Gail

Meet Gail, mother of three close in age. Two of them twins!

Hi, I’m Gail. I have three children: Lura Grace 6, Jacob 3, and Josiah 3. I started nursing my daughter in December of 2013 until she was 16 months. I then nursed my boys from Fall 2016 until now.

I didn’t really know what to expect when I started out. I went into it determined that was what I wanted to do. I had issues with pain with my daughter and it was really hard those first couple of months. I had to learn the best positions and how to persistently get her to latch deeper. Mainly it was an issue of a shallow latch and both of us had to learn to get better at that. Once we got through the rough patch it was a wonderful process and I am so happy I didn’t give up!

With my boys being twins I went into it with more confidence having breastfed before but also a little more determination to prove that it could be done. With twins there was pressure to formula or bottle feed and I didn’t want to do that. My main goal was to go as close to 40 weeks as possible and hope they would be big enough to latch and do well. I had them at 37 weeks and 3 days and both latched in recovery. They both did fairly well and we supplemented for one or two feeds so we could get checked out of the hospital. But I put babies to breast often and my milk came in well. The bond I have with all 3 of my children is stronger because of my nursing relationship. These are my last babies so finishing up nursing now is bittersweet.

I found La Leche League when my daughter was about a month old and I needed support. The connections I made there with other moms were priceless for me as I established my nursing relationship with my daughter.

Having more experienced moms offer advice and support really helped me want to continue in my breastfeeding journey. Being a part of La Leche League as I continue to raise my children has been priceless. Such a wonderful support system!

My favorite nursing spot would have to be a rocker recliner we have from when my daughter was born, although it wasn’t the best for tandem nursing, ha ha!