Bottle Feeding is Beautiful (too!)

Bottle Feeding is Beautiful (too!)

NOTE: Please understand that this post is meant to be a thought provoking article that shows moms are on the same team and we want what is best for our children who we've been entrusted to care for.

Ever see those gorgeous breast feeding images? I have and I LOVE them. I have even taken some. There is something so raw and beautiful about the bonding you see. It's a wonderful natural event. As a birth photographer one of my favorite moments to capture is when the baby tries to breast feed for the first time.

 Breast feeding can have a difficult side, too. I have seen and heard countless women weep over difficulties breastfeeding; sometimes not being able to at all despite strenuous efforts, while others claim victory. Some women in shame pick up that bottle to nourish their child with the fear of being judged. This is not okay. Feeding your newborn should never feel shameful!

 Can we agree that as moms we are on the same team and bonding and health can be obtained many ways? Our priority is our babies.

My hope is to shed some light on what I have learned. Over the last few months I have met with women to do a  photo series I like to call "Bottle Feeding is Beautiful too."
It truly is. Seeing a baby bond with its mommy, daddy, sibling, family, or friend is a blessing. So I retain my opinion that bottle feeding is beautiful, too.

"For some, the choice of feeding their babies

rather than letting them starve is a very real scenario."

Recently, I met with women who have chosen to bottle feed on their own or because of circumstances out of their control. For some, the choice of feeding their babies rather than letting them starve is a very real scenario. I was surprised to find out some of the reasons women choose to bottle feed that I had never before considered. I thought my eyes were open but they had only caught a glimpse past my own personal struggles with breast feeding and bottle feeding.

Reasons why women choose to bottle feed: (These are some of the reasons I came across but I am aware that there may be many more reason out there).

- Severely clogged ducts
- Low supply
- No supply
- Insufficient Glandular Tissue (IGT) This means the breasts don't contain proper milk-making tissue.
- Physically abusive relationship
- Sexual abuse (breast feeding can trigger memories of past events)
- Adoption
- Working mom
- Because it fits their situation best
- Unable to pump
- Dad wants bonding time and to share nightly duties and pumping is limited
- Multiple babies
- Low pain tolerance
- Mastectomy
- Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex (D-MER)
- Undiagnosed tongue and lip ties on baby
- Latching issues
- Inverted nipples
- Thyroid issues
- Postpartum Depression
- Raynaud's disease
- PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome )
- Medications (some sustaining medications can be adverse to baby if passed on through breast milk)
- Postpartum Hemorrhage/Retained placenta

Alternatives women choose to breast feeding:

 - Milk donors: these are women who are able to supply additional milk by pumping. This gives mothers that are unable to nurse the benefit of breast milk for their baby.

- Formula
- Supplemental Nursing System: This is essentially a bottle with a very long tube that attaches to the mothers breast which gives the bonding of baby latching to the breast while the system is giving the child formula or donated milk.
- Wet nursing: This is when a woman breast feeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are a help (often employed) when the mother is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself.
- Homemade goat milk formula.

 


 "This isn't a matter of being lazy.

Lazy is knowing something needs to be done

and choosing not to do it. This is a matter of informed choice."

The shame game is real. Seeing posts of women pouring out their hearts and not being able to work past the shame is heart breaking.
This isn't a matter of being lazy. Lazy is knowing something needs to be done and choosing not to do it. This is a matter of informed choice. We mamas know our child needs care and we give it. That is not lazy.

Moms, our job is a wonderful one that comes with many challenges. Let's not add to those challenges, let's start eliminating them.

 So, in conclusion, is breast feeding beautiful? YES! Is bottle feeding beautiful? YES!

 I hope you enjoy these images I was blessed to be able to capture of babies bonding and being nourished.

In the future I hope to incorporate these special moments even more into the blessed job I do.

One of the mamas that I met with has been brave enough to share her personal story. You can find her story at the bottom of this page after the bottle feeding images.

Pictured above in black & white is Brittnae and Mason. Here is their journey:




We welcomed our sweet baby boy, Mason Russell, on June 10th 2014. After a very difficult pregnancy, I was able to have the hospital water birth of my dreams. After a 7hr labor, I was on cloud 9! Before discharge I was seen by the hospital lactation consultant (LC). She was impressed by Mason's strong suck, no lip or tongue ties, lots of swallowing, and seemed very optimistic that we were all set up for success.

I left the hospital feeling untouchable. Fast forward 3 days, Mason began refusing the breast. We tried a nipple shield, different positions, skin to skin, everything I could think of. At his pediatrician appointment he had lost more than 10% of his birth weight (7lbs.11oz) but the doc wasn't too concerned. He just assumed that my milk hadn't come all the way in yet and he was very supportive. We scheduled a weight check for 2 days later, as well as an appointment with the lactation consultant. After a positive meeting with the LC and getting Mason to nurse more, I was feeling a lot better. However, at the weight check he was down to 5lbs. 13oz. I was devastated.

He hadn't been fussing as much so I assumed he was satisfied. I will never forget the sting I felt when the doctor told me "he hasn't been crying because his body shut down to save calories." I cried the whole way home and the rest of that night. We began supplementing and every other day there were weight checks with meetings with the LC. I began taking every milk-making herb, food, vitamin, tea, and tincture known to man. The third LC I met with was a wonderful woman whose kindness I will never forget. She suspected I had something called Insufficient Glandular Tissue (IGT) that means my breasts don't contain proper milk-making tissue. It affects about 5-10% (percentages are under study) of women making it mostly unheard of. After a thorough examination, it was confirmed. I had IGT and I was devastated. I felt like I had totally failed my son.

We tried one last ditch effort, a prescription called Reglan. After a round of that, I was still only producing drops of milk. I knew I had to give up on my dream of nursing my sweet baby. I began mourning the loss of that tender relationship I was so looking forward to, but I refused to let it develop into any kind of depression. I would let myself cry for 10 minute spans, then remind myself how lucky I was to have a happy healthy baby who was now thriving on formula. I was very thankful to have the formula that in essence saved my baby's life and sustained him when I could not, but I believed in the benefits of breast milk so I decided to take the plunge and put an ad out on the Human Milk 4 Human Babies Facebook page. I had heard of milk-sharing and honestly I had only "liked" the page while pregnant because I was hoping to donate. Within an hour I had a response from a woman who lived about 10 minutes down the road. She exclusively pumped for her son, and was pumping about double what he ate. I was excited and nervous! We picked up the milk and I fed it to Mason through a supplemental nursing system which allowed me to "nurse" with a tube attached to my breast. Finally, I felt some peace and that I was doing something right. Mason thrived on the milk, he was gaining rapidly and was less constipated. We received milk from four other mamas as well and Mason has been on exclusive breast milk (other than occasional supplementing) since about 4 weeks old! I will forever be thankful to the wonderful "milky mamas" who gave such a wonderful gift to us! My struggle to breastfeed and my journey to find what was best for our family has completely humbled me. Where before, I would judge other mothers for parenting differently based on what I thought was right, now I completely understand that motherhood isn't a "one size fits all" gig. Whether you cloth or disposable diaper, breast or bottle feed, crib or co-sleep, what matters is the love you do it with. My hope is that through all of this I will somehow find a way to support new moms no matter what their choices are. This is just one story of a new mom's journey to bottle-feeding but there are many more!