Unfiltered Story #18464

(I had an emergency C-section to deliver my daughter, who couldn’t get the hang of breastfeeding no matter what we tried. I was tired, in pain, and heartbroken by how hard she screamed and fought when we tried to get her to latch. The other women in the maternity ward when I delivered were all new mothers as well so we were all very quiet, but the lady who came into the bed across from me the day after was just in for tests, was expecting her third, and very friendly with everyone. On the third morning of lots of pain, very little sleep, and worrying about Baby getting enough milk, she would not stop crying and I hadn’t been able to shower or eat anything..)

Lady: “Ahh, we’re just not happy today. Did you get to eat anything?”

Me: “No, but it’s alright. I’ve got something here for later.”

Lady: “Do you want me to take her for a while so you can eat?”

Me: “Would you mind? she just won’t settle for me at all..”

Lady: “Not at all! You get some breakfast, we’ll be fine.”

(I didn’t know her at all, but we ended up talking quite a lot – it turns out that she went to college with someone my mother used to work with, and she really reassured me when I made the decision to bottle-feed. She went home after another day, but the kindness of a mother who was so like my own and had her own babies to worry about without a stranger’s troubles really made a huge difference.)