Breastfeeding Journey Told By A New Mom

Are you a pregnant mommy thinking about breastfeeding? Or a mommy who is currently nursing?

Hear from a real mommy just like you about her journey through breastfeeding and why Teami Nursing has truly changed her life, and her experience breastfeeding her baby boy!

For those of you who don’t know, my name is Macy Smit. I’m 27 years old, the wife to my high school sweetheart/best friend and mother to the most handsome little boy, Carter. On February 6, 2018, at 12:44 pm I gave birth to my sweet little baby boy at St.Josephs women’s hospital in Tampa, Florida. I had a birth plan and fortunately for me, it was actually going to plan.

One of the most important things on my list was to start breastfeeding as soon as possible. I heard it was going to be tough, I heard I may cry, I heard I may be in the worst pain for the first couple of weeks but to not give up because it does and will get better. So I prepared myself mentally like I did for this entire pregnancy and labor but also keeping the idea that my baby may need formula in the back of my mind and telling myself that if that’s the case that it’s okay and completely normal as well. It was tough at first and not because of pain for me or my baby but because we both couldn’t get the latch completely right. even though I watched as many videos on how to get the proper latch as you could possibly imagine. But after about 24 hours of no sleep and supplementing with formula for a feeding we finally got it right! I felt like I was on top of the world!

Some time passes by and strict breastfeeding is going so great for Carter and I! Yes, it was tough getting up about 3 times a night for the first 3 weeks to nurse him and I was completely exhausted but I was also aware of how incredibly lucky I was to be able to nurse him because some mommas out there simply can’t . So I didn’t take one second for granted no matter how tired I was, but to be completely honest I thought I was going to be more comfortable with nursing him in public than I actually was.

Yes I had a nursing cover, yes I had the nursing bras and tank tops to make it more convenient but everywhere we went I felt like everyone was watching me and judging me because they knew that I was undressing myself underneath that cover to feed my child. I felt like it was a unicorn or something.... never seen before?! Yes, that could’ve been just my mindset and way of thinking but why did my mindset change after I had him!? I’m not normally shy like this...

It’s tough! It’s much much more comfortable and convenient to bottle feed your babe because you can do that anywhere and that’s the norm for the public these days. Yes, I eventually came to terms with myself and the stigma that I felt and started not caring because I wouldn’t be able to nurse him forever and the thought of not breastfeeding him made me want to cry so I sucked it up and starting not caring about what others thought anymore.

Well, the time finally came that I was heading back to work and this little babe is starting daycare! A week later I noticed my supply took a big dip due to my not being around him and feeding as much as we normally did. Yes, you can pump just as much but I’m a hairstylist and there are times where I’m coloring someone’s hair for a solid 3 hours straight so stepping away to pump in the middle of an application isn’t an option so I got off track and my supply depleted!

At this point, we are about half and half with formula and breast milk. Trying to get to a point where I can start saving milk is almost impossible with the low supply that I had and not to mention I was working out pretty hard and trying to eat much much cleaner. Not only was my supply lower is was a lot thinner due to my new eating plan. I started noticing that anytime I skipped a salad and had something fried or something sweet my milk supply DOUBLED. Which made my emotions go all over the place. I was happy because I had more for my son but I was sad because I knew that I wasn’t going to get my body back at this rate so what do I do?! That wasn’t a decision I wanted to make and I was hoping and praying there was another answer.

Photo above: My milk supply before Teami Nursing, and my milk supply after!

A good friend of mine reached out to me about the new Nursing Tea from Teami. I’ve tried some of there other teas in the past and absolutely loved them and at this point, I thought WHY NOT try something else and see if it actually helps. One thing that I noticed right off the bat was the taste was A LOT better than other milk tea’s so we were already off to a good start. I didn’t really start noticing anything with my supply until after the second day of drinking the tea and that night I saw the difference.

After bathtime and a full belly, it was bedtime for Carter. He did nurse off one boob but he fell asleep before I could switch him to the other so after we put him down for bed I went ahead and pumped on the other side. I pumped a solid 5 ounces. I honestly could’ve cried because I’ve only been pumping 2-3 each session between feedings.

Do you know how good it feels to know that there is an all-natural product that can boost your milk supply just by simply drinking a tea?! The reason it hit home so hard for me is because I’m right at six months.. pediatricians and lactation consultants have told me that by the time you reach six months your milk supply is pretty much established and with mine being very low I was getting discouraged and started feeling like I should stop and let my boobs dry up but that also made me very emotional.

I feel like I’ve honestly found what I’ve been looking for and now it’s possible for me to be able to breast-feed Carter for at least a little bit longer and I can even rely on my body more while we’re out and about knowing that I have a better supply if he became hungry. It’s an amazing feeling.

Now if only we can begin to normalize breastfeeding so women like me don’t have to feel pressured to go to the car, to find a private place or to leave where they are at the time to feed their baby because of how others would feel about it. It’s the most natural and normal thing... I mean a long time ago breastfeeding was the only option.... our bodies create it for a reason so why has it become such a burden on the public? We can change this..... and we should change this..... let’s normalize it together! Teami Nursing has changed the game, now it's our turn!

-Macy Smit, @macy.color.co