Oh the woes of breast feeding! Charlie and I will have a good 3 days of feeding with no issues and then all hell seems to break loose. Yesterday Charlie just wasn't happy while feeding, wasn't happy after feeding, and wanted to eat every hour once it hit 6pm. By midnight I was physically and mentally exhausted. I couldn't even take his crying anymore. Thank goodness for Justin and my mom for being so helpful and encouraging through all this. I know it is common to have issues with breast feeding, I have several books that I look to for help, I've seen doctors and consultants that have given me great tips but when it is the middle of the night with extremely sore nipples and it is just you, it's pretty hard to stay relaxed and calm with a fussy and inconsolable baby.
Today I went back to where we did our prenatal classes because they offer help to mom's with problems like this, no one was in at the time to help me but they took my number and said someone would call. When the midwife called me I just broke down crying explaining my situation. She said I was being too hard on myself and offered me some relief. She suggested I pump my milk today to give my sore nipples some time to recover and to feed Charlie my milk with a syringe. I have to stick my pinkie finger in his mouth and once he starts sucking my finger you give him the milk through the side of the mouth. We bought some syringes and tried this method this afternoon. First off, what a relief pumping is versus Charlie feeding! No pain whatsoever! I was able to empty myself without pain or dealing with the cries from my baby and my breasts instantly felt better. Also, from pumping I was able to see how much milk I was producing. Charlie's big issue since yesterday was he wouldn't feed on my left side. After about 2 minutes on my left breast he would start crying. Well when I pumped today, my left breast produced less than half as much as my right. And after about 2 mins of pumping, my milk production basically stopped on the left side so no wonder Charlie was upset and frustrated. At least this gave some insight to his fussiness. We are going to feed him like this through the night and I will go and see this midwife tomorrow to see if we can help Charlie latch on to me better then.
The purpose for feeding him through the syringe is because apparently the baby can reject your boob if given a bottle before 4 weeks. Now I know this is a controversial subject and there is a lot of judgement on women who struggle with or can not breast feed their baby and give formula instead, but after experiencing issues with Charlie I can not blame these women who opt for bottle feeding right away weather that is with formula or breast milk. I am lucky that there are so many resources available to me in Singapore for help because if there wasn't Charlie would definitely already be on formula because I know I would not have been able to cope.
I will see if this midwife can help me with latching tomorrow, but if I am still having problems I think pumping and trying a bottle with breast milk will be the next step even though he is just under 3 weeks. As far as I am concerned a well fed baby and a sane happy mommy are more important than following the rules from my books or any consultants.
Today I went back to where we did our prenatal classes because they offer help to mom's with problems like this, no one was in at the time to help me but they took my number and said someone would call. When the midwife called me I just broke down crying explaining my situation. She said I was being too hard on myself and offered me some relief. She suggested I pump my milk today to give my sore nipples some time to recover and to feed Charlie my milk with a syringe. I have to stick my pinkie finger in his mouth and once he starts sucking my finger you give him the milk through the side of the mouth. We bought some syringes and tried this method this afternoon. First off, what a relief pumping is versus Charlie feeding! No pain whatsoever! I was able to empty myself without pain or dealing with the cries from my baby and my breasts instantly felt better. Also, from pumping I was able to see how much milk I was producing. Charlie's big issue since yesterday was he wouldn't feed on my left side. After about 2 minutes on my left breast he would start crying. Well when I pumped today, my left breast produced less than half as much as my right. And after about 2 mins of pumping, my milk production basically stopped on the left side so no wonder Charlie was upset and frustrated. At least this gave some insight to his fussiness. We are going to feed him like this through the night and I will go and see this midwife tomorrow to see if we can help Charlie latch on to me better then.
The purpose for feeding him through the syringe is because apparently the baby can reject your boob if given a bottle before 4 weeks. Now I know this is a controversial subject and there is a lot of judgement on women who struggle with or can not breast feed their baby and give formula instead, but after experiencing issues with Charlie I can not blame these women who opt for bottle feeding right away weather that is with formula or breast milk. I am lucky that there are so many resources available to me in Singapore for help because if there wasn't Charlie would definitely already be on formula because I know I would not have been able to cope.I will see if this midwife can help me with latching tomorrow, but if I am still having problems I think pumping and trying a bottle with breast milk will be the next step even though he is just under 3 weeks. As far as I am concerned a well fed baby and a sane happy mommy are more important than following the rules from my books or any consultants.
Christina! Wow....that is a lot to go through! You are such a great mommy. I just want to encourage you because I know how hard a new mom can be on herself with the breastfeeding.
ReplyDeleteBecause Jackson was so tiny and I was SO sick after his birth I had to stop breast milk after 3 weeks. I went to the nicu to see him for hours and hours and did not pump while there so my milk dried up. I then pumped every 2 hours just to give him a bottle of 2 oz. after chunks of my nipple started coming off and i experienced what I think is the equivalent to a guy getting kicked in the nuts every time i pumped, I just had to stop. I too agree that a happy sane functional mommy is a much better alternative and will keep everyone from losing it, including the baby!
He is just gorgeous. You guys are so blessed! I pray you find peace and understanding in whatever method YOU feel is best for your little fam. XO
Thanks for the encouragement Heidi. I honestly have never been around babies, so everything is so new to me and Justin and it is such a learning curve. But I guess that is what mommyhood is all about, there is always something new to learn. :)
ReplyDeleteHope you and your family are doing well! xoxo