Pediatricians and lactation consultants are humans, like us, who don’t have all of the answers to all of the problems. The difference is that they’re fixers. They want to have answers for you and help you with whatever knowledge, however limited, that they do have. They tend to give advice anyway, instead of simply saying, “I saw that Mandy blogger’s video about her tongue tie/breastfeeding struggle. Your story sounds like hers, but I skipped the continuing ed. on that topic. My colleagues told me it was unicorns and make believe. Sorry, I don’t know anything about tethered oral tissue.” I’d hug the provider that just said “I don’t know.” 

My story isn’t incredibly special or unique. In fact, many, many parents have told me theirs is very similar to mine. I hate that for them. I followed my gut (my very weak, sensitive, emotional, new parent gut) and kept looking for answers. I kept the mantra “breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt” in my head and also was never ok with the idea that my milk and my body wasn’t right for my baby. That idea just didn’t sit right with  me. 

The person helping you take care of your baby should be concerned with more than just your infant’s weight gain. Listen to your gut when talking with a provider about your baby and your goals. They should be willing to work with you if your goal is to continue to breastfeed, and they should quickly refer out if they encounter something that you want or ask about but isn’t their specialty. So many times I left a pediatrician or ENT office in tears, but in hindsight they should have been distraught over not knowing how to help me and giving me archaic information. Information about your baby should make sense and feel right to you. If not, your provider should be confident enough to encourage you wanting a second opinion. Keep shopping. You’re the parent, and no one else is going to put your baby #1 but you!

Here is how my journey began