When Sarah Watwood's baby was just 6 weeks old, her mom learned some devastating news: Not only does her newborn have sagittal craniosynostosis, a condition where the plates in her skull fused too early, but she also required invasive skull surgery. This mom of four girls had six weeks to mentally prepare for Norrah's operation that would release the plates in her skull to give her brain adequate space to grow, but her anxiety only increased as the day finally approached.
"The day of was hard. Very hard. I handed my infant daughter over to the surgeons and went to the surgical waiting room," she shared with Breastfeeding Mama Talk's Facebook page. "As far as support went, I was alone … Finally, after about four hours, they called me to come nurse her. Words cannot describe how overjoyed I was to finally see her pretty little face and to hold her beautiful, swollen self. They said they had tried lots of techniques to calm her but she must just want momma. Were they ever right."
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As soon as they placed Norrah into her mom's arms, the recovering baby instantly relaxed and began to root. "Her mouth was so dry. As soon as I turned her head towards me, she latched," Sarah wrote. "I almost cried. From joy of course."
The proud mama snapped a few photos and shared them with her supporters to show her pure joy and relief that her baby made it through the operation. However, some online users actually criticized this breastfeeding mom. Sarah told CafeMom that one woman asked if it was necessary to post a photo of her breast on social media, while another questioned whether she knew how to cover up — and then accused her of lacking respect.
"It hurt my heart to see such a comment bashing my decision to nurse her in that moment," Sarah wrote in her post. "Maybe it was a lack of education on the subject that led [the commenter] to say what she did or simply a lack of support. Either way, I know I'm doing the right thing. I know I'm providing [my daughter] exactly the comfort and nourishment she needs to grow and heal. Just as I did with her three big sisters, I will continue to nurse my sweet girl, despite the comments, harsh words, or judgments."
