I am once again sharing my personal breastfeeding journey, this time about my 2nd baby. I was right in the middle of starting my podcast when my baby was diagnosed with "failure to thrive" because of his weight gain issues. I had plenty of milk - had even donated! - but here he was below 1st percentile, struggling to gain weight. That was around 6 months, but before that we dealt with what I thought was a dairy allergy that turned out to be a parasite! I didn't give up on breastfeeding even when I had so many reasons to stop. We made it through and continued to nurse beyond 12 months.

When Bente Riehn was learning how to latch her first baby, a lactation consultant's advice changed the game for her. She learned how to feed in a natural, instinctive way, instead of a rigid position. From there, she went on to nurse her 2nd and 3rd babies for over 12 months each, even while struggling with an autoimmune disease. She talks about her move from the Netherlands to Texas, the cultural differences in birth and breastfeeding, and encouragement to not give up even when babies go on a nursing strike.

When she was 14 weeks pregnant with her first baby, Laurel Herron received devastating news that her baby would not be able to survive outside the womb. She continued plans to carry the baby to term, but at 17 weeks, baby Elijah's heart stopped. Hospital staff gave her instructions for drying up her milk, but Laurel decided instead to pump and donate her milk. She was able to pump for 3 months and donate to a milk bank. Today, a year later, she is nursing her rainbow baby, equipped with the lessons she learned about breastfeeding from that time, and continuing to remember and celebrate the life of her first child.