Rouk’s a mum of two. She breastfed both her children, but that’s not to say the journey was always easy. We caught up to talk about bringing up her babies, Wilson and Winter.

Before having her babies, Rouk had read up on the benefits of breastfeeding and knew she wanted to give it a go. But nothing prepared her for what it would actually be like.

While she was given support at the hospital, it took her a while to build up her confidence with it.

‘I didn’t realise it would be as hard and painful. And life-consuming… The hospital staff were helpful. But also slightly aggressive with it. They wanted me just to do it. I can remember being taught how to hold my baby like a rugby ball.’

‘It was about perseverance to some degree. I could have easily given up after a few days in hospital. The day I went home with my first, I was like, ‘I can’t do this’. And my husband said, ‘Just wait until we get home and you can relax, and try then’. And that what literally what it took. It was so much easier in my own environment.’

After battles with breast pain, (and some life-saving nipple balm!) she managed to find her flow.

‘With my son, Wilson I breastfed for 21 months. I did a full year, day and night and then I was done. I wanted my life back and my clothes back. By that point, it just felt completely normal and natural. I was happy to do it anywhere, any time and it was absolutely fine.’ 

‘After that, I just carried on at night. He didn’t like cow’s milk and I had this intense guilt that he wouldn’t get enough nutrients if I didn't continue breastfeeding. But he would probably have been fine!’

Wilson was three and a half when Rouk’s daughter, Winter was born. She was born four weeks premature and was so small that she couldn’t latch onto the boob straight away, so Rouk had to pump to start with.

‘Winter was in hospital for a week. She had jaundice and was in an incubator, and the whole thing was awful. I used the hospital-grade pumps and the only time I got to hold her was when I was feeding. ‘Initially, it was still just as painful. But feeding was generally so much easier the second time around.’ 

Despite the rocky start, Winter grew out of the tiny baby phase very quickly. 

‘She was 13 months before I stopped breastfeeding. I had an oversupply of milk, which was good in some ways, but I had bags of the stuff in the fridge and freezer. If only I’d known about milk banks back then. I wish I’d kept it and donated it to the hospital. It would have been much better than pouring it down the sink after doing all that work!’

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What highs and lows have you had while breastfeeding? Share how motherhood’s going for you @my_wren.