Breastfeeding bumps along the way...

Breastfeeding is something I really enjoy doing..so many wonderful benefits for baby and mommy..if i could be a wet nurse I would! ;)  Just knowing that you are providing food through your body for your child is a wonderful feeling...but it hasn't been easy let me tell you and I have wanted to quit on more than one occasion and at times caught myself fantasizing about mixing formula and feeding them a bottle... but I kept/keep pressing on..and thankfully my husband has been extremely supportive, without his encouragement my son would have been formula fed by 4 months because I was tired of the pain and frustration!  But it did/does get better, trust me!! This post isn't meant to scare anyone or turn them away from breastfeeding..I just want everyone to know the struggles sometimes associated with it, because I had NO idea that these problems could arise..I was shocked and wished somebody could've prepared me more.


Thrush http://www.breastfeeding.com/all_about/all_about_thrush.html definitely put a damper on my experience w/ breastfeeding..with my first child, we had numerous encounters w/ it and unfortunately the first time i had it..i had no idea what it was and thought he was not latching on properly or simply that i wasn't doing something right...so because of that, i dealt w/ pain and bleeding for a couple of weeks until my la leche lady.. (who is amazing!!) diagnosed it as thrush..and for those of you who are breastfeeding and are in the chambersburg, pa area and need guidance, let me know and i will hook you up with her number!!
But unfortunately this wasn't the only obstacle i encountered w/ breastfeeding w/ my son..Mastitis reared its ugly head when he was about 2 months old and I thought my boob was going to die and fall off! And the rule of thumb is that you are still supposed to nurse them even though there is an infection going on in your breast..crazy!!  http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T022200.asp
Thankfully antibiotics cleared it up and I was pain free....


So since the birth of my second child, I figured I had breastfeeding in the bag and that I would know when something wasn't right...haha..boy was I wrong!!  Thrush again came to visit!! and because the medicine prescribed, nyastatin didn't do well w/ my daughter I had to endure a considerable amount of pain...even worse than w/ my son...I cried every time she latched on and dreaded the time she was ready to eat again...but thankfully diflucan worked..yes they even had diflucan in a liquid form for Sofi..however, it took a total of 3 weeks from start to finish...and to this day I still have a line under my nipple where the gash was..i thought at one point that i was going to need stitches!! haha...and no i won't post a pic..that would be awful! 


But a new issue has come up in my experience w/ breastfeeding and that is a possible breastfeeding strike! 
http://www.motherandchildhealth.com/Breastfeeding/Becky/strike.html Yesterday while my husband and son went to church I googled to get some info as to why my daughter refuses my breast..she is happy as can be..but doesn't want any part of breastfeeding... and would scream when I would go to feed her as if I was trying to poison her!  Now, she doesn't refuse to eat all day..maybe a feeding or two but still it is extremely frustrating! I mean my son would have never of refused my breast..he ate constantly and consistently..and it showed! He was almost 17lbs at 4 months!!  I keep thinking that maybe she is getting ready to teethe or that my milk doesn't taste as good..i do not believe that she is starving..maybe she is just tired of the boob and wants a break?? One thing I did read was to be persistent so I am going to do just that!


All this to say is that breastfeeding is an amazing journey w/ lots of bumps, bruises, gashes, tears..but so worth it if you are able and it is OKAY if you can't...whatever is best for both mom and baby..I welcome opinions from moms who formula-feed and/or breast-feed.