Yeah, so this whole Breastfeeding business...
I was so fortunate to have a pleasant pregnancy... My stay at the hospital (6 days) wasn't so bad... I have nothing to complain about my C-section... My recovery has been great... Birthed a beautiful baby...
Now that I've been home for 3+ weeks, I've battled with my breasts. Yes. My breasts. They've given me grief.
Since the first week of being home, I have had Mastitis (Breast Infection). Had it on my left side, then the right side. I was on antibiotics for a week... didn't cure it. Then came back on the left side. Went on new antibiotics. Took it for a week. Cured.
Since Day 1 of being a mom, I have breastfed. And because of breastfeeding, I have had cracked/chapped/sore nipples. Took about 2 weeks to heal...
On top of all this, I haven't been able to produce enough milk for Sawyer. An 1/2 an ounce on the left and an ounce or two on the right. I have tried it all... Fenugreek (herbal capsule), Marshmallow Root (herbal capsule), Fennel Oil (oil capsule), drinking plenty of water, eating right, not being stressed so much, pumping with my expensive electric pump, hot compress directly on the breast...
How are my breasts doing now? No Mastitis. Still no milk.
But I am just tired of taking so many pills. Yeah they're herbal and it's not like I'm popping 10 capsules of Tylenol or something, but still...
I was taking my 1 Prenatal vitamin, 1 antibiotic for a while, 1 probiotic for a while, 2 Ibuprofen, 2 stool softener (another story all on its own), 2 Fenugreek, 2 Marshmallow Root, 1 Fennel Oil.
I sound like a drug addict.
Blah. Done.
My feeding ritual was just ridiculous too... I would feed him on the left, then on the right. That took about 20 - 30 min. Then I would make a bottle (because he probably only drank an ounce or two at most and he is eating well over 4 oz now). He takes about 10 - 15 min to drink a bottle. So really, feeding him some times took up to an hour. THEN had to burp him (and he does NOT burp... shouldn't all babies have this automatic burping reflex?! Sawyer doesn't. He struggles so much.......). Burping him seriously could take anywhere from 5 seconds to 30 minutes. And sometimes he doesn't burp until hours after. sigh. THEN we change his diaper.
So by the time I feed him, burp him, change him... it's back to square one. Tiring I know...
So I've decided to cut down on the feeding time by doing away with breastfeeding.
I've been PRO breastfeeding up until this very moment. Breast milk is WAY healthier... cheaper... and I would've lost WEIGHT feeding him that way. Everything about Breastfeeding is great. "yeah... if only I could produce milk". Aren't all mothers built the same to produce the same? Isn't milk suppose to be squirting out like an automatic fountain? Aren't I suppose to produce enough milk to feed a third-world country?!
and I admit... I was excited to have my breasts bigger. sigh.
Enough said. So that's that.
P.S. So the expensive electric pump, 3 expensive nursing bras, 6 nursing garment top, nursing pads, nipple cream, nipple shield... all going in a box for the next kid.
Natalie you have me laughing! You poor girl. I didn't have a good experience at first with davis. I tried the milk pills to produce more, drank more water, even tried vianilla milk shakes that my sister told me to drink, that didn't work. It got really frustrating cause i thought the same thing you did, it should come naturally. It amaze's me how many complications can happen along the way. Your a great mom for even trying, and doing all the extra stuff with it. Your cute good luck.Both my babies were formula fed and they are perfectly fine:)
ReplyDeleteMaren B.
That sounds so frustrating! You have done a lot and sounds like you're making a good decision :) He's getting fed and you can definitely hope for it to go better with another child.
ReplyDeleteNatalee, I'm sorry, I felt bad for you clear until the end when you talked about you looking forward to your breasts getting bigger and now I'm sorry to say, I'm rolling on my bed laughing. =P
ReplyDeleteOk maybe I'm not sorry to say that because that gave me the energy I needed to actually get on my homework...but you are causing a complex mix of emotions in me!
But as soon as I can stop giggling, I'm sure I'll have something serious, if not comforting to say. Everyone is different and I'm long from being able to empathize but you did your best and like Adriana says, at least he's getting fed. How he gets fed is less important that the fact that he gets his foods right? :)