When i became pregnant and went to the doctor, he asked me what were my plans for feeding the baby. bottle feeding never crossed my mind, I told him I would breastfeed. I was breastfed along with my three sisters.One of my earliest memories is one of my mother stopping on the way home from town to feed my sis. However, the reactions were not the same from my other family members. I was met with constant remarks such as "Sure isn't a bottle just as good nowadays" and "It will be too hard for you".  But my mind was made up, breastfeeding was what i was going to do.

I had my little lovely lady at 22.22pm on Sunday 29th of June and she was latched on ten minutes later. i knew little bits about correct latching but not alot and just assumed i was doing it right. My daughter had bad jaundice but luckily I had a more modern midwife who encouraged my breastfeeding and a bottle wasn't necessary. My milk came in on day 2 and my daughter lost that horrible yellow colour by day 3 and we got to go home. Rarely did anyone come to check my breastfeeding performance in the maternity ward.  I think because I didnt complain they were happy. I remember the woman acroos the way had twins and ws breaking her heart trying to feed them herself but received n encouragement and by time i was leaving they had been put on bottles and she was ordered to get out the cabbage leaves.  I regret not talking to her.

When i went home i spent most of my time with baby stuck to my boob and i was in agony. I had cracked nipples but i just fed through it, unaware that I had her latched on wrong. I would grit my teeth every time she would latch on but yet I refused to give her a bottle as the whole idea of "nipple confusion" had been drilled into me by the HSE booklet.  I then realised that the problem was she was just sucking my nipple tip rather than my whole nipple area. The problem wasnt long clearing up!

The next hurdle was feeding in public. I've been quite lucky with this except for one occasion when my daughter was two weeks old. Itook her to get her BCG and in the waiting room a man (there with his own newborn btw) leered. But I have no problems now.

The next step was getting her to take expressed milk from a bobo. I expressed, got a decent amount and tried her with your standard bottle when she ws around 6 weeks old. She refused point blank. Tried a different bottle. Refused. Then another and another. 8 bottles down the line and she still wouldnt take a bottle. I was devastated and the pumping had caused havoc with my supply. But mostly I was distraught at the thought o not being able to go anywhere for myself. Thats when I got the internet back in and returned to rollercoaster and found sistership with the other breatfeeding mums. I had been on the mum2be boards and found everyting great.

I became glad that I was able to breastfeed after hearing stories of broken hearted women who had been able to feed their children themselves.  I lost that selfish feeling and remembered that woman in my maternity ward and and promised myself I would help and bacame quite active in my breastfeeding.

Went with some girls on the Afternoon show, spoke on my local radio station and to my local paper to raise breastfeeding awareness. And thanks to thebreatway.ie we now have a haven for us more pro breastfeeding mums(where elsewhere we would be considered crazy hippy mommas)

I encourage breastfeeding where ever I can. I'm a co-sleeper and I am beginning BLW. And I plan to feed until she is two or if she self weans. I love that feeling of closeness. Its one of the most natural, beautiful and beneficial things in the world and I love doing it..