Your Cart is Empty
free shipping on orders placed over $80 in australia
Before sharing my own breastfeeding journey with you I’d like to start by saying; to all our Queen bees out there - those who are breastfeeding, those who have chosen not to, those who can't and those who are struggling relentlessly - you are ALL doing an incredible job at raising your little bees. Because really, it's the love we pour into them that matters most.
As new mum’s, whether to your first little bee or to your second or third, there is a lot of pressure around breastfeeding. I really felt that too. From the media, or the opinions of well-meaning mums, or (not so) well-meaning mums online… it seems everyone has something to say about breastfeeding. Well, Beetanicals are here to say to all women with the incredibly important and huge task of raising our little bees, we bee-lieve in showing kindness and empathy towards each other and supporting every Queen Bee to raise her little bees in whatever way is true for her.
Sometimes it can appear like everything is going well to the outside world as we don’t always want to (or have time to) share our ups and downs in our motherhood journey. I want to share my story to help other mums know they’re not alone in their ups and downs, and its very normal for some things not to come naturally in motherhood. It doesnot make you a bad mum if something takes more hard work or doesn’t go the way you expected. We are all learning together. Support is the biggest thing we can offer.
My Breastfeeding Journey
For me breastfeeding was very challenging upfront. With our first-born Cooper I had a lot of trouble and was guided by an amazing lactation consultant who helped work through the challenges. Also the support of my sister who had the same feeding challenge as me - nipple vasospasm.
Nipple vasospasm isn’t very common. Vasospasm happens when blood vessels tighten and go into spasm, so the blood doesn’t flow normally. Mothers with vasospasm of the nipple feel sharp pain, burning or stinging in the nipple. I can tell you there was a lot of crying through the pain in the early days! It did start to get easier for me as time went on.
Cooper had a health problem (very happy healthy baby still) but I was determined through all the pain that I wanted to keep going in case he needed an operation in the early days and to help as much as I could. I almost stopped a few times but then it would give me a break and we kept working through.
I didn’t have Beetanicals Boo-Bee balm created at this point, so I used another brand and alsoPhilips Avent breast shells (highly recommend!) which sped up any healing so much. The creation of our own natural edible breastfeeding balm was starting to evolve in my mind. I also required a medication specifically for the vasospasm and I found I only needed that for the first few months.
Cooper and I continued on our breastfeeding journey, the tears and pain eased, and we lasted 22 months. I was really proud to have stuck with it for us, but it definitely wasn’t an easy road early on and I completely empathise with women who find the pain overwhelming, which can be due to all kinds of different reasons.
18 months ago, our second baby bee Toby was born. I experienced the same challenges with nipple vasospasm again, but this time round at least we new upfront what it was so I could be supported. Also by this time, we had createdBeetanicals Boo-Bee Balm. Which was an absolute life-saver in reducing the soreness in the early days! I still consulted with the amazing lactation consultant again as it’s so important to know you have the latch right to eliminate risks of soreness, and also used the Philips Avent breast shells a few times when I was at home. These coupled with our super nourishing Boo-Bee Balm meant the healing time was much faster.
I’m still now breastfeeding Toby at 18 months, but mostly just in the evenings and through the night which works well for us.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to breastfeed our two boys as I know there are many women who long to and can’t. I also know there are many women who long to but experience overpowering pain, which I know can be so disheartening and I truly bee-lieveBeetanicals Boo-bee Balm can help those mums with their journey.
All our journey’s are different, but whichever road we take, we are all aiming for the same destination of raising happy and healthy children, and we can only try our best along the way. I am so proud and grateful to be part of this powerful community of Queen Bees, and hope that Beetanicals can support you through your own unique journey of motherhood. And what a bee-autiful journey it is.💛
From our hive to your home,
Tanya x
P.S. If you enjoyed reading this article, please do follow us on Instagram and Facebook @beetanicals where Tanya shares regular product information, skincare and family wellness tips, and bee-hind the scenes updates from our growing family business. We hope to connect with you there!
