Chris

My name is Chris Simon, and I had my breast reduction in 1993 at age 30. I had a total of 1900 grams per side removed, for a grand total of nearly 8 1/2 pounds.

My daughter Juliette was born January 2, 1998. I tried nursing exclusively, but only for a very brief time. At one week of age, she had lost way too much weight, so we started supplementing. I made a personal choice at the time to supplement with bottles. We were able to continue nursing, but not for as long as I would have liked. Juliette was done with daytime nursing by about 4 months. She would only take bottles then. She continued to night nurse until 11 months, mainly for comfort, as my supply dropped drastically after the daytime weaning. I took herbs sporadically to increase supply. I estimate that I produced about 25% of her needs at best. I consider our nursing relationship a success, though I craved more.

Katrina was born June 5, 2000. I decided that this time, I would learn to use an at-the-breast supplementer and not use bottles at all if possible. I chose to purchase the Lact-Aid system before she was born and learned to assemble and fill it before it was needed. We started supplementing a few days after birth. I'm thrilled to have a baby who was totally fed at the breast! She never had a single bottle. I took domperidone for 18 months, and estimate that I provided over 50% of her milk at my peak. Katrina is now 2 years old. She voluntarily stopped taking the Lact-Aid for supplement at 22 months, and is still nursing many times per day. She is very verbal and is able to tell me how much she likes nursing, and that there's "yummy milk" there for her, which is so wonderful to hear after all those months of hard work and doubt! I value the nursing relationship we have very much, and appreciate all of the support from BFAR over the past 5 years that have made it possible for us to reach this point. I consider my nursing Katrina a complete and total success. Breastfeeding is about so much more than just food!

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