cont'd... Early Breastfeeding Woes. Conquered. So Worth It!
The first six weeks as I've mentioned are tough for a lot of first time moms. What I didn't talk about was the HUGE challenge I had with breastfeeding that almost made me quit and deprive my child of something money can't buy. Had I talked about it, the post would've been dayssss long. So here it goes people...
After having my little PoppiPudding, I was able to breastfeed him about 15-20 minutes after he was born. The nurse coached me through and I was already confident about it but still nervous at the same time. I had talked the talk for the last 10 years that I would breastfeed my child period and being that I had a natural child birth, he didn't have to leave the room after giving birth which was a huge plus. So once I held all that warm juiciness and we stared at each other for the longest, I asked the nurse if I could go ahead and breastfeed him because I read previously that their sucking reflex is at its peak right after giving birth so I didn't want to miss my window of opportunity. For me, a bottle was not an option until we were both comfortable and breastfeeding was mastered on both ends. Everything went ok this first time nursing him. I got back to the room and the woes began. He wanted to nurse pretty often which was fine but not really because you see, I had been up since 1:30am from the previous day and it was now about 2 am... can we just blank stare for a second?... Yes up for a full 24 hrs, pushed for 4 hrs and had only slept about 2 hours before that so you do the math and tell me how many hours in the last 48 hours had I been up because those 2 hours didn't count at all. Oh Ok. Yes, exhaustion was an understatement. Of course the body having such a workout pushing him released many endorphins and so I didn't feel as exhausted as I should've been but the next day I felt the brutality. Between nurses in and out every few hours, rest was not an option for those 2 days.
8lbs 5oz, 15 days early. 10 hrs after he was born.
So by Day 2, my right nipple was partially chafed and the left not so much but I couldn't get the latch right unless the nurse was in there with me and it frustrated both PoppiPudding and I. Me trying to get the latch right with him got so bad that I couldn't nurse him hardly anymore during my stay.
I had to opt for the breastmilk at the breastmilk bank that the hospital had which was a life saver and gave me a break every other feeding! They gave me the Medela brand nipple guard to help but that sucked (no pun intended) because he had to work too hard when sucking to get the colostrum milk out (which is thicker than the breastmilk that comes in around the 3rd or 4th day after delivery).
Boob the size of his head, 2 weeks old.
Face of unlawful potential due to exhaustion
Day 3 Pre Woes, I arrived home as nervous as ever because, like I said in my previous post... I was so freakin' scared! It was just me and the Hubbs with these boobs and baby now. He's the only one who could retain any information when I was in the hospital for crying out loud! The first night home my boobs were filling up a lot more and Ki was nursing every 2-3 hrs which is what you're supposed to do in order to keep your supply up. I was also pumping to keep up because my boobs were filling up fast in between feedings. By the next morning they were HUGE and by huge I mean it was like an overnight success bc I went from a 34C prior to pregnancy to 34D at 4 or 5 months prego then to a 34DDD 24hrs after getting home!👀... My boobs were up to my chin without a bra on...In Real Life. Thank God I'm back to my normal size again!
Lactation Specialist/Hubbie
first night home
Real Woes began... I woke up the next morning and my boobs could NOT take another feeding! My husband, being my lactation specialist (not really, but really), remembered all the tips and info from the lactation consultants at the hospital because like I said... I didn't remember much of anything they told me. He's the only reason I made it through the night and the next 2 weeks! Well we woke up, I had just enough milk left over from the hospital's breastmilk bank to leave him with my sister so that I could go pick up this GOD-made cream my OBGYN prescribed after I called almost weeping in frustration like 5 times. It's made by the angels so intricately in heaven mixed with the perfect ratio and kissed by Jesus himself for your nipples to help heel them in between feedings.
On top of that, from the 4th day up till around the 5 month mark, my son woke up every 1 1/2 hrs to nurse at night. YES! You heard me loud and clear! How I'm still alive to talk about it, only God knows. I DREADED nighttime. Yes we tried sleep training him around 3, 4, and 5 months but he was not ready. You as the parent just know. I can't really explain it.
Advice: Trust yourself, but don't give up trying different tips and techniques until something works.
Fast forward to the REAL WOES! So over the next few weeks I was BOUND by my boobs. I couldn't leave the house for more than 2 hrs max or I was rushing back home no matter where we were so that I could pump. (No I did not know the manual pump existed at that time.) On top of that, during week 2, I had filled up the whole freezer side door with milk from top to bottom. In all, there was at least about 20-25 Medela breastmilk freezer (5 oz) bags of milk that I had pumped in between feedings during the day when he slept the longest. I could pump 5 oz MINIMUM per boob in 5 to 10 minutes easily. I was up at 5am pumping some mornings. Well this frustration lead me to pray for answers which lead me to do my own research. I found out from the magnificent God sent organization called La Leche League International that I had an oversupply of milk. Out of 13 signs, I had a whopping 9!!! I was so relieved to know I wasn't crazy and that there was something really wrong. My boobs for the first 3 or 4 weeks had consumed my life and every move. We couldn't do anything really outside the house and he couldn't nurse for more than 5 minutes because he would choke or get tired of sucking and fall asleep. Too much came out at a time, and they would skeet a constant stream all over him if he came off while feeding. I kept bath towels nearby in the house just for nursing purposes. I had to push in on my other nipple to keep it from soiling my bra and shirt. It was so embarrassing when it happened. NO the nipple pads were no match for these weapons I had. My poor baby had to learn how to gulp his milk down as if he was trying to drink from a garden hose. I HATED that. Luckily LLLI had a solution for the problem. HAL-LE-LU-JA!!! So in essence, I had to train my boobs one at a time and it took about 4 -5 days. I felt like a new woman when these boobs were trained and well behaved for a change. They actually felt soft for the first time and not like bricks.
I know many of you have the opposite problem and you're probably wishing you had my problem but trust me, this was #teamNOfun. I almost gave up breastfeeding because of it before he even made it to 6 weeks. When you nurse every 1 1/2 hours at night, nurse every 2 hrs during the day and still have to be an adult, a wife, housekeeper, chef and run a business, you start seeing what you can take out in order to not lose your entire mind. I'm so thankful for the way our bodies are intricately sculpted to be able to sustain so much during these first few months. But most of all, I'm so happy I did not give up on a gift I had to breastfeed and provide the best source of nutrition, not on the market, for my baby. It became a wonderful experience and I was so sad when breastfeeding was no longer apart of our lives (shockingly).
If you're a mom, you should feel like Super Woman every single day because you are that and some. You should hold your head very high and not take any crap from anybody all because you're a mom. No other reason. That's your qualifier. I said so... You have so many hats to wear each day that you should get paid on and off the clock for what you do. It's a lot and you are doing it everyday whether you feel like it's enough or that you are doing good at it or not.
YOU ARE. Perfectionism is the devil so don't get caught up in it. Resist any negativity you hear from anybody (even yourself) about what you're not doing because no one can do what you do the way you do it each day and still have a beautiful smile on their face. Be encouraged today mommy's and know that you're absolutely A-MA-ZING!
Comentários