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Tomorrow, Mira will be four months old. It's hard to believe that it has been that long, yet at the same time it feels like she's been a part of our lives forever. And tomorrow, I'll celebrate not only four months of life outside the womb, but also four months of breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding wasn't a success with Cordy. After she was born, she had a lot of trouble trying to feed. She would latch on for a moment, realize she wasn't getting much (just colostrum at that point), and then pull off and cry. By the third night in the hospital, her blood sugar had dropped low enough that the nurses insisted she take a bottle. After that first bottle, there was no going back. She liked the ease of bottles - breastfeeding was too much work for her.

We continued trying to breastfeed, and Cordy did eventually learn to latch on. But she still preferred the bottle, and would hold out for a bottle. With her lack of interest in breastfeeding, I pumped as much as I could and fed her that from a bottle, but eventually my milk supply decreased from just pumping. At three months, I had to return to work, and although I was promised a private room to pump, that promise was never fulfilled. By the time Cordy was four months old, all attempts at breastfeeding were abandoned.

Now I've reached the four-month mark with Mira, and everything is different this time around. She was nursing within 20 minutes of being born. My milk supply was low at first, but by taking the herbal supplement Fenugreek and drinking gallons of water, I fixed that problem. While my supply was low, we did have to supplement with bottles, but Mira preferred the breast to the bottle. In total, Mira has had only 12 ounces of formula in her life - and the only reason she stomached those 12 ounces was due to being very hungry. If given the chance, she will always choose the real thing over a bottle.

I'm succeeding with Mira where I couldn't with Cordy. I felt like a failure when I couldn't breastfeed the first time. But now I'm so happy that my body is working the way it should to provide Mira with all of the nourishment she needs at the moment. She's healthy, she's growing, and it's all from me. I like the bonding time we have together during feedings. And I like the simplicity of breastfeeding: no bottles, no powder - everything I need to feed her is under my shirt.

And I'm in no way saying that someone who doesn't breastfeed is a bad mom. I don't mean that at all. We all do what is best for our families, and for me, I wanted to breastfeed. When I didn't have that experience the first time, I was disappointed, but I'm now grateful for the second chance with Mira. She has now been breastfed longer than Cordy was, and I hope I'll be able to continue until at least a year, per the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations. It's true that all children are different, and I'm glad for it.