Real mums share their breastfeeding stories

Storytelling is as old as humankind. We tell stories to share history, to connect and to entertain. There’s a reason why storytelling is as old as it is… it works. 

For some mums, breastfeeding is a lonely experience. For others they’re overwhelmed by all the information available to them, even before they’ve started. That’s where breastfeeding stories can help to connect mums so they know they’re not alone and that support is available. 

Lactation Consultant Pinky McKay agrees that mums sharing their breastfeeding stories is helpful because every breastfeeding experience is unique. 

“If women can talk openly about breastfeeding, they’re going to normalise that breastfeeding is actually a skill to be learned,” she explains. “A lot of the time people expect that it will come naturally, but that’s not necessarily the case. There’s often a learning curve and challenges to overcome along the way, even if it’s not your first baby." 

Pinky cautions that when sharing stories, we should also be careful not to add to the overwhelm or fear a new or pregnant mother might be feeling. But she says that mothers' groups are a great place to start sharing. 

“You never know how someone else is feeling until you ask them or share your own story,” she adds. “The mum sitting next to you might be struggling too, even if she doesn’t look like it from the outside. It can be reassuring to share breastfeeding stories and know that others are in the same boat. Also remember that you don’t need to take on board every piece of advice from every story. If it doesn’t feel right to you, you can imagine the advice floating out through an open window.” 

With this in mind, three wonderful mums agreed to share their breastfeeding stories with us to help support other mums in their breastfeeding journey. 

Danielle’s story 

Already mum to six-year-old twin girls, Danielle assumed her breastfeeding story the second time around would be straightforward. She soon realised that breastfeeding one baby can be just as challenging as breastfeeding twins. 

“In the first two weeks I didn’t realise that my daughter wasn’t transferring the milk very well,” she recalls. “I wasn’t in any pain when she was feeding but she was quite unsettled. By day 11 she was pretty much refusing to feed as she didn’t have enough energy to do so.” 

Danielle initially thought her baby was unsettled due to catching a bug from her older sisters. But at her three week check up the midwife discovered the cause of the issue. 

“At the two week check up we found out why she was unsettled. We had a two day hospital stay to get support. Sometimes she latches perfectly, other times not so much. I have a portable breast pump so if she refuses the breast I can give her a bottle of expressed breastmilk.” 

Despite the unexpected challenges, Danielle is positive about her experience saying that you can never be sure of the path that lays ahead. 

Tarsha’s story 

As a first time mum, Tarsha didn’t know what to expect from breastfeeding. She was overwhelmed with information and didn’t really know what to expect or where to start. 

“When we had our daughter, we were in the hospital for four nights,” she recalls. “Each one of the midwives offered their own thoughts, experiences and opinions. Their approaches were sometimes quite different, which is confusing for a new mum.” 

Tarsha decided to keep breastfeeding for the first couple of weeks and see how she went. Now three weeks into motherhood and breastfeeding, her advice to other new mums is to seek breastfeeding support early on. 

“We did a birthing class with a midwife while I was still pregnant but they didn’t really cover anything about breastfeeding. I kept seeing different ads for breastfeeding classes but there were so many different options that I didn’t know which to choose!” 

“I wish I’d known to find a lactation consultant while I was still pregnant. Then we could have built the relationship before the baby arrived so I had the support on hand when I needed it.” 

Brittany’s story 

Brittany had an amazing birth experience. But on day two, she learned that her son had tongue and lip ties. She had heard of these before but didn’t know anything about tongue and lip ties and breastfeeding. 

“Initially we were told that the ties weren’t that bad and might not need to be released,” she recalls. “We were advised to see a lactation consultant and take it from there. A week later we saw the lactation consultant and she said that our son’s tongue and lip ties were some of the worst she had seen!” 

While Brittany was anxious about her baby needing surgery, she also felt a level of relief because feeding was causing her a lot of pain. At three weeks of age, her son had the surgery. He started feeding immediately, much to Brittany’s joy. 

“He’s now 15 weeks old and we’ve come out the other side. Those first three weeks were so incredibly challenging. He would cry while he was trying to feed and I would cry too. Each feed would take close to two hours and then he would sleep for 20 minutes before we had to start all over again. It’s honestly amazing how far we’ve come.” 

Support for every breastfeeding journey 

Danielle, Tarsha and Brittany all have completely unique breastfeeding experience stories. But the thing that they have in common is their iL Tutto nursery chairs. All three mums agree that their breastfeeding chairs have been the best investment they’ve made in their nursery. 

“I didn’t realise how much time I would spend in my nursery and in my nursing chair,” says Tarsha of her Henry Electric Recliner Glider Chair. “I liked the chair because of the electric recline functionality, which I thought would be really helpful straight after birth. But the rocking and gliding motion of the chair has also helped me with burping and settling my baby.” 

Brittany recalls how much time she has spent in her Quinn Recliner Glider, particularly through the very challenging early days of her breastfeeding journey. 

“My chair was my saving grace,” she says. “I don’t know how many times I slept in it with my baby in the crib next to the chair. I sat in the chair for hours upon hours each day in the newborn phase. I would feed for two hours and then burp for 45 minutes. It was so comfortable, even straight after birth.” 

When Danielle had her twins, she didn’t have a nursing chair. This time around, it was the first thing on her list. She chose the Chelsea Electric Glider Recliner Chair and says that it ticks all the boxes.  

“The nursery is my sanctuary,” she explains. “I love the reclining option on the chair and also the rocking option. I can bring the baby into the nursery, away from the busyness of the house, and escape to feed. If she’s unsettled, I can recline back and rock to calm her down.” 

Complete your story 

With a chair to suit every style of decor, our award-winning range is designed in Australia. Choose from glider chairs, recliner chairs, nursery rocking chairs and electric recliner chairs.  

Explore our complete range and complete your story with an iL Tutto nursery chair.