Hmm, I wrote this post but somehow forgot to publish it. Here it is, outdate by about a week, but better late than never.
So, one of the things that I haven’t had a chance to follow-up on is how Henry is doing now that I am not breast-feeding.
It has been about 4 months since Henry’s last breast-feeding, and Continue reading
Henry is a fussy baby. The thing is, I can tell he is actually a pretty chill little man deep down. For the last 2 months my gut has been telling me that his “colic” is fixable. I put colic in quotes because his fussy/colic symptoms are nothing like what we experienced with his brother. Charlie would basically cry 24 hours a day and almost nothing would sooth him. Henry, on the other hand, seems to be fussy in Continue reading
I was in a wedding this weekend. While I was super excited to celebrate such a festive occasion and to represent the bride, I also was bummed to be in a wedding 2 months postpartum. Not only would I have to pump and dump, but honestly, I am a lot bigger than my “normal” size. While I knew the day was not about me, I’m not gonna lie and say I didn’t Continue reading
Henry was a pro at breast-feeding right out of the gates. I was lucky! He latched on instantly and it didn’t hurt at all. From that moment on I thought our breast-feeding relationship would be smooth sailing. Unfortunately, smooth sailing it wasn’t. Henry had a tiny mouth and I had new mama Continue reading
Earlier this year I met a Doula at The Right Start. We got to talking about a lot of things. Some big, some small.
Obviously, the best thing about pregnancy is the reward of a beautiful baby. Once baby finally arrives, one of the worst things about pregnancy is coping with the aftermath of what growing a baby inside your uterus for 9 months has done to your body.
In July, Charlie weighed 13 lbs, 8 oz. At the end of the month we took him on a 2 day trip to Northern California to visit family. Larry and I had a wedding to attend near their house. I knew about this wedding since before he was born and had been prepping for it since his birth. We all know I had a crappy milk supply, but that did not stop me from pumping enough milk to freeze and store in preparation for this weekend.
It took me 4 months, but I was able to store 60 ounces of breast milk. That may not seem like a lot to a person with a “normal” milk supply, but for me that was a HUGE Continue reading
Unsolicited advice blows. I do, however, wish that someone would have shared some of these gems when it came to breast-feeding.
Breast feeding is not something I could have easily written about in real-time. The mechanics of breast-feeding were very easy for Charlie and me. He latched on right away and I absolutely loved the connection of being his source of nourishment. I did not get sore or cracked nipples. I did not have to fight him to get him to eat. My breast-feeding challenge was mostly supply and secondarily, clogged ducts. I got mastitis 4 times! Mastitis is a very painful condition that comes with flu-like systems resulting from one or more clogged ducts. Despite Charlie being a great feeder and me loving to feed him, my milk was not on board.
First of all, I had one boob that grew to a small D cup and one boob that was a medium size B cup. I felt lopsided for my first 6 months post-partum. I had a hospital grade pump and would pump multiple times a day in between feeds, but it didn’t help my milk supply one bit. By pumping more often I did have a greater supply of milk, but it did not help generate more milk per feed or pump cycle.
I am friends or acquainted with over 35 women who had a baby or are expecting this year. This was before I even joined my mommy and me groups. Needless-to-say, I had a lot of exposure to breast-feeding moms. It would kill me when I would talk to them or go to a breast-feeding support group only to find that I was one of the only if not the only one with a milk supply that sucked. When I pumped I would only get 3 ounces, maximum. I had friends who could pump 10 – 12 ounces at a time with babies the same age, older or younger than Charlie. It had nothing to do with how old he was and how much milk he needed.
I used to blame it on having a preemie, but one of my closest friends had a baby 7 weeks early and her boobs are milk factories. My boobs were just underproducers. I had to pump 4 – 5 times a day to make 3 bottles worth of food for Charlie. Many of my other mom friends only had to pump once, maybe twice. I know we are not supposed to compare in the world of parenting, but sometimes it is hard not to. Especially, when it comes to the well-being of your child.
My low milk supply also left me feeling super guilty as a mother. I was supposed to be able to provide him the nourishment he needed. I understood that I could supplement with formula, but at the time I was convinced that I would be a bad mother if I didn’t exclusively breast feed.
I knew at 5 months that I would have to stop breast-feeding Charlie at 6 months because he wasn’t thriving. During that month I searched the internet high and low for information on how to wean. It was one of the most upsetting and frustrating processes I have ever experienced.
Basically, there is not a website that exists for mothers who want and/or need to wean their babies under the age of one. If there is, I sure didn’t find it. It seems that all of the advice is targeted on educating a mother with a baby who is eating finger foods, which is much different from a baby who is still completely nourished by bottles alone. To make matters worse, most of the sites suggest that you are doing your baby harm if you stop breast-feeding before your baby turns one. Seriously?! No one out there has advice for women who stop earlier? I mean, it’s not that uncommon.
