Opening up!
Ashley Tisdale wants to help end the stigma against formula, so she is speaking about her own experience attempting to breastfeed her 3-month-old daughter Jupiter!
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Penning a heartfelt and vulnerable article on her health and wellness website Frenshe on Thursday, the High School Musical alum began:
“I wish someone would’ve told me how hard breastfeeding really was. You see your friends who are new moms feeding their babies make it look so easy. But no one tells you how hard it really is. I think there’s this pressure around the subject of breastfeeding, and that those who do it are the best moms, but that’s not true.”
Ashley’s troubles with breastfeeding started day one as a mom, making the whole situation that much more stressful! When all the actress wanted to do was create a bond with her daughter, “Jupiter was having trouble latching” while the family was still in the hospital. The 35-year-old reflected:
“I probably should’ve taken that as a hint, but instead I kept on trying, even though I could tell Jupiter was frustrated. This made me upset because I just wanted to have a good experience with feeding her for the first time.”
And things didn’t get better…
“Now, let’s cut to day four of me pumping milk. At this point, I was so over trying to figure out the latch and was giving her breast milk by the bottle. Thankfully, she LOVED the bottle. That was the moment I realized that maybe breastfeeding isn’t meant for us. I pumped all day, and never looked forward to pumping. I would look at the pump like it held me back from really being in the moment with Juju and enjoying my first weeks of motherhood.”
Wow… It sounds like the former Disney Channel star was really struggling! She even told her husband Christopher French at one point:
“I feel like we’re striving and not thriving with this breast milk situation.”
Aw! Major props to the singer for being honest! Wanting to make a change, the couple researched different products to find the perfect formula for their baby’s needs, landing on a brand called Enspire. Explaining this unnecessarily controversial decision, Tisdale continued:
“If I wasn’t going to breastfeed, I wanted to make sure Jupiter was getting the best nutrition from her formula in her early, formative months. After Chris and I did a ton of research on the important ingredients she needed to support her brain development and immune health, we started feeding her Enspire, the closest formula to breast milk. What set Enspire apart from the rest was an ingredient called ‘lactoferrin’, it’s a protein also found in breast milk that no other formula currently has added as an ingredient.”
Wait, is this a recommendation or an ad? Well, if it works… (Do all your research, moms!)
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Most important of all, the transition from breastfeeding to formula has given the family “peace of mind” and the mom a chance to focus on what matters — her mini-me!!
“The thing about formula is that you still have that same special moment with your baby that you do with breastfeeding. You’re still looking into your baby’s eyes, whether it’s with your breast or a bottle. I know it’s super popular right now to post an Instagram picture of you breastfeeding, but what about the other moms who don’t have that experience? The moms who try it, and it just doesn’t work out?”
Who wouldn’t want to look into that cutie’s eyes?! We love that Ashley took a moment to get real about breastfeeding. It’s so important to stop judging new mommas for the decisions they make for their little ones! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments (below)!
[Image via Ashley Tisdale/Instagram]
The post Ashley Tisdale Gets Brutally Honest About Her Difficulties With Breastfeeding appeared first on Perez Hilton.
