There is no trophy.

A lot of people have strong opinions on what the right way is. For pregnancy. Birth. Breast feeding. And motherhood in general. You may want to do things "perfectly," but sometimes you have to let this go.

I let it get in my head that a "natural" (vaginal) birth was what I NEEDED to do. I sobbed in the hospital when after 20 hours of contractions and no progress I couldn't take it anymore and opted for a C-section instead because I felt like I failed.

But I had nothing to gain from giving birth to a 10 lb baby vaginally. And we were probably both better off with the C-section.

Now I am frustrated because I can't meet my baby's needs on breast feeding alone. But the thing is. There is literally no reason I have to. Just like there was no reason I couldn't do a C-section.

None of this is a competition. And there is no prize for sticking to how it went in your head. Be kind to yourselves. And don't let your goals crush your spirit.