In honor of National Breastfeeding Week, I want to share my gratitude to a special team of people who helped make my breastfeeding experience possible, with the hope that it might inspire and empower new moms.

As women, we know that the changes our bodies go through on a regular basis can easily be attributed to an exhausting, painful, and emotional roller-coaster ride. If we don’t have understanding companions to share these struggles with, the ride is even more tumultuous.

I had a generally healthy and happy nursing experience since Charlie was born, and what it comes down to is that I respected myself and I accepted the help that was offered to me to make my nursing goals possible.

The Captain of my support team is my amazing husband, who was one of my biggest supporters from the beginning. He gave the nurses permission to extract the precious colostrum from my breast onto a plastic spoon for our newborn son while I was still asleep from my c-section and traumatic ovarian cyst removal. During my recovery, he was there for anything I needed, and 11 months later, he still is. He may not have lactating milk ducts, but he gets all the gold stars for his efforts.

The other rockstar boobie gurus that I need to thank are the incredible nurses and lactation staff at Exeter Hospital. These people are freaking super heroes, and if you allow them to enter your private space and do their jobs that they are so passionate about, they can help you succeed. After a long four days at the hospital, the staff was there when I needed them most. I was so exhausted that I truly felt like these women were true angels sent to help me fulfill an important mission that not every female is able to accomplish. If someone has a skill that I lack, I will gladly let them be the professionals and absorb their knowledge. We even had a follow up visit after we came home and our LC Nurse was the one who gave me hope when I was ready to give up. Having the ability to call any of the LC Nurses with questions or concerns is a valuable gift that Exeter Hospital gives to their patients. I didn’t attend any of the regular Breast Feeding Classes, but I have heard wonderful things about them.

Not being able to witness my first child’s delivery due to a failed spinal tap breaks my heart into a million pieces regularly, and the fact that I was so heavily medicated for days after Charlie and the melon-sized cyst were removed also doesn’t make for an ideal birth story. But what made the difference were the people who showed up following this traumatic event to help me get through those tough times so I could be present in the moment.

Breastfeeding is not easy and it is not always beautiful. We are regularly told how natural and special it is, but there are so many hidden variables that can easily make this task extremely challenging and impossible.

If you are a woman who struggled with nursing, I encourage you to put aside your frustrations and embrace the amazing gift of your love that you are showering them with 24/7. You are a miracle maker and you deserve all the joys that come along with being so incredibly special.