say those things... But it's truly insane. TIME ABSOLUTELY FLIES by. I can remember every detail of the night I went into labor with Gavin... like it happened last night, and here we are with an 18 month old toddler running around like a crazy man crawling on anything within sight. It freaks me out if I think about it too much, and I definitely can't think about it too much or else I cry (see #1).

3. Sweats become heaven on earth. I'm not sure that this one counts, because sweatpants were my little piece of heaven on earth since long before Gavin... but now even more so. Especially being a stay at home Mom. Sweats are awesome.

4. Kiss your sleep goodbye. But for real, just say so long to your uninterrupted nights, or your special weekend sleep-in sessions. They're gone. For a really, really long time. As soon as you think you're back to uninterrupted nights of sleep... you're right back to waking up at all hours of the night, for reasons you sometimes don't even know. Teething? Hungry? Bad dream? Just not sleepy? You don't know, and you usually don't care...all you're aware of is the fact that it's 1am, your kid is wide awake, and you are now forced to drag your lifeless body out of bed. 

5. Coffee is your absolute best friend every morning, and sometimes in the afternoon too. Refer to #4.

6. Say adios to YOUR schedule. Yup, buh-bye. It's now baby's schedule. When BABY's hungry... when BABY needs to sleep... when BABY's wide awake. This can make the simplest of tasks, like eating your own lunch, or "quick running to Target", seem like mission impossible. 

7. Date Nights become far and few between (unless you become super intentional about it, like we have the past few months, thank the lord) but when you do get around to being kid-free for an evening... you don't even know what to do. "Ummmm...dinner and then a movie? Or shopping...but what do we really need to shop for? Maybe just go through Target, see if there's anything we need? Or Menards? I don't know...?" Then you realize it doesn't really matter where you go, or what you do,  you are finally kidless and FREE again for a few hours! That's all that matters. Dinner and bedtime is finally someone else's responsibility (air high-five!)

8. Nap time kind of becomes..... well, sacred. You make sure your phone's on vibrate, you make sure no one stops over during nap time, you keep the dog close by so he can't bark at the squirrel outside the window and wake the baby up. You basically nap-proof the home and all those in it for those few, sacred hours of peace and quiet. 

9. You become immune to almost everything that used to gross you out about babies or small children, once you have your own. Buggers, pee, poop, drool, spit-up... huh, people without kids are grossed out by all that? I've forgotten those pre-kid days, when wiping a toddlers nose with my sweatshirt sleeve would have made me throw up my lunch. And pee, if you have a boy, you are far too used to sopping up pee puddles either on your floor or couch. Sh*t happens... literally.

10. You will amaze yourself at your willingness to do anything to make your baby happy. This means dancing in the kitchen to keep him entertained until dinner is ready, making "funny" (scary to most other people) faces to try and get some smiles, and the constant running back and forth playing "chase" because it's the only thing keeping him happy that afternoon. Whatever the scenario, your "never give up" spirit will shine quite bright when you're doing something for your kiddo.

Things That Make You The Happiest Mom on The Planet

11. When my sweet boy actually cuddles with me on the couch. Gavin is one heck of a busy boy...he doesn't ever want to sit still. But on the rare occasion, if you sit with him on the couch to watch either Paw Patrol or Sesame Street... you may actually have a limited time frame to super sweet cuddles. :) I take those every chance I get!!

12. Hearing your sweet baby's laugh! Is there a better sound than that? The only one that comes close in comparison is when you heard their little heartbeat for the first time... but man, when I hear Gavin chuckle, giggle, or full out belly laugh... I swear my heart smiles and there is nothing else going on at that point in time besides once again, falling absolutely head over heels in love with my baby boy.

Things Where all you can do is Shake Your Head

...or laugh...or maybe cry...or maybe poor a glass of wine... Probably all 3.

13. When you're unaware that your toddler has pooped in his diaper, and he proceeds to scoot on his butt down the stairs, pushing the poo out the top of his diaper, leaving poop skids down the first 3 steps. But that's not the kicker, the kicker is when your husband sees it as he's walking down the steps a minute later, and says "There's chocolate on our steps"...then pretty much immediately realizes,
no, it's not chocolate.

14. When you're standing in line at the movie rental store with your 1 year old standing next to you and he lets out a fart loud enough it can be heard by all those around you, and probably those outside of the store (this happened to Aaron when, unfortunately, I was not around to witness it... the story alone and the embarrassment in Aaron's voice while telling it, was enough to make me laugh hysterically).

15. Poop in the tub. Why do babies and toddlers do it?! And as soon as you think they outgrew it... you know, like when they're ONE... they do it again! What is it with pooping in the tub!?! 

16. When you leave your child alone for literally 20 seconds... and you come back to a complete disaster. 

17. When simple tasks like cleaning the toilet, the tub, or even vacuuming takes you 4 times longer, because someone HAS to "help"...

The Best THING About Being Mom

18. The absolute unconditional love you have for that child from the moment you first lay eyes on them. The smiles and laughter that they bring into your life on a daily basis. The hugs and the kisses that melt your sappy-Mom-heart every time you get one. The stupid-over-nothing-tears you cry (way too often), just because you have THAT much love for one, tiny, little human. The lessons you're taught on a daily basis, from said tiny human. The things you change about yourself, because you want better for your child. And last but not least, the honest realization that you would do absolutely anything for your sweet baby. 

Being MOM is the best!

My Hospital Bag Must Haves

Nipple Balm! Don't forget this!!!
Nursing Bras
Nursing Pads
Comfy Robe
Hair Straightener (if you're like me and have unruly flyaways that must be tamed)
Minimal makeup... mascara and powder was enough for this girl!
CHAPSTICK!!
Slippers
Phone Charger
Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, body wash, face wash)
My Own Pillow :) Because I'm picky about pillows and it was amazing to have my own!
Loose and comfy sweatpants for coming home! 

I wanted to do this post because the other day while cleaning out one of our messy storage rooms, I came across my "baby folder"... which in it, still had my hospital bag list!
It was actually really funny to go through the never ending list, and laugh at myself for the amount of things I packed and never used! So I made up this handy must have list for any other expectant first time mom! ...and for myself to look back at next time around to prevent from packing a ridiculous amount again! :)

P.S. Baby #2 is still not quite on the radar yet for us... maybe soon ;)

Breast Milk Queen

This is my deep freeze, full of nothing but breast milk.

If you're like me, and you want a freezer full of breast milk for your baby, keep reading & I'll fill you in on how I did it!

My disclaimer: I am in no way a breast feeding expert. I didn't read any specific breast feeding books before giving birth.  I didn't even take a breast feeding class, BUT, obviously what I did worked, and it was nothing crazy, so I'm hoping it will work for other mamas who want to give it a try!! :) 

So here's a little background....From the day I found out I was pregnant with Gavin I knew I wanted to breast feed him.  Just from what I had heard from other moms, and what I had read about in my baby books, I knew it was what was best for my baby!  My husband is a chiropractor (huge into nutrition), so to be honest, in the beginning he probably knew more about the benefits of breast feeding than I even did!  My advice to any mom who's not sure whether they want to breast feed or not- RESEARCH!!! Read about the benefits of breastfeeding, not only for your baby, but for YOURSELF (hello! easiest way to burn calories post-baby!!)! 

Make your own educated decision, and don't rely on just what everyone else says!

Fast forward a little bit to when Gavin was born! (YAYY!) :)  I expected breast feeding to be a breeze... you always see all the breast feeding pictures where the mom looks so beautiful and relaxed, and it just looks perfect.  SO NOT THE CASE FOR ME...at first anyway! I cursed breast feeding.  A LOT. Sometimes I felt like I couldn't get Gavin to latch on good... IT HURT... My nipples cracked (rewind to my pre-mama days, and if I would have heard a woman say her "nipples cracked", I wouldn't have even known how that is possible..ouch, and ew!?) A few times during the night Gavin would over eat, and spit up... A LOT.... (of course all over my side of the bed because that's where I fed him), so I would automatically curse breast feeding and swear that I was going to just give up! Thank God I knew better, and I stuck with it, because by about the time Gavin was 2 months old, I felt like a breast feeding pro! :)  (Mixing a brand new first time mama, with not very much sleep, and topping that with off the wall hormones... it's no surprise I was so quick to "hate" breast feeding!)  I knew I had to stick with it, because it was best for Gavin...and now my life was all about what's best for HIM!

So now that you know my background with breast feeding, that was initially my motivation for stock piling a crap ton of milk. So I could quit breast feeding as soon as possible... but still give Gavin breast milk until he hits the 1 year mark! 

It's funny now looking back at it (since now I enjoy breast feeding), but at the time I was so desperate to stock up my milk, because I just wanted to be done breastfeeding!! 

So now the whole reason you're reading this post... HOW DID I DO IT?!

I don't have a bunch of secrets.  It's all just stuff I read mostly online, in a couple of my baby books, or in one of my many baby apps I had on my phone. ;)  

So here you go: 

I eat very healthy.  

I drink a lot of water.  

I never stopped taking my prenatals.  

I pumped like a crazy woman (at first).

I'll break each of these up and give you the details on how I did each below!

MY DIET: My husband and I eat extremely healthy about 95% of the time. Organic foods, not very many processed foods, lots of protein, veggies..etc. I really try to stay away from sugar the best that I can.. (that being said I'm a huge sucker for Oreo cookies and must admit- I do give in to my occasional craving for them....!) I really think having a good diet that consists of key ingredients needed to produce breast milk helps a ton..not to mention, more yummy nutrients for your baby! 

WATER: This part is simple, and there's not a whole lot that goes into it besides... DRINK A TON OF WATER!! I was NEVER a big water drinker before being pregnant...and wow, once I learned of all the crazy awesome benefits just from WATER....I was hooked.  I feel so much better staying as hydrated as I do! It helps with my energy levels, I don't feel as hungry throughout the day and I always end up noticing a change in my skin (clearer, brighter..etc.)! So water is truly your best friend! I even got fancy for awhile and would flavor my water with some fresh strawberries, cucumber, or lemon(this definitely helped me start drinking more water in the beginning)! YUMMM!! Currently, I try to drink about 100 oz of water every day.  (I personally, go by the rule of thumb to drink 1/2 your body weight (in ounces) in water. So I weigh about 125lbs, so I should be drinking roughly 60-70 oz of water daily, and I add in an additional 30-40 oz since I'm breastfeeding). I finally purchased a nice big 32 oz water bottle from Target about a week ago, and LOVE it! For whatever reason having a big water bottle helps me drink more water... way easier than having to refill a glass, or a small water bottle all the time! 

PRENATALS: I never stopped taking them.  I still take them every day! Click on the "prenatals" link if you're interested in the ones I use.

PUMPING: Oh boy, here we go. I have a Medela Pump In Style Advanced Pump that was pretty much by my side for the first 2 months.  After Gavin was born, around the time he was about 1 week old I would pump for maybe 5 or so minutes, right after feeding him (only during the day)! I would literally get done feeding him, burp him, lay him down next to me and pump.  I never got much out of it, but I was able to start slowly stock piling it away! :) I pumped right away after feeding him just to get my supply up- there were definitely some feedings that I wouldn't pump after, but for the most part I tried to pump as often as I could.  So after roughly a couple months of that, I already had good stash going so I slowed down on the pumping.  I would pump first thing in the morning (because Gavin was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks..my boobs were sooo full in the morning I would just pump, and Aaron would give Gavin a bottle) and I would also pump at night- right before bed.  I would breastfeed Gavin for the last time at night around 8 or 9, lay him down and then pump before I went to bed (again I wouldn't get much from it, but I'd stash away whatever I got, and it would help keep my supply up!)  When Gavin was about 4 months old, I went down to just pumping in the mornings! Why? Honestly, I just got sick of pumping at night! I had plenty of milk stocked up that I didn't really have a need to pump at night anymore! Fast forward- Gavin is 5 months old, and I only pump one time, first thing in the morning.  (I have always gotten consistently between 20-22oz every time I pump in the morning).  My morning supply hasn't changed at all- I still get the same amount every time.  Every morning I get to stash away about 4 or 5 bottles!! (Your supply is usually highest in the mornings...so if you want to try to get as much as possible, try pumping in the morning)

This is how much I pump in one sitting (15 minutes), first thing every morning.

Another big tip I have for pumping- I NEVER miss a feeding (ok, maybe I've missed one?..but literally, that's it).  If Gavin is going to be getting a bottle- I'm pumping! It's not often that I'm away from him for a feeding- but if I know I will be, I take my pump and I don't miss it.  I think it's important, because as soon as you start skipping feedings- your body doesn't know that the baby is getting a bottle..your body thinks "baby's not as hungry, and doesn't need as much food" and your supply starts to decrease! Don't let that happen, until you're ready for it to happen! It's easier to keep your supply up, than to have to try and get your body back to producing more! 

(If you do need to increase your supply...make sure you're drinking enough water, and pump more often! It essentially signals to your body "this baby is hungry, we need to produce more food!"..give it a few days and you should see an increase)

*Like I said earlier- I am in no way a breast feeding expert.. I just did my research, and educated myself on the topic.  What I did, worked FANTASTIC... for ME! Everyone's different, but I believe if you put in the effort and the time, (and stick with it!!!!) you'll be filling freezers just like I am!*

My Breastfeeding Journey

Well it's official...

I achieved my goal to breastfeed Gavin until he's 1!!! (Happy dance!)

Throughout this last year I enjoyed talking to other breastfeeding moms to hear their stories, and their experiences with everything breastfeeding (because lets be real- breastfeeding is not JUST breastfeeding, it's pumping, it's nursing bras, it's weaning...and so on.... you get it).

Everyone's breastfeeding journey is different.

That's why I decided to share my experience,
because it definitely changed over the course of time.

It started out rough. And by rough, I mean awful. And by awful, I mean- I would be on the verge of tears, cursing breastfeeding, vowing that I was "DONE WITH 'STUPID' BREASTFEEDING". 

...Ok, insert, crazy-hormonal, sleep-deprived, new mama, rambling utter nonsense at 3 am.

THANK THE LORD I did not give up, like I repeatedly said I was going to.

The First 6-8 Weeks

The first 6-8 weeks were rough hell for me for numerous reasons.
Gavin didn't have the best latch right away. I had to constantly stick my little pinky in his mouth, break the suction, and start all over until he got the right latch.
He also tended to over eat (because I have a very fast let down & flow), which resulted in some massive (well, what seemed massive) spit ups.
Also, in those first couple months my supply was kind of all over the place... during the day Gavin would eat every 2-3 hours, but at night sometimes he would sleep 5+ hours. Since we opted to not wake a sleeping baby, my boobs would get huge and very full. This is when he would tend to over eat, and we even had a couple 'projectile' vomit situations. Those situations are what usually led to the "I hate this, I'm f***ing done with breastfeeding, this is so dumb, I hate it" hissy fits.
Luckily, my husband was a trooper and always told me "it's fine, you can do it, it will get better". Bless his heart.
Oh, and let's not forget about the cracked nipples, right ladies!? If you are one of the lucky few who did not have to endure this misery...I envy you! I did everything to try and prevent cracked nipples, but I wasn't so lucky. I can still remember the pain of the first few minutes of breast feeding with cracked nipples... I would have tears in my eyes because it hurt so bad. Luckily...this phase didn't last too long and I was able to survive through the pain. But it was not fun.

On a brighter note- once I figured out a good pumping schedule- which was around the 6ish week mark, that seemed to help. Gavin was sleeping through the night at around 6 weeks, so like I said before- my boobs would get so full (and hard) it was honestly almost impossible to feed him. So, I figured out that if I pumped in the morning, and Aaron gave Gavin a bottle, that worked much better!
It also gave me a much needed "break" from (what felt like constantly) feeding the baby. 

2-6 Months

So by around 2 months, breastfeeding finally seemed to just click. I wish I had a better way to explain  it, especially to a frustrated, hopeless, breastfeeding mom- but all I can really say is give it time. I truly believe it's a learning experience for both Mom AND baby. Somewhere along the line, both Gavin and I got used to this new experience, and things clicked for us.

From around the 2 month mark to the 6 month mark it was exclusive breastfeeding. Exclusive meaning no formula. We would give Gavin a bottle of pumped breast milk here or there, but it was mostly me nursing him. I also continued to pump every morning, and sometimes a couple times throughout the day...enough that I ended up with an overflowing deep freeze full of milk. More on how I accomplished that here. *If I could go back- I would incorporate more bottles into his daily routine, because he got too used to nursing... and he didn't like to take bottles or sippy cups with milk.* 

6+ Months

At 6 months we started solid food purees, and I continued breastfeeding. This is when I started to pump less... since I already had way more breast milk stored than I needed. Originally I had planned to stop breastfeeding Gavin around 6 months, and just use the pumped milk I had stored to get us to the 1 year mark (because I had enough stored to do that), but since breastfeeding was now easier than having to thaw out and clean bottles throughout the day- I stuck with breastfeeding. :)

From 6 months on it was more of the same. Less and less pumping, until around 11 months when I completely stopped pumping. Even if Gavin would skip the occasional nursing session- I wouldn't pump.
I was ready to start the weaning process.

I started by getting Gavin on a good feeding schedule, with 3 meals a day, offering him milk in a sippy cup with each meal.

Breakfast around 7:30-8.
Lunch around 11:30.
Snack around 3-4 (as soon as he wakes up from his afternoon nap)
Dinner around 6:15.
Last nursing session at 7:30, right before bed.

To begin with, while we were working on getting this schedule set, I was breast feeding right after he ate his 3 main meals.
Once we had this new eating schedule down, I started by dropping the lunch breast feeding first.
After one week I dropped the next feeding, which was the dinner breast feeding.
Again, after another week, I dropped the breakfast breast feeding.
...and the last to go was the nursing session right before bed.
Occasionally I would need to pump when first dropping a feeding, because my boobs would get so uncomfortable!! I had to pump just enough to be comfortable, and within a day or two my body got the hint to start producing less!
I was super intimidated at first about the weaning process- but it was a far easier transition than I expected.

And there you have it.
A condensed view of my breastfeeding journey!
I should also note that we started giving Gavin sippy cups of milk with every meal at 12 months old (maybe a little sooner?) and it took him a solid month before he would really drink milk from them. He would suck down juice- but milk was a different story. Even if he would hardly touch his sippy cup of milk, we still offered it to him during every meal. After a month or so, he still doesn't drink a ton of milk- but he DOES drink it! So small, patient, baby steps with that one...

Anyways, like I said at the beginning of this post- everyone's breastfeeding journey is different.

EVERY breastfeeding mom has their own individual struggles.  

I sure have, and I've chosen to be open and honest about them, mostly because it seems to give comfort to other moms struggling with the same things I did.

It's always a big relief when you realize you are NOT the only one struggling with something.
And trust me, you are not the only one struggling with breastfeeding!!!!

 So for the struggling breastfeeding Moms: 

Stick with it!

Give it time!

Talk to someone- whether it's your doctor, your mom, a friend, a lactation consultant- trust me, this will help.

But most importantly, don't give up out of frustration!!

Need more motivation to keep on keeping' on with breastfeeding?
Check out my Motivation for Breastfeeding Mamas post.