I've spent this month sharing a lot about breastfeeding. The nutrition, the science and the updated guidelines. So it felt right to share my own story too.
Because it hasn't been straightforward.
With Goldie, I had mastitis twice. And even as a clinical nutritionist who knows exactly what mastitis is, how it progresses, and what to do, it still took me out. Knowing the theory doesn't make the fever, the chills, or the sheer speed of it any less brutal in the moment.
What I'm grateful for is knowing what to do immediately. Lymphatic drainage massage, getting a breast ultrasound and keeping on top of my supplements to support my immune system through it. It was tough at the time but I managed to avoid antibiotics twice. Sheer relief.
And then at three months, Goldie started refusing the breast.
Honestly, that one hit harder than the mastitis. There's something about your baby turning away from you that logic doesn't really touch. I knew clinically what was happening, I understood the mechanics of breast refusal but in those moments, clinical knowledge and mother's heart are two very different things. A month of persisting, lactation consultant appointments, many tears, second-guessing, trying different positions, wondering if this was the end of our feeding journey.
It wasn't.
We worked through it. And now at seven months postpartum, we're still breastfeeding and genuinely going strong.
I share this not to suggest pushing through is always the right answer, it isn't and your journey is yours entirely. But I know how isolating those hard stretches feel. And I want you to know that the woman behind this brand has lived them too.
Whatever your feeding story looks like, it's valid. All of it.
Katherine x