The other week I wrote about how Reuben was surprisingly diagnosed with a posterior tongue tie just before he turned 8 weeks old. I was really worried about taking him for his tongue tie division. Of course, Covid-19 rules meant that my husband couldn’t come in with me for much needed support. Although I’d been assured that it doesn’t really hurt babies and the reason they cry is due to the discomfort of having their mouth held open and poked around, I was still concerned.
breastfeeding
Breastfeeding struggles due to posterior tongue tie
After my breastfeeding journey with Autumn came to an end, I was devastated. I had been so determined, but her being seriously ill had had a serious impact on my mental health. The right thing to do to was to give up so I could take the medication I needed and get better. Breastfeeding this time round was going a lot better, until I began to realise there was a problem. At 8 weeks old, Reuben was diagnosed with a posterior tongue tie which was affecting our breastfeeding.
This time last year
This time last year, I was facing the toughest experience of my life. Sometimes it still amazes me that I got through it, but I did. I feel like I’m a completely different person to the one I was before Autumn fell ill and had her operation with Dr. Zahid Mukhtar. I feel different and I look at life somewhat differently. Hopefully one day I might be a stronger person for it all.
I’m certainly stronger than I was this time last year, but I don’t feel completely healed yet.
A tale of tongue tie, bonding issues & a healed heart
This is a guest post from someone I know in real life. She is also a first time mum and wanted to share her story to help other mums. I’ve previously shared my stories of how Autumn fell critically ill at 2 weeks old, my subsequent anxiety and how we had to give up breastfeeding. However, a lot of mums have a tough time in one way or another.
This powerful story discusses bleeding in early pregnancy, labour with some complications, bonding issues, tongue tie and a failed tongue tie procedure once the baby was born. Please be warned that it may be triggering for some.
Think before you formula-bash
I haven’t written a poem for about a decade, possibly longer. However, I have some pretty strong views on women insulting people for bottle feeding their babies and I thought I’d try to express it through poetry. Even just a mention of breastfeeding or seeing someone breastfeeding hurts someone like me. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking people to not mention breastfeeding around me, or to not breastfeed around me or others. I’m fully supportive of breastfeeding, I just think there needs to be some more sensitivity to women who formula feed their babies.
I absolutely loved breastfeeding, I’ve mentioned it in a previous post about My Breastfeeding Journey. I tried my hardest with all the odds against me to keep going as long as I could and felt like I had the experience stolen from me by a cruel turn of events. I felt very down after I had to stop as I felt a massive sense of disappointment and failure.