Stacey Solomon has being praised after opening up about not being able breastfeeding baby Rex.
The Loose Woman panelist has opened up to fans, revealing her heartbreak at not being able to breastfeed.
The mum-of-three, who welcomed baby Rex back in May with TV presenter boyfriend Joe Swash, shared a sweet image on her social media of her bottle-feeding her five-month-old son.
Opening up to her more than two million followers, the TV presenter revealed that a lot of people have been asking about whether she is still breastfeeding her infant son, writing, ‘It’s taken me a bit of time to feel okay about saying no.
‘I stopped a couple of months ago,’ she continued, ‘& I really struggled to come to terms with it & actually say it out loud.
‘Breastfeeding never happened for me the way that I imagined,’ Stacey went on. ‘I did my best to try & master it, but it wasn’t to be.’
Opening up about her efforts, Stacey revealed that when Rex was just five-days-old he ended up back in the hospital because of the amount of weight that he had lost.
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‘I ended up pumping in between feeds to make sure he put it back on so we could be discharged, then I continued this at home until he reached his birthweight.
‘I then tried to switch to exclusive breastfeeding,’ continued Stacey, ‘but whenever I did he lost weight again & It would break my heart to think that my own want to breastfeed was not helping my baby grow so I mix fed.’
The mum-of-three went on to say that as Rex grew and his demand for milk increased, her ‘boobs couldn’t keep up the supply’.
‘By the time I did two full days back at work without him on the boob or pumping my milk dried up,’ she continued, ‘& before I knew it my breastfeeding journey was over.’
Opening up about her struggle to come to terms with stopping breastfeeding, Stacey continued, ‘I felt sad for quite some time, every time he rooted my gut ached.
‘I felt like I’d failed & that I’d lost the chance to have that special time & bond with Rex. I felt like everyone else was going to feed him & I’d loose my baby. I felt like I should have done more to master it in the first 24 hours & I should have done more research & asked for help.
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‘But as time has gone on, I’ve realised the truth,’ she continued. ‘The truth is, I did my absolute best. Every baby is different. I’m so lucky I have a few wonderful breastfeeding memories & some women don’t get that chance😢.
‘I have an extremely special bond with Rex, one that would be there whether I breastfed or not, he grew in my tummy and we’ve known each other for a long time (we go way back😂)
‘I love bottle feeding,’ she added, ‘it’s nice to share the feeding with Joe & our family sometimes too, they’re not stealing him away, just helping & bonding too.
‘Doing things differently wouldn’t mean my journey would have been any different. He was a small, tired little pickle & he struggled to feed. But the most important thing is he was fed bottle/breast it doesn’t matter. Mamas u really are incredible. 🖤’.
Fans and followers praised the TV star for her candour, with the post raking up over 150,000 likes and thousands of comments in just a few hours.
‘So much love flying your way and to all the mums who would’ve really needed to read this post tonight!! Xxx,’ wrote Giovanna Fletcher, while Izzy Judd added, ‘Thank you for sharing your story, you’re not alone with that feeling. I remember seeing other mums breastfeeding and my heart ached that I couldn’t do the same for my little Kit. We all do our very best breast/bottle it doesn’t matter ❤️’.
