(2/2) “I was 16 when I had my first born, being a teen mom was hard. A lot of people would see I had a newborn and ask how old he was and the conversation always seemed to end with a comment like “oh you look so young”. I never understood what that had to do with anything. It doesn’t change my ability to do what I set out to do in life, it just means I met my child a little earlier in life than most. But at the end of the day I went to school, I finished college, I support my family and now I am happily married with 4 kids.

When my second child was born I was working and at school full time, and my first kid was 17 months old.  It was brutal, really really hard. I felt empowered because I got it done, but I was pumping in my car during the 15min breaks between classes and then I would nurse my daughter when we were together. I was in school from 9am-2pm, and then worked 11pm-8am in a call center overnight. It wasn’t demanding work and I had the luxury of being able to pump at my desk which was great, but it was a lot to maintain. Pumping, washing parts and storing milk with everything else going on. Eventually when she was about 8 months old I embraced her using formula while I was at work and school, and we continued to breastfeed when we were together until she was 22 months old.”

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Ashlan Taylor at Portland Birth Stories
Portland, Oregon
www.portlandbirthstories.com