Colby didn't won't to latch on and eat until about the third day.
My milk didn't come until the 5th day, which was a big problem because he was jaundice.
The only way to get rid of jaundice is eat and poop it out and Colby wasn't doing either.....not good.
He was on the light at home and resembled a little Mexican. We thought he just had a dark complexion at first but then the tan turned yellow.
His jaundice level got really high on the fourth day and the nurse insisted on feeding him formula through a syringe until my milk came in. It broke my heart, but I agreed since they were considering putting him back in the hospital.
My milk came in the next morning packaged in triple Fs....I kid you not. I couldn't even put my arms down to the side because my breast bulged out from underneath my armpits.
No problem, Colby can just nurse and alleviate the pressure. Wrong, he had formula through the syringe already and that's much easier than latching (his latch on time was around 10-15mins) on mommy's breast and waiting on her horribly slow let down. I had the slowest let down in the world....pretty sure I have the world record. It literally took five minutes and with a baby trying to get milk out and screaming as loudly as possible, it seemed more like an hour.
When he cried, I cried and then I said my usual prayer:
Dear Lord,
I pray in Jesus name that Colby will learn to latch on correctly and that my let down will speed up for my impatient son. I also pray for understanding of why this is so difficult for us when it's your intention. I pray for strength not to give up and to trust in you Lord.
Amen
oh yea, and please make him stop screaming during the process. Amen
Definitely not a prayer I thought I would be praying pre-baby.
Colby wanted to nurse every 1.5-2 hrs and this same scenario happened for the first few weeks so you can only imagine how many times I prayed this prayer.
Well...there is power in prayer and one day it became easy and all the hard work was worth every minute!
Round 2:
Before Chase even arrived, I was praying up a storm that I didn't have to endure the same difficulties again.
Chase latched on immediately
All I have do to his put him in the vicinity and his nipple radar takes control.
My milk came in on the third day
My let down is like 2 seconds..........thank goodness!
Yesterday, I found myself walking around to find Colby as Chase was latched on nursing, and I was eating a plum with the other hand. Totally different from round 1- 1st week.
Look how tiny he is.....I barely feel him in my arms.
I think stress also has a lot to do with successful breastfeeding. I was a worry wart that stressed about every aspect of breastfeeding when it came to Colby.
I stressed about:
producing enough milk
Is he eating long enough
Is he getting the hind milk since he won't stay awake long enough to nurse for more than 5 mins
Am I nursing too much or not enough
should I switch breast during a feeding
Blah Blah Blah Blah
Oh my, the list goes on and on. I called my lactation consultant so many times that I think she started screening my calls. When I said, "hello" she responded, "hello Amanda"......now that's pretty sad.
This time I decided to protest against any worries. I know that Chase knows how much he needs so I decided to nurse on demand in the beginning. I nurse every time he wakes up and every time he cries. I offer and if he wants to nurse that's great and if he doesn't that's fine too. I don't watch the clock to see how long he nursed, and I have no concern if I'm producing enough milk
.........ahhhhh this is a much better experience.
I guess you live and learn and as my nanny would say.....
You learn something new every day and still die dumb!
Do my boys look alike at 1 week
Colby Michael
Look at our little chico
Christopher Chase
8 comments:
LOL!!! you'll find yourself doing a lot for Colby while you are nursing!!! Taylor would bring his stuffed animals up and lay them at the otherside to nurse!!! You are doing great!!!
OMG...when you said you had a hard time nursing Colby, you weren't kidding! What a nightmare! That sweet little jaundice picture...that's like "textbook" jaundice, so yellow. I really don't think they look alike.
So glad nursing is going so much better, and are those ad muscles I see peeking out of your shirt 1 week post delivery!
First you are criss cross in the hospital bed, now you have a six pack...dang diggity girl!
Hi Amanda, I know we don't know each other (I came upon your blog through Kim Kosek's blog), but I just wanted to say that I was very encouraged after reading your post. I too, struggled immensely nursing my firt baby, almost 2 years ago. I had latch problems, called my LC (and other moms I knew) constantly, and worried and fretted about the very same things you did with Colby. I ended up going to formula after 3.5 months, a very emotional decision for me. I am now pregnant with our second (due in May) and am trying (although pretty unsuccessfully) to not worry about nursing our second baby. However, daily prayers are helping me be more confident in the fact that God will see me through this situation, take away my worries and fears, and bless me with a wonderful nursing experience this time around, as you've had with Chase. I read just today in my One Year Bible, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22. God truly blesses those who are faithful to Him. Thank you for sharing, and God bless!!
Sara Ramos
Sara,
I'm so glad I could give you encouragement! Thank you for sharing the verse, it's always amazing how God reveals exactly what we need to hear at the most perfect timing. Congrats on the new baby and I know your experience will be wonderful this time!
Pray about everything, worry about nothing.
Phil 4:6
Ok...The Ass Family thing is too much! I had to add an addendum to my blog and post that pic!
Kane had problems with both jaundice and nursing also. He was born at 34 weeks and the nurses wouldn't let him breastfeed because it would take to much energy and burn too many calories for him. So I had to pump every two hours and take it to the NICU. For a few days he had a feeding tube in his nose and had to lay under the light at the same time. Not fun.
Once we got home, he wouldn't latch on because he was already used to the bottle. By the time I pumped, fed him, and got him to sleep, it was time to pump again. I finally gave up at 4:30am one morning when he was screaming because he was hungry while I was trying to pump his meal and crying myself. The next day we went to formula. I was sad about it, but it was the right thing to do at the time. I hope with my next one it is as easy for me as this second one has been for you with the breastfeeding.
Abby, bless your heart! I so understand how you felt when he was crying.....been there. I felt like it was my fault but it wasn't and it wasn't yours either. Even though you didn't want to use formula, it sounds like it was the best decision!! I ended up nursing for 13 months but if he wouldn't have finally gotten the hang of it, I would have done the same thing. Next time will be much better!!
Wow!! I am so proud of you with the feeding on demand! Love the nursing pics, too. Yes, they look just alike--what, may i ask, is cuter than two little boys?????
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