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Sarah-Jane Bailey
Hello! My name is Sarah-Jane, I’m 25 years old and have just given birth to my third baby, a little boy named Patrick on the 26th of Feb. My other children are Caedyn age 4 and Isobel age 2.5. I have been married to my wonderful husband Rhys for 5 years and we live in the outer south eastern suburbs.
Before having kids I worked as a nurse and am also currently a Uni student again (deferred for now while Patrick is still so new), so our lives a very busy!
Breastfeeding for me was one of those things I assumed would come easily and naturally with having a baby. I never did any preparation while pregnant with my first two because I was sure I would just put my baby on my breast and that would be that, However that has definitely not been my experience!
My first baby was born with a condition called Pierre Robin Sequence which meant he was born with a cleft palate and a very small lower jaw making it physically impossible for him to create any suction. This meant breastfeeding was impossible and he was fed formula through a special needs bottle.
When I had my second baby I assumed if all was normal with this bub then we would have no issues and go on to breastfeed successfully. This time a combination of being discharged too early from hospital, lack of knowledge, lack of support and VERY badly damaged nipples resulted in me only being able to feed her for a few days before it all got to much.
When I found out I was pregnant this time around I made sure to arm myself with as much knowledge as possible and suss out what supports were available well before my baby was due. I became a member of the ABA and attended a breastfeeding education class with my husband as well as doing lots and lots of reading about breastfeeding.
I heard about this trial through a friend and thought it sounded really interesting and like something that could be really beneficial for women like me who had struggled with breastfeeding, and with a baby due at just the right time I was extremely excited to be a part of it all!
I’m looking forward to seeing what the next few weeks hold for baby Patrick and I in regards to our breastfeeding and look forward to trying out this new technology, I feel very lucky to have this extra support this time around!