Triumphs and Defeats - Breastfeeding, Elliot’s Story

I’m continuing this week with my blog series, Triumphs and Defeats, which highlights the highs and lows we all face during motherhood. Last week I dove into my almost two year breastfeeding journey with Isla, and this week I want to share Elliot’s story. 

Elliot was born a few short months after Isla had stopped nursing. I felt confident and prepared to breastfeed another baby, although slightly nervous about the possibility of having another baby with oral ties and the initial pain that had caused. Elliot was born at home with our midwife so skin to skin, breastfeeding, and bonding was such an integral part of his birth which I know was a huge factor in getting us started in the right direction. Although he was a sleepy newborn, Elliot took to nursing right away. I woke him every two hours to feed at night, even though he would’ve slept much longer if I would’ve let him. He was also so efficient at transferring milk. He would get a full feeding in 15 minutes or less, something that had never happened with Isla! I even asked my midwife if she thought he was getting enough milk because of how quickly he would finish, but since he was gaining weight and was an overall very happy and content baby we just chalked it up to him being an efficient little boy. 

It wasn’t until Elliot was about a month old that he started having stomach issues. He would constantly spit up very large amounts of milk, have a rock hard stomach, and go in spells of being noticeable uncomfortable. I noticed his latch was letting in air on the sides and reached out to my lactation consultant to see what she suggested. She was able to spot a tongue tie on him but also noted that a lot of babies his age go through a stage where their digestive systems are working in over drive which can cause some discomfort. I wanted to get a professionals opinion on the severity of his tie so I booked a consultation appointment with the same pediatric dentist that revised Isla’s ties two years prior. I wasn’t in very much pain when nursing Elliot, almost none at all, but I could tell that he was uncomfortable, but to my surprise the dentist told me that Elliot didn’t just have 1 tie, he had 6! He had cheek ties, upper and lower lip ties, and a tongue tie. She told me that it was one of the most severe cases she had ever seen and was so surprised that Elliot was at such a good weight. She recommended that all ties get revised as soon as possible. I was honestly a little shocked when I had heard that. Elliot seemed okay to me except for his spitting up issues. He slept well and was very content and alert. My gut was telling me that it wasn’t necessary for all 6 of his ties to be revised. I ended up reaching out to our chiropractor to get a second opinion. She strongly urged me to wait it out and try alternative methods to help loosen his ties without going through a revision. We started seeing her for adjustments a few times a week right away. I added in bodywork and craniosacral therapy appointments as well. I also cut dairy and other common allergy foods out of my diet (it didn’t change anything though). Week after week we could all see such a huge improvement in Elliot’s latch, his mouth range, and his over all digestive health. Just 1.5 months in and you never would’ve known he had 6 oral ties and was considered one of the worst cases the dentist had ever seen. Looking back I am so incredibly glad that we went an alternative route to getting his ties revised. 

I think the most important thing that breastfeeding two children has taught me is that here is no right or wrong way to do things. I wholeheartedly believe that I made the right decision to get Isla’s ties revised, and I also know that Elliot is quite honestly the happiest baby I have ever met even though we chose not to revise his ties. With Elliot I have tried to do things more holistically and it’s opened my eyes to some of the mainstream practices that are so overdone, a big one being oral tie revisions. But like I said before, there is no clearcut right or wrong answer. Each child is different, each family and their circumstances are different. 

But now here we are, 14 months later. Elliot is the happiest and healthiest baby I have ever met. He nurses great, eats any food imaginable, and is just an overall calm and go with the flow little boy. I don’t know what our breastfeeding journey looks like for the future, but if I can say one thing, I absolutely love quietly nursing my sweet boy to sleep each night. Slowly rocking him in his chair while his little fingers gently lay on my chest until his long eyelashes cast a shadow onto his round cheeks, then his eyes close and his breaths become slow and deep. And just like that, he’s in a deep sleep. It is such a sweet bond that I will never forget. The days are so long, but these calm little moments that we get to have with our children at the end of everyday are what breaths life back into motherhood. 

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Here’s a compilation of the products that I would 100% recommend to anyone who plans to breastfeed! I’ve used each and every one of these items through the past 3.5 years. 

*affiliate links*

Photograpy by @addieandkayphotography and @mkphotography_va