Adventures in Breastfeeding

When I was pregnant I always knew that I wanted to breastfeed due to the countless benefits for both me and Elliot. Breast milk is the most complete nutrition for infants, it is easier for them to digest than formula, as long as your milk supply is strong you never have to measure or worry if they are getting enough. It decreases healing time after delivery, burns 500-1000 calories a day to help lose the baby weight, and allows for extra snuggling time for mom and baby!! It was an obvious decision for me but I didn't realize how hard breast feeding would be.

As women are bodies are designed to breastfeed so I just assumed that breastfeeding would come naturally to both me and Elliot, this has not been the case. Breastfeeding has been quite a challenge for me, but it is still something I am determined to stick to until Elliot is at least 6 months old.

Since I had a c-section I was in the hospital for 3 days after delivery which gave me lots of time to practice nursing. Elliot refused to latch on from the very beginning, he just became so easily frustrated as soon as I would bring him to my breast thus not getting the nutrition he needed. In the first few days after delivery, all that a woman's body produces is colostrum (a thick substance rich in vitamins)  until her milk comes in several days after delivery. Since Elliot wouldn't latch on I had to use a pump to get the colostrum and we fed it to him from our finger tips.

For most babies the colostrum that their mom's produce in the first few day after birth is plenty for them, but Elliot was  getting dehydrated and on the verge of developing jaundice. For this reason the doctor suggested that we start supplementing with a bottle for each feeding with some donated breast milk since mine had not come in yet. We decided this was a great idea and it prevented the little man from developing jaundice. For the next several day before my milk came in I would pump every 2 hours, then we would feed him the colostrum and then give him a bottle of donated breast milk.

I think the fact that we had to introduce a bottle so early confused him and made it difficult for him to latch on so we had to begin nursing with the assistance of a nipple shield so that my breast feels more like a bottle to his mouth. Although I am not too fond of the nipple shield it is much easier than pumping and feeding him the bottle each time so I will take what I can get. All of the lactation consultants that I have met with  said its rare for a baby to require the nipple shield for the entire time they are nursing so I am hopeful that someday soon Elliot will be able to kick that habit.

Now that Elliot and I are in a good routine for nursing I am trying to build up a little bit of a freezer supply of breast milk so that if anything every happens and I need to be away from him for longer than planned he will still have breast milk to eat. It has been quite a challenge for me to build my supply. I try to pump after each feeding and when I do that two or three times I then get enough milk for one bottle feeding. Ted likes to give Elliot a bottle in the evenings so I can sleep, so I always try to pump at least one bottle per day. Finding the time to pump after each feeding is rather challenging to be honest, it leaves little time for resting between Elliot's feedings.

Although breastfeeding has been more of a challenge than I was expecting, I am determined to see it through. The most important thing to me is that my son gets my breast milk because it is the best nutrition for him. For any one who is pregnant or planning to get pregnant who is reading this my advice is learn as much about breastfeeding before the baby arrives as possible. I made that mistake thinking that it would all come naturally and unfortunately for us it didn't for me or Elliot.