Meet the Mums: Lauren
“With GG boobs, I thought breastfeeding was never going to work for me.”
For first-time mum Lauren, 30, the breastfeeding experiences of friends and family had convinced her that as a fuller-busted mum, breastfeeding was a no-go.
“A really close friend of mine who has also got big boobs found that her milk never came in. It wasn’t something that either my mum or grandma did and I almost wrote myself off thinking that I wouldn’t be able to.”
She was wrong.
“I did loads of classes online and read all the books I could to give myself a chance. Before going into hospital for my planned C-section, I even roped in my husband to help me hand express and collect colostrum to take with us. We used to do it in front of the TV watching weird police chase shows.”
When baby Bonnie, now 15-months-old, was born by planned c-section because she was breech, the pair’s first feed was a dream but things became a bit more complicated after that.
“We had immediate skin-to-skin in theatre and she was born to one of my favourite songs. Belly births really can be magical. She latched straight away and it definitely felt like something was happening but I lost a lot of blood during surgery and it wasn’t until Bonnie was eight-weeks-old that I was told that it can impact milk supply.”
Lauren needed to supplement Bonnie with formula feeds until her milk eventually arrived but Bonnie struggled to learn to latch and Lauren found that big boobs were a bit of a pain to navigate for a small baby.
“There were so many times in the early weeks when my husband and I would talk about throwing the towel in with breastfeeding but we persevered. We had several teary visits to lactation specialists who weren’t massively helpful but thankfully I reached out to a breastfeeding support charity near me in Kent and was advised to try using nipple shields to help Bonnie to latch. She self-weaned off them at about 16 weeks and we never looked back.”
Wren to the rescue
Wren’s Double Hands-Free Breast Pump is an essential in Lauren’s home.
“I was so nervous about using hands free pumps with bigger boobs. I had visions of not getting great suction and fit or of horrible spillages but my Wren pumps are a godsend. They’ve enabled me to build my freezer stash and maintain my supply as Bonnie has got older. She doesn’t feed very much at all now, only if she’s really hungry or poorly but having the pumps gave me so much flexibility, especially when I went back to work.”
Journalist Lauren says she feels incredibly lucky to have been supported by her employers to continue her breastfeeding journey when she went back to work, after they provided her with a special nursing room and mini-fridge.
“I work really odd shifts so being able to pump privately and store milk has been a huge help.”
She says her top tips for breastfeeding include “educating yourself about breastfeeding and local support options, getting your tribe on-side and stocking up with snacks and essentials”.
“A good breastfeeding pillow, the horseshoe-shaped kind are a godsend if you’ve got a bigger chest. Knowing baby is supported by the pillow can free up an extra hand to get the right positioning for a good latch. The “Flipple” was a game-changer for us!”
Lauren says she still struggles with mum-guilt when working and trying to juggle a busy career, caring for her daughter and running the home she shares with husband Andy.
“I’m learning to get better at giving myself permission to do other things that make me- ME. I’m so incredibly proud of my breastfeeding journey and I really hope I can feed again with any future babies!”
Read more Mum Stories in our Nest; meet April and read about the highs and lows in her breastfeeding journey.
