I always knew I wanted to breastfeed my child(ren) and I just thought it ‘happened’ naturally…how wrong I was! It is so difficult but also so rewarding and satisfying knowing you are giving your child the best start in life – something I could not have done without the Thompson method, Beautiful Breastfeeding programme and Dr Robyn and Susanna’s help, encouragement and support. I deliberated about buying into the Thompson method resources for a while – surely I didn’t need a course to know how to feed my baby?! I was desperate to get it right and once I had joined and asked a few questions on the page, Susanna asked if I want to join her Beautiful Breastfeeding programme. I said yes, and, if I hadn’t, I know I wouldn’t have looked through all the resources which were so vital in helping me to breastfeed successfully as I tried to get everything ready for my first child. It was the perfect way to go through the most important things like how to hold and position your baby and be able to ask questions. My eyes began to open to all that was involved. The education I received from the course was invaluable as I learnt about my body, how milk production works (wow – your body is amazing!), how to achieve a good latch and so much more! I was able to choose to incorporate important things into my birth plan I would never have known about, like the 3 Golden Hours, insist on no interventions and start that first important feed, understanding how to work with my sleepy baby following a c-section because he was breach and feeling reassured that I knew what to do. Following the birth of my baby, it was all going so well as he latched and started his first feed. Then, about an hour after my baby was born, I had a major haemorrhage, lost consciousness and everything started to go wrong! Baby ended up skin-to-skin with Dad and when I woke 3 hours later, he was starving. Thankfully my birth plan had stated no formula, so there had been no intervention, but I struggled to get colostrum (I hadn’t managed to express any before his birth), managing only a couple of drops a feed. And so it began… He lost 15% of his birth weight and had urate crystals in his urine, so the pressure was on, having been told I was “starving” my baby, “making him ill”, was going to “put him in intensive care” because he wasn’t getting enough food and I “needed” to give him formula. Thankfully, I had the angel that was Susanna on Whatsapp messenger. She called on the advice of a midwife and they reassured me that I could do it without the help of formula, they advised me to express and supplement with syringe feeding. They gave me to the courage and confidence to resist the ‘quick fix’ and pressure from the hospital, and keep trying. For a week I barely slept, persevered trying to latch my baby for a feed, then expressing and topping him up – determined not to give him formula! We did it! On day 4 my milk came in and, on day 6, he had gained some of his birth weight so we were allowed to go home with a feeding plan. Then the nipple trauma started! Again, Susanna supported me with video calls and Dr Robyn was able to observe a feed too and helped me with fine-tuning. Following Susanna’s suggestion, I took my baby to a chiropractor (I wish I had done this sooner!) and after 14 long weeks, we finally had some comfortable feeds having navigated fast flow, ignored people saying that my milk wasn’t enough when he kept crying for more, and avoided mastitis following multiple milk blebs and blocked ducts (again, the advice was invaluable – I wouldn’t have had a clue!) When our journey began, I wanted to get to 6 weeks. Then I wanted to get to 6 months, then until he got teeth(!), and 10 months on, we are still going strong. I cannot thank Susanna and her Beautiful Breastfeeding course enough, Dr Robyn for her time and the Thompson Method. It makes me sad when I hear so many people say they have not ‘been able to’ breastfeed, and have given up because they haven’t ‘got enough milk’. I know I would’ve done the same if I hadn’t have had access to the resources, seen the questions and responses on the Facebook page and been able to ask Susanna for advice and resources every time I was unsure (which has been a lot – she has had the patience of a saint!) So with the most sincere, heartfelt thanks to everyone involved– thank you for helping me to give my baby the best gift ever – our beautiful breastfeeding journey!