Constance Marie's Breastfeeding Story

The Stats:

Name: Constance Marie
Age: 44
Occupation: Actress
Children: Luna Marie, 1 1/2 years old

TB: What’s your breastfeeding story? What led you to the decision to breastfeed?

I have one baby, and her name is Luna Marie, and I worship the ground she walks on. I breastfed her to the best of my ability for 11 months. I breastfed in the car, in bed, in a recliner, once almost in an elevator, at the park… anywhere where she was hungry.

When I first started breastfeeding, I was just going to try it and see if it worked for me and my schedule. I had seen a video of a baby that actually migrated on a mom’s boob to the breast right after birth. It was this weird, kind of primal thing, and I thought, “Hmm… I wonder if my baby will do that.”

So, the baby came out and they put her on me, and I thought, “Wow, this is so amazing, oh my god, I’m in so much pain, but this is so amazing.” After that I thought, “Well, let’s see if she can migrate to the boob. Let’s see if she really wants it.” I put her on there, and I thought, there’s no way, she’s just a little blob. And she slowly started to make her way to my boob, and I thought okay, this has got to be so primal and so natural, that I have to do it. She wants it; I’m going to give it to her.

For somebody who wasn’t so gung-ho about breastfeeding, it made me feel like I was of such a service and doing something so natural. She was really, really healthy, had zero ear infections. She loved it, and it made me proud.

TB: So all in all, you enjoyed breastfeeding?

CM: I loved breastfeeding; but pumping was my nemesis. It actually helped me bring my milk up, though. I mean it’s amazing what our bodies can do, and as a woman whose cups did not runneth over, when they did run over with milk it was looking pretty good. It was the holistic boob job. I loved it. I breastfed as long as I could up until 11 months, and then I had to move on over to a little formula; but you know, you do what you can.

As a woman, I felt amazing breastfeeding because before, nobody ever gave my boobs that much attention, but once I started breastfeeding, I really got it. I thought, “Oh my god — this is what they’re for. They can keep a human being alive for years.” Well, at least until they need food. And I thought that is amazing. So now when I look at them, I’m proud.

TB: What do you think are the biggest selling points of breastfeeding?

CM: Number one, it’s cheaper. You don’t have to buy all that formula. You don’t have to carry all of those bottles. It’s much more low-maintenance. You get an amazing rack, and your baby’s immune system is going to be so much stronger and so much healthier, and if you think about it, why would you feed her the milk of another animal that’s three times her size and on steroids and antibiotics? Hmm… something’s wrong with that.

TB: What was the hardest part about breastfeeding for you?

CM: The hard part about breastfeeding was knowing how much milk was actually coming out. I wish that they had little gauges so you could be like oh, it’s halfway full. That would be awesome. Can we work on that?

When that baby latched on, it was like toe-curling pain, but she looked so cute at the same time, so I thought, really looks matter a lot more than pain. I’m an actress, I’m used to it. After a while, you could bounce a quarter off of my nipples, and I would feel nothing.

You can read more about Constance Marie and her baby, Luna Marie, by following her blog on PEOPLE.com. Check it out >>

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