Skip to main content
Elisa Batista's picture

Even though my mother raised four children at a time when formula was considered superior to breastfeeding – hence why we were all bottle-fed – I always knew I would breastfeed my children.

I remember taking early childhood development courses as part of my work in AmeriCorps in the late ‘90s, and it made sense to me that breasts were for nursing babies. I knew there were antibodies in breast milk that were not replicated in formula.

Fast-forward 5 years when I became a mother at the age of 26. Breastfeeding was not intuitive for me. At. All. While I have heard of plenty of stories by women who had no trouble breastfeeding, I found myself awkwardly positioning my newborn son’s head to the breast, and constantly ringing the nurses to help me. They would grab my nipple – areola and all – and stuff the whole thing into the baby’s mouth. Ouch!

Two weeks later at home, I had chafed nipples and even then I worried whether my son was receiving any nutrition. At his weigh-in, the pediatrician assured me my chunky boy was getting more than enough to eat. I am grateful that I had the time to overcome this learning curve, which is why paid family leave is so important for new mothers.

Once I got the hang of nursing – about a month to two months later – I breastfed like a pro everywhere. I could nurse standing up. I even nursed while using the bathroom and talking on the phone at the same time! Breastfeeding was so convenient that I did so for nine months.

I know that various organizations from the American Academy of Pediatrics to the World Health Organization have set benchmarks for nursing. But as I always tell new mothers, I took it one day at a time. I lived in the moment and enjoyed my baby.

This approach allowed me to nurse my second child, a daughter, for an entire year in spite of the rocky start (again). I had cracked bleeding nipples, and even a few bouts of mastitis – a painful breast infection that comes with a fever – that sent me to the doctor for antibiotics. I paid a lactation consultant $90 to see what I was doing “wrong.” She said that my nursing technique was fine, so I took my antibiotics, went back to work and successfully pumped, giving my daughter a year’s worth of breast milk.

I don’t regret nursing my children and actually enjoyed some of the more quiet and tender moments. It sure was convenient, especially during middle of the night feedings. But I can see how it would be nearly impossible without support at home and the workplace.


The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.

MomsRising.org strongly encourages our readers to post comments in response to blog posts. We value diversity of opinions and perspectives. Our goals for this space are to be educational, thought-provoking, and respectful. So we actively moderate comments and we reserve the right to edit or remove comments that undermine these goals. Thanks!