It's been five months since Jenna Dewan and actor Steve Kazee welcomed their first child together, Callum Michael Rebel Kazee. Even though it was Jenna's second child — after Everly, whose dad is Channing Tatum — breastfeeding didn't exactly come easy.
Jenna opened up about how difficult breastfeeding her second child has been, in the midst of National Breastfeeding Month, and her struggle is all too relatable for anyone who's experienced the same challenges.
She was faced with a handful of setbacks: "From latching issues, to my son loving one side vs. another, making more milk, when to pump... EVERYTHING was different and I found myself asking a lot of questions."
She ended up getting to the other side, after picking up "helpful tips" from other moms. "There really is no other advice that compares to other moms who have been in exactly the same situation," she explained. "I always believe that when women come together and share knowledge, we are so powerful."
Anyone who's intended to breastfeed and been met with these kinds of challenges knows how alienating and mentally defeating it can be to go through it — so it makes sense that finding a sense of community helped Jenna a lot.
She's not the only celebrity to open up about how damn hard breastfeeding can be — for some moms, who set their minds on breastfeeding, it can feel like the hardest thing in the world, especially when hormones are in flux and emotions are so high after childbirth.
In the words of Ali Wong: "I thought it was supposed to be this beautiful bonding ceremony where I would feel like I was sitting on a lily pad in a meadow, and bunnies would gather at my feet... No, it’s not like that at all. Breastfeeding is this savage ritual that just reminds you that your body is a cafeteria now."
