Never Surrender Blogfest

To celebrate her second book, SURRENDER, Elana Johnson is hosting a Never Surrender Blogfest, lasting all week.



We're supposed to share a time when we didn't give up.


I first thought of writing. I've worked hard, survived ups and downs and haven't ever surrendered...but I haven't accomplished all my writing goals yet either.


So, I want to share about a time I beat the odds with hard work, some luck and mostly plain old stubbornness.

I became a full-time working mom when my baby was six weeks old, but she never had a drop of formula. She had 100% breast milk. All from me.

A lot of you probably don't understand how unusual this is. I attended a breastfeeding support group, and the Lactation Specialist who led the group kept warning me, You'll probably have to supplement. It's okay. Everyone does.

But I didn't want to supplement. Why? Well, there are many benefits to breast milk...most convincing  were the IQ Studies...which, in all fairness, they are questioning now.

Still, the most important factor to me was screwing over the formula companies that have been know to do some unethical things to promote their products...I didn't want to give them one bloody red cent.

So, I did my research (loved this book), struggled through my child learning to feed (she liked to bite at first), pumped on the job (in the car and the office bathroom), breast infections (ouch), multiple night feedings (the whole year), and various methods and medications to increase my milk supply (Fenugreek smells horrible, but does work).

And we made it. After a year we had one "go-to-sleep" feeding, and she weaned herself at two years old.


I don't regret one moment of it.
I never doubted we could do it.
And, I never surrendered.


What about you? When was a time you didn't surrender?