Debbie

My mother breastfed all of her children over 30 years ago when the rates of breastfeeding were low. She still has the La Leche League book - first edition.

My sister breastfed her daughter. I watched her struggle the first few days and then watched her as it became the easiest thing in the world for her. She was my inspiration to commit to breastfeed my own children.

My son and I also struggled at first. I didn't know that I should wake him to eat. My mother told me that I should let him sleep as long as possible. Then, he would wake up so hungry that he was unable to latch. My husband and I worked hard those first few sleepless nights. And we bought some formula, fed it to him through a syringe while he kept trying to latch. After about three days, he got the hang of it and we happily nursed for the next 12 months.

My daughter - with an experienced breastfeeding mom - started nursing within minutes after being born. The nurse commented that she seemed to know what to do. "Like she's been doing it all her life," I joked in response.

At about 3 months, she went on a nursing strike. She still would eat breastmilk from a bottle, but refused to latch. With a supportive husband, lactation consultant and employer, I took two days off of work, lay with her skin-to-skin nearly all day. Eventually, she decided to start nursing again and we continued until she was about 16 months old.

We nursed in public whenever and wherever. No one ever said anything negative, but I did receive many positive comments. A stranger once looked at my son, noted his size, and exclaimed, "Well, that's a breastfed baby if I ever say one!" I'm happy to say they both were breastfed.