Breastfeeding

I'm pretty much the first of our friends to have a baby... so we are figuring this out as we go. I'm going to post about breastfeeding... if you're not interested... you may want to skip this one, I promise, my feelings wont be hurt. 

I chose to breastfeed primarily because my Mom did (Mom, yet again, you are an inspiration). I read a lot about it, knew it was the best choice for us... and wanted to do what I could for the little Gunney meister. Mom and I went to a class at Wake Med, I went to a La Leche meeting, read a couple of books and called in Lactation while I was in the hospital.

I will tell you that it isn't easy. Especially getting started. They show you the video in the class of a little baby (minutes old), crawling towards his momma's teet and suckling away... That isn't how it worked for us in real life! (Until Friday, September 3rd... mind you my baby was almost 3 weeks old at this point... not minutes old like they show in the video). We put him skin to skin right away... and showed him what he was "supposed to do". He hung out there for a little while.. but there was no instant recognition for him... heck, I'd just pushed for 3 hours... the little munchkin was recovering still.

Regardless... I hope that when you're pregnant, you'll do everything you can to inform yourself about breastfeeding. Read the books, go to the classes, talk to everyone you can. Because I was so informed, I had the confidence and determination to work through the issues we had in the beginning.

If I have one piece of advice... it is that your body can and will provide perfectly for your baby...

We struggled a little in the hospital... as my milk hadn't come in yet (note, no one's has... until 2-4 days... so hang in there)

We struggled the night we got home... (Gunney sucked like a little vampire baby for about 12 hours... again, he was priming my body for the milk to come in).

I was really sore, and yes, it hurt. Cracking, bleeding, etc... The lactation specialist likened it to the overuse of a beginning guitar player. Once you build up the "calluses" you can play for hours... (no, there are not real calluses)

Gunney spit up a blood clot in at 6 days old.... talk about a scary sight! We read the book, checked the internet, called a lactation consultant... and figured out that it was "normal" (read- not normal, but not bad either... it happens due to trauma to the mama sometimes... we shared blood for 9 months and he is totally fine)

The doctor's office wanted us to supplement with formula... let me reiterate... your body can and will provide perfectly for your baby... we did not supplement. My milk came in, I fed the munchkin twice as much, and he put on 5 ounces in two days (they wanted half an ounce a day)

I got really frustrated during a few middle of the night feedings. And felt terrible about it... Heck, he is two weeks old... he isn't hurting me on purpose... When I talked to Mike about it, he reassured me, and woke up with me for every feeding after that. We go into Gunney's room where the light is a little better... and we are working it out!

We met with Lactation at Wake Med at 8 days old. You get one FREE consultation (its a $400 value). Anne met with us for over an hour... and helped give us the confidence to work through a few issues.

So, if you struggle when its your turn... call Mike or my Mom. Hehe, just kidding... but please do have a support person. It is not the easiest thing in the world... but it is REALLY rewarding!

Seeing this sweet little face staring up at me makes it 100% worth it!