newborn – Mama Rooted

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I want to start by saying something I didn’t hear enough when I was in the thick of it:

Breastfeeding is hard. Like, really hard. And if you’re struggling right now, you are not doing it wrong. You are just in the hard part.

I breastfed my daughter for two full years. I weaned her just recently — in three days, which honestly felt like its own kind of miracle and its own kind of heartbreak at the same time. (I’ll write a whole separate post on weaning soon because that chapter deserves its own space.)

But today I want to go back to the beginning. To the raw nipples and the 2am crying — mine, not always hers. To the moment I almost quit at week three. And to how I got through it and came out the other side feeling like I had done something extraordinary.

Here is everything — the real stuff, not the highlight reel.

The First Four Weeks: Honestly the Hardest Thing I’ve Done

Nobody warned me that the first latch would feel like that. I genuinely gasped the first few times. My nipples were raw, cracked, and so sore that I would tense up the moment my daughter started rooting.

My milk supply was all over the place those first weeks. Some feeds felt fine, some she came off screaming like she hadn’t gotten anything. I was constantly wondering if she was getting enough, checking her diapers obsessively, Googling at midnight.

What actually turned things around for me was getting a lactation consultation. I cannot stress this enough — if you are struggling, please don’t wait as long as I did to ask for professional help. A good International Board Certified Lactation Consultant will assess your latch, check for tongue tie, and help you figure out your supply situation in a way that no YouTube video or well-meaning family member can. You can find a certified consultant near you through ILCA — the International Lactation Consultant Association. It was one of the best things I did for both of us.

In the meantime, these are what got me through those early weeks physically:

Silverettes: I cannot overstate how much these helped. Silverette Silver Nursing Cups sit over your nipples between feeds and the silver genuinely seemed to have healing properties — not just marketing fluff.
Nipple Cream: I went through almost two tubes of Lansinoh HPA Lanolin Nipple Cream in the first month alone. Apply after every single feed. Don’t skip it.
Nursing Pillow: The Boppy Original Nursing Pillow saved my back and helped me get a better latch position. When you’re feeding every 2 hours, your arms and shoulders take a beating without support.
Nipple Shield: My lactation consultant suggested trying a Medela Contact Nipple Shield during the rockiest first weeks. It gave my skin a tiny break while she still fed. Not a forever solution but a bridge when you need one.

The Complicated Relationship I Had With Pumping: My Medela Was My Best Friend and Worst Enemy

I pumped from around week three — partly to build a small freezer stash, partly because there were times my daughter wouldn’t latch and I didn’t want to miss a feed.

I used the Medela Pump In Style and it was solid. Hospital-grade suction, double electric, and it came with everything I needed to get started. It’s FSA/HSA eligible too which is worth knowing if you have a flex spending account through work.

A few things that made pumping more manageable:

Medela Quick Clean Micro-Steam Bags — just add water and microwave. Cleaned pump parts in two minutes. Absolute necessity.
Lansinoh Breast Milk Storage Bags — made storing milk so much easier.
Ceres Chill Breastmilk Chiller — this is a chiller that keeps pumped milk cold for up to 24 hours without ice. I used it constantly when we were out of the house.
Lansinoh Freeze Breast Milk Storage Organizer — first in first out freezer organizer for milk bags. Keeps your stash actually organized instead of a frozen chaotic pile.

Bottles: Because Even Exclusively Breastfed Babies Sometimes Need One

Even though I was exclusively breastfeeding, there were times — a rare night out, a doctor’s appointment — where my husband or mom would give a bottle of pumped milk. Introducing a bottle too early can cause nipple confusion so I waited until around 6 weeks.

We used Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Anti-Colic Bottles as they were one of the most recommended by lactation consultants specifically for breastfed babies because the slow flow nipple prevents them from getting lazy at the breast. I have also heard great reviews from friends of mine about this Comotomo Natural Feel Baby Bottle — the squishy silicone body is designed to feel more like a breast.

Cluster Feeding: The Phase I Was Not Remotely Prepared For

Nobody told me about cluster feeding before it happened and when it did I genuinely thought something was wrong.

Cluster feeding is when your baby wants to nurse constantly — like every 30-45 minutes. It’s their way of telling your body to make more milk. It’s completely normal. It also feels completely insane when you’re living through it.

During cluster feeding phases I kept:

Nipple cream on the nightstand — applied after every single feed, no matter how tired I was
Earth Mama Organic Nipple Butter — I alternated this with the Lansinoh. The Earth Mama one is a little thicker and more soothing for really raw days.
Kindred Bravely Nursing Tank — easy access around the clock, comfortable enough to sleep in, and made me feel slightly more human than a hospital gown
A giant water bottle. Hydro Flask 32oz Wide Mouth — breastfeeding makes you thirsty in a way that is hard to describe. I kept this next to me at all times.

The 2am Feeds: Real Talk

My daughter did not sleep through the night before she was one year old. Not once.

We were up every two hours for months. There were nights I cried right along with her, sitting in the dark, absolutely exhausted, wondering how people did this. There were nights I genuinely questioned everything.

And then there were the other nights. The ones where she would fall asleep on my chest mid-feed and her little hand would be curled around my finger and the whole house was quiet and I just sat there not wanting to move.

Both things were true at the same time. That’s what nobody prepares you for. It’s hard and it’s sacred at the same time.

A few things that made night feeds survivable:

Hatch Rest+ Night Light and Sound Machine — soft enough to see by, controlled from my phone so I never had to get up to turn lights on and off. Worth every penny.
Lansinoh Breastfeeding Tea — I made a thermos before bed every night. Warm, comforting, and has fenugreek for supply support.
A good nursing bra that didn’t dig in at 3am. The Bravado Designs Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra is soft as a second skin.

Keeping Up My Milk Supply: What Actually Helped

Supply anxiety is real and I had it bad in the early months. A few things I genuinely believe helped me maintain supply for two years:

Legendairy Milk Liquid Gold Capsules —Really clean ingredients. I used these from month two onward.
Milkmakers Lactation Cookie Bites — oats, brewer’s yeast, flaxseed. I had two every afternoon. Also just a nice excuse for a snack.
Oatmeal every single morning. Nothing fancy, just regular rolled oats. Boring but it works.
Staying hydrated — truly, genuinely, aggressively hydrated. I aimed for 100oz of water a day while nursing.
Not skipping feeds or pumping sessions, especially in the early months. Your supply is supply and demand — the more consistently you feed, the more your body makes.
Ensuring I get good balance of fats from my meals for an adequate calorie intake.

Two Years Later: What I Want You to Know

I weaned my daughter at two years. Three days. She was ready and so was I and it was peaceful and a little sad and mostly just felt right.

Looking back at the whole journey — the cracked nipples, the cluster feeding marathons, the nights I cried in the dark — I would do all of it exactly the same way again.

Not because it was easy. It wasn’t.

Because it was ours. This quiet, exhausting, tender thing that happened between me and my daughter every few hours for two years. That is a chapter I will carry with me forever.

If you’re in week one right now, barely holding on — hang in there. Get a lactation consultant. Use the Silverettes. Ask your partner to bring you water. It does get easier.

And if you decide breastfeeding isn’t for you, or your body has other plans — that is okay too. A fed baby and a mentally healthy mama beats everything.

📌 Save this post for the mamas in your life who are about to start their feeding journey. And if you’re in the thick of it right now — I see you. You’re doing great.

Coming soon on Mama Rooted: How I weaned my 2-year-old in 3 days — gently, peacefully, and without tears (mostly). Stay tuned.

Everything Mentioned in This Post

If you’re building your own breastfeeding survival cart right now, these are the products I personally kept within arm’s reach every day. All Amazon links are affiliate links.