The Beginning of the Boob!
What if I don’t produce anything? What if the baby doesn’t want to latch? How will I know if my baby isn’t getting enough breast milk? At what point should I give the baby formula? — These are just a few of the millions of questions I had running through my mind before E was born. Women in my family have a history of not being able to breastfeed so I instantly figured I wouldn’t be able to. If you are not already aware… Doctors are very adamant about breastfeeding. As they say, “Breast is Best!” well let me tell you, I listened to doctors tell me I HAD to breastfeed, and I went to the lactation classes provided by the hospital and everything, Yes the Lactation Consultants are super sweet and for the most part they know what they are talking about, but in the end all that really matters is that your baby is healthy and has a full belly; Breast-Fed or formula. Now I know you are wondering Did you Breastfeed? and the answer is yes, I have been breastfeeding my child. I had the desire to breastfeed, for no particular reason honestly I just knew I wanted to try. As I stated in my welcoming Post, I had a Caesarian Section. The moment I came into recovery they wanted to latch Baby E on to my breast and thank the heavens she was a natural! This is not always the case, sometimes the baby isn’t interested, or is tongue-tied, but not E she was a hungry determined little shit! I was so happy that she latched on. The hours/ Days following in the hospital I continued to produce colostrum and I would continue to latch E. All was right in the world, or so I thought! Unfortunately, E had a large drop in her blood sugar so we had to introduce Formula in the hospital to help spike her numbers. This happens to both tiny babies and sometimes with large babies. In our case, it was because E was so large at birth. Because E was drinking formula and was on my breast a little less often, the hospital brought me in a pump to use during my stay. Long story short…. The pump ate my Boob! No like literally the pump ate the skin off of my nipple! The Nurses failed to tell me that I needed to apply Lanolin as a lubricant. Yeah, that wasn’t fun… I didn’t want to use the pump again my entire stay! Another thing the Nurses didn’t warn me about was the fact that your breasts will get so tender and irritated during the initial start of Breastfeeding. Yeah if they latch wrong, It’s going to feel like your poor tits got blasted with a pressure washer! NO JOKE! It does not feel well. So Lanolin will become your best friend. (More on that in Product reviews!)
Production
Going into the second week was in a serious breastfeeding mode. I thought I was doing great! I would feed E every 2-3 hours or even before that if she acted like she was hungry, and after eating she seemed like she had a full belly and she would fall asleep satisfied! Even after being out of the hospital we continued to supplement with some formula but only when needed. E had her 2-week checkup, and let me tell you! The doctor’s office treated me like I was starving my child. They were not happy that she was still below her birth weight at 2 weeks old. It was a huge ordeal. They made me feel like shit, I cried, they made me feel like a bad mom it was horrible. Tyler helped me to calm down and we agreed to have one on one appointments with the lactation consultants, as well as continue to supplement with formula. I am 3 months Postpartum and my production is steady. Don’t get me wrong I’m not stashing freezers full of milk but I have enough to feed E and pump a few ounces for her next feeding. The lactation consultant has had me taking plenty of supplements as well as eating a good diet. It has been a struggle but I enjoy breastfeeding so I keep trying my best to continue. — In the first few weeks I wanted to give up especially in the middle of the night. The feedings were very long because both E and I were still trying to get the hang of the whole breastfeeding thing, and I felt like a failure for having to give her formula. Back to what I said in the beginning, As long as your baby has a full belly that is all that matters. It took me a few weeks to come to realize that. I love breastfeeding, I just wish someone would have warned me how tough it is between the Raw nipples, the Death contraptions called pumps, The long nights, and even waking up covered in your breast milk. But hey! that’s why you got me. Stick around and ill do my best to let you know what I know!
Pumping
Meet your New Best Friend…. Your Pump!
Mommy, Milk and E 