Family Photographer Seattle | Meet Marquita
Part III Breast Feeding Awareness Month Marquita’s Journey
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“Being a mother has always been my lifelong dream, when I became pregnant almost 8 years ago I couldn’t wait to hold my precious little one and nurse him or her. That dream shattered into a million pieces after my daughter passed away after blessing me with her lovely grace 19 days after she was born from a rare congenital heart defect. Although I was never given the privilege of holding her in my arms and nursing her I pumped and stored my breastmilk everyday that she was in the NICU in hopes that one day she would be able to grow strong and thrive from my breastmilk.
After battling immeasurable grief and a bout with infertility I was blessed to become pregnant again, but this time things turned out differently. On June 25, 2012 I gave birth to a healthy 7lb 6oz baby girl. I was finally allowed to present my daughter with the most precious, life sustaining gift that I could give her… my breastmilk. I always imagined that breastfeeding would be like second nature that it would have some minor bumps but I would be a pro, but I was sadly mistaken. Struggles with nipple shields, soreness, and milk supply hit me swiftly with reality. But the amazing thing that brought me through all of the roadblocks was SUPPORT. I had an immense amount of support from my loving partner, my mother, and more importantly my local WIC office who spent over 2 hours with me and my tiny newborn latching and re-latching until we got it right.
Once we got the latch correct the soreness went away and I was able to relish in watching my beautiful baby girl nurse from my breasts and grow tremendously. Over the past 14 months I have struggled with doubt and fears inadequacy but when I look down into those big brown eyes and I hear her sounds of gulping all of those fears and doubts quickly fade away. Our breastfeeding dance started out very rocky but with a lot of support and determination we stuck it out and I am so happy that we did. Breastfeeding is the most amazing gift that I can give my daughter and breastfeeding her these past 14 months has been the most cherished gift she has given me.”
