"Lexi supported me through the transition"

I had an amazing home birth, supported unwaveringly by the superb team from East Surrey Hospital.

I was on top of the world - and then the feeding trouble began.

I'd had problems with my first baby and was determined to make a success of breast feeding second time around.

I was prepared for sore nipples - I'd given birth twice without any drugs so I'm not averse to a bit of pain for the right reasons. But unfortunately the pain went beyond anything I could cope with.

I came to East Surrey hospital for help - and despite not having delivered there the feeding team were absolutely invaluable. They helped with my latch - but that didn't help the pain. Finally Lexi diagnosed tongue tie - something that had been missed on three specific checks previously by people outside of her team. She advised on how to get it sorted.

Unfortunately my feeding issues went beyond the tongue tie, and after 7 weeks of pain and damage that went way beyond the physical I decided to had to call it a day. I expected the help from the feeding team and Lexi to end there - after all they are there to support breast feeding I assumed. Contrary to my expectations the support remained steadfast. Lexi supported me through the transition - and went above and beyond to help not just with the practicalities - but with my emotions and my psyche which was really suffering. I didn't want to stop and saw myself as a failure - but Lexi made me see what I had done so far and that I hadn't failed.

I can't thank the team and specifically Lexi enough. I'm not sure what I would have done without this invaluable resource. The doctor had asked me to come back to see her as she was concerned about post natal depression. On reflection I may have been moving towards that scenario - but it was the support of Lexi and the feeding team which prevented that becoming a reality.