Lactation School
Before I gave birth to Ronin, everyone told me that breastfeeding comes naturally and not to worry about it. Well, I am here to tell you that breastfeeding did NOT come naturally to Ronin and me. We both struggled with it a lot. There was a lot to learn for both of us. We did formula in the hospital while we waited for my milk to come in, and when it did, two days after he was born, I thought it would be all uphill. It wasn't. Whenever it was time to feed, I would get such bad anxiety. Ronin felt this, so we would both just cry. I didn't know why it was hurting so bad. I knew that it would hurt and use some getting used to, but it hurt so bad. I knew that this wasn't right and that we needed to seek help.
We found a lactation specialist who we LOVED. The first day we saw her, when Ronin was just 6 days old, she told me to feed him like I normally do so she could see the process and how she could help. Before I even got Ronin latched, she told me to stop. She said my nipples were the worst she had seen in two years. Ronin really did a number on me. She gave me some medicine to heal and instructed me to exclusively pump while I was healing. Luckily, Ronin is such a golden babe and took a bottle without fussing (and still does!). After I healed, we went back to the specialist and she showed us how to properly breastfeed. Ronin knew he needed to latch, because babies do that naturally and instinctively, but I didn't know way he was supposed to be latching so I couldn't help him do it properly. We learned the proper way of nursing, using a nipple shield, and saw the specialist every single week. Once we learned how to properly feed with the shield, we found out that Ronin had a tongue and lip tie that was causing even more trouble when feeding. Since his tongue was attached to the bottom of his mouth, he couldn't latch on and eat properly. He wouldn't get enough milk in feedings, then he wouldn't sleep. He was too hungry to sleep but too tired to eat. It was ROUGH!
After much prayer and guidance, Preston and I decided to have Ronin's tongue and lip tie released. This was done by literally just cutting the skin that was attaching them and then healing. As a mama, it was so hard to see my baby hurting. I hated that he had to go through that. But I knew that this would be the best option for Ronin. Our specialist told us how tongue and lip ties can cause a ton of problems later on in life- migraines, asthma, the inability to eat, etc. I would do anything to make Ronin's life better and easier, but it was so so hard to watch him in pain.
The lactation specialist said that she held Ronin's head as the doctor released the tongue tie, and immediately she felt a ton of pressure come off of Ronin's head. They brought him back in to be with us, and when I tell you he had the best latch of his life, I mean it. I saw INSTANT rewards from this small surgery he went through. That made me feel much calmer and show me that I didn't just put my son through unnecessary pain.
We let Ronin heal a few weeks and still fed with the nipple shield. We slowly weaned off of it and learned how to feed without it. By the time Ronin was four months old, we were completely off the nipple shield and feeding like normal! I can't tell you how much of a champ Ronin is. He persevered, he stuck with it, and he saw the rewards. We are still breastfeeding strong, as I'm writing this when he's a little over 6 months old.
I am so proud of my golden babe. I'm sure the tongue and lip tie release hurt. I know it hurt because I saw his tears and the pain he was in. It was a hard few weeks, but it truly has made both of our lives better. I am so proud of Ronin. I will never stop saying that. I will never stop telling him that. I love him so much. He is such a good boy and I'm so proud of him!
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