Let me start this by saying we do it all of it as far as feeding our baby girl. I nurse her..mostly first thing in the morning and honestly the rest of the day whenever I want to. I pump and we give her bottles…however I don’t react to well to the pump so when I pump its more a bottle of 1/2 my milk 1/2 formula. Lastly, we give formula. We top her off before bed to make sure she’s nice and full for a good nights rest as well as a bottle or so throughout the day of just formula to give myself a break. I’d say though that 75% of the time it’s still my milk. Which I am super proud of. And on a side note, it has been VERY frustrating that when you look to find info about feeding your baby there are GREAT resources for breastfeeding mommas…for formula feeding mommas but not enough support stuff out there for those who choose both. I don’t feel like it has to be black and white with our options….nd I down the road want to start that conversation.

If you will let me rant just a minute I feel like America sets us up as moms to struggle and walk an uphill battle with breastfeeding. First off, for myself, it was a one person thing because my husband didn’t get one single day of paternity leave. From the first weekday, we were home it was me feeding and changing all day. My husband is AMAZING and helped out as much as he could at night but doing the whole day-time craziness alone gives you no break. By dinner time I was spent mentally, emotionally and I just wanted to sleep. I truly feel like if America had better paternity leave breastfeeding would be a team sport…which it needs to be…and I might have lasted doing just that a little longer than I did. But who knows maybe I wouldn’t have….we will never know. On top of that, the support I could get from some AMAZING lactation consultants or our night nurse is EXPENSIVE. Services like this are FREE in other countries because those countries realizes breastfeeding is a TEAM SPORT.

Ok End rant.

Let me get back on track here…what I really wanted to tell you about today is that this Friday I leave for my first girls trip without the babe. She will be with dad for TWO nights without me. Now, I am not going to lie I am beyond excited to get away for a bit and get a break. This momma truly needs this girls trip. However, like I told you before I try to pump and am not really successful. So….if I left for the whole weekend she would get formula the entire time I was gone. Which…there is NOTHING wrong with that, but I don’t want to. I like that I get to give her a mix and I want to continue that. So whats a girl to do?

In walks my friend Ashleigh.

Who… side note we met at a breastfeeding class, found out our babies have the SAME BIRTHDAY and we were like 2 rooms away at the SAME HOSPITAL! I feel like it was a total God moment that we connected outside of the hospital.

Ashleigh has been blessed with a great milk supply and has been able to pump a stash. However, I have learned that being able to produce that much milk has its own issues just like not making enough does. Ashleigh was saying one night while we were having margaritas that some of her frozen stash is going to start to go bad soon because she can’t keep up with it. I told her about my delema with my girls trip and she without hesitation gave me enough frozen milk to last my husband for the entire weekend away!!!

I. Can’t. Even. Is that picture not beautiful or what?!

Some of you might find sharing breastmilk gross, and thats ok but in this house we don’t. I am so relieved that I will be able to REALX all weekend long without worrying once that my baby will be upset/crying/fussy all weekend because she is constipated (formula makes her backed up it’s so sad).

My heart is so full to have a friend like her in my life and I wanted to just say to all you mommas out there who like Ashleigh make lots of milk pump and donate!! Give to your friends or family who don’t and can use it. We mommas need to help each other out!! Formula is expensive as is donor milk and that’s the only option we have if we don’t breastfeed. Think of how much money we as a woman tribe could help each other save if we all shared the liquid gold more!!

xx Sarah

#motherhoods #breastfeeding #baby #pumping