Absolutely the hardest part of adjusting to motherhood has been the breastfeeding. The first few days in the hospital, Ian was so sleepy so he'd latch for a second and then fall asleep. I tried to wake him to no avail, and the nurses and lactation consultants assured me that his rooting instinct was great and the fact that he'd take the nipple, if even for a second, was a great sign. We kept trying until his check-up revealed that he'd lost a lot of weight and was severely dehydrated. His little head also started to look like a pumpkin from jaundice, so we took the nurse's advice and started supplementing his breast feedings with formula to help stabilize his weight, get him hydrated, and help flush out the jaundice.
He loved the formula and his health turned around right away, and he went back to being a sweet, sleepy and content baby. Unfortunately, because the bottle nipples are so fast, he would get frustrated and furious every time I would try to get him to latch. Our breastfeeding attempts turned into angry crying sessions that were just as awful for me as they were for him. I cried a lot, and poor Joe had to reassure me that I'm not a terrible mother because I can't feed my baby. I almost gave up several times, but so far we've persevered.
I haven't given up on getting him to latch, and we try several times every day, but he either cries furiously and spits out or pushes away my nipple or he latches, sucks 2-3 times, then falls asleep. I'm trying to get an appointment with a lactation consultant but so far none of them have called me back. In the meantime, we've been giving him a formula/breast milk combo and I'm pumping regularly to work on building up my milk supply, which right now isn't enough to feed Ian exclusively. I hate pumping with a passion, not because it hurts but because I find it very isolating. To make sure I get as much sleep as possible to keep my recovery speeding along, Joe or Grandma usually gives Ian his bottle while I pump, which is helpful and does let me rest more, but also isn't at all the bonding experience nursing is supposed to be.
I am newly motivated this morning, though, because I weighed myself and discovered I'm only 4lbs higher than the day I found out I was pregnant, so if I can just get into the groove with breastfeeding then I should not only have a much better feeding experience, but hopefully can also start to lose some weight.
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This sounds so familiar, except I don't think we got him to take the nipple at all in the beginning.
I can't believe the LC hasn't called you back. Do they have anyone at your pedi's office? That's what we did with Jack - went to the LC at his pediatrician. Or maybe there's someone through the hospital?
Congrats on pumping - it is a lot of work and really no fun.
Let's see... I've heard to feed him a little formula first so he's not starving and maybe has more patience for breastfeeding. For us, we ended up using a nipple shield, which is a piece of plastic you put right on yourself. It's supposed to make latching easier for baby and the feel is more like the bottles he's used to. It makes feeding slower though and I still needed to both supplement and pump at every feeding.
They also make something called a supplemental nursing system. I never tried it, but it involves feeding the baby from small tubes that hang down by the nipple so Ian would associate you with food. http://www.amazon.com/Medela-Supplemental-Nursing-Sterile-00901S/dp/B000NEDGB8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1248294859&sr=1-1
You can also try lots of skin to skin contact and trying to breastfeed in a warm bath IF that's comfortable for you. I eventually did that with Jack, but it wasn't until he was older, maybe 6 weeks.
The important thing is to know you are doing a wonderful job and you ARE feeding your baby. You're going above and beyond by pumping and every little bit is great. If you decide formula is what's best for you and Ian, that is okay too. What matters is that you feed the baby, which you are doing, and don't feel bad about how you accomplish that. (As hard as that is, especially with postpartum hormones on top of everything)
I hope the LC gets back to you soon and I really, really hope Ian figures out the latch soon. I will say by way of encouragement that I felt so lucky once Jack latched and we had a good breastfeeding relationship. It was so convenient and I seriously didn't miss formula, mixing bottles, washing bottles, pumping or any of that crap.
Sorry this is so long.
Oh hun, I'm sorry that it's been such a struggle for you. I had a lot of issues with Kieran at first, getting him to latch, especially. I think I told you a little about it, but how his tongue was tied so he couldn't draw in the areola, and after he got circumsized he was super sleepy and out of it and wouldn't eat for 12 hours. I also have short nipples, so all those things combined plus the pain of trying to find a comfortable position that didn't put pressure on my incision made for a VERY hard first two weeks. It would take him 20 minutes to latch on to each side at first, and we'd have to put formula on my nipple to get him interested, and I had to squeeze it into the right shape and try to work it in his mouth, it took forever, it stressed me out and made me cry, and it made him SCREAM and freak out every time. Eventually, he got it and figured out how to latch on the first try, but even now, 6 weeks later, it can be really uncomfortable for me at times. Hang in there, and hopefully you get help from a LC soon. Have you called Le Leche League? I hear great things about them.
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