I won the Breastfeeding Battle!

Baby has always had trouble latching so for six weeks I'd pump and supplement with formula with a bottle.

At 4 weeks of pure bottle feeding, a nurse practitioner saw I had an appointment with a lactation consultant and you know what she said? "He'll never latch. He's had it too easy with the bottle, but I guess you can meet with her anyway."

Anyway, I was resilient.

After meeting a few times with the lactation consultant and going to BF support groups, I got some great tips to get baby to latch.

1. Feed him with Breastflow bottles. They have a shorter nipple and require baby to suck more like if he's on the breast.

2. Do some mouth exercises with him: put your left index finger and press lightly on his chin. When his mouth is open, insert your clean right index finger into his mouth and press lightly on the roof of his mouth with the soft side of your finger. This helps bring his toungue out and gets him sucking.

3. BF using a nipple shield and make sure his body is well supported and facing you.

4. Don't frustrate baby if he is too hungry. Do the mouth exercise then give him an oz of food then try to put him on. Drop some milk onto your nipple as he roots for it. If he starts crying/screaming, give him more bottle.

5. Be positive and don't give up. I have nothing against exclusive bottle feeding but if you desire to breastfeed just keep trying.