New mother Joanne Larby is giving her followers an update after the birth of her son River in an Instagram Q&A.
Joanne gave birth to her son River with her fiancé on the third of February, she revealed her son’s name “River Larby O’Flynn” in an Instagram caption shortly after his birth.
During her Q&A Joanne described River as “a gorgeous alert, chilled, determined and HUNGRY little boy,” how sweet!
The influencer opened up about her experience breastfeeding to followers explaining, “Thankfully [it’s going] really great now. I found breastfeeding so difficult straight after surgery; lack of mobility, pain, hospital environment. No book can teach you what a clustering baby can!
“The second night he fed solidly from 7pm until 4am and I honestly thought the dawn would never come. I cried and cried thinking I couldn’t do it. He had a really strong latch and my nipples were in agony.”
Continuing she added; “Once my milk came in things got a little easier, and then they got hard again – finding positions for longer feeds, pumping to get him back to birth weight, and strengthening his suckle…I’ll chat through it all another day and the things that really helped me because it is tough.”
Joanne has also touched on her labour story which she admits was not easy, when a follower asked if she’d be comfortable sharing she said, “I absolutely will at some point; it was the most difficult and upsetting, yet empowering and miraculous few days I’ve ever experienced. For now I’m just taking the time to process it all, make peace with how the birth went, enjoy our beautiful little boy and heal.”
She has previously opened up a little about the birth experience, getting real about her struggles she wrote, “One week of River and one week postpartum. One unexpected 26 hour labour induction, emergency c-section, infection from a catheter, bruised limbs from anti clot and anti d injections, a taste of baby blues, the challenges of a first time breastfeeding journey… and I can safely say I’ve barely hit the fourth trimester walking,” she said.
Luckily she is enjoying the experience of parenting, ” “Parenthood is a beautiful and wild ride – people say nothing can prepare you for it and it’s true. Your life completely changes overnight; it’s a whirlwind of emotions, challenges, magic and completely surreal moments,” she said.