This week Halton Region celebrates World Breastfeeding Week. The theme this year is “Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers.” This is one of two posts about how support with breastfeeding was key for my breastfeeding success.

When I was pregnant with my daughter I wrote a blog post, a contract with myself if you will, about how I would do everything in my power to get breastfeeding off to a good start.

Two years later, you might be wondering just how all that worked out for me…

For us, breastfeeding was challenging.  But I stuck to my advice… and it worked.

I had my daughter skin-to-skin for much of her early days and let her breastfeed whenever she seemed remotely interested. It was a good thing too, since she had trouble latching and transferring the milk (see blog post here). This led to cracked nipples and painfully engorged breasts. It was rough.

True to my advice to myself, I got help right away.

I got an appointment with a lactation consultant as soon as I realized my daughter had trouble latching.

We surrounded ourselves with people who were positive and supported my choice to breastfeed my baby.

My husband put a ban on visitors so our efforts to breastfeed could be completely focused. Only our immediate families met our daughter for the first two weeks. Family who did come by were put to work – runs to the grocery store or pharmacy, laundry, preparing meals.

My mother-in-law, knowing how important for me it was to breastfeed, held my hand and wiped my tears when I cried.

My husband, seeing that I was stressed out and not enjoying the whole experience, sat me down and handed me our baby when she was content. He pointed out to me all the amazing things about her – her long eyelashes. Her perfect fingers. Her tiny feet. Her adorable cheeks.

I relaxed amongst the incredible support I felt around me.

One feeding at a time, one day at a time, ever so slowly, my daughter and I made it work.

As my Pumpkin got older, it became important for me to connect with other moms who were also nursing their babies. Local breastfeeding drop-in groups were a great way for us to get out of the house in a very relaxed and breastfeeding-friendly environment.

What were the most important sources of support you received while breastfeeding? We love to hear from you, please share your story by connecting with us:

• Leave us a comment below – we’d love your feedback
• Talk to us on Twitter: @haltonparents
• Email us at haltonparents@halton.ca
• Dial 311 or 905-825-6000 for parenting information or to speak directly to a Public Health Nurse every Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.