Nursing Story
Nursing Story
Long before I got pregnant, I knew that I would breastfeed my child(ren). I didn’t know all the details, but I knew it was the best thing to do for my baby. I was absolutely clueless, however, on the details…how long, what it entailed, and so on and so forth.
When I became pregnant, the search was on - for anything and everything I could get my hands on about pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding, and babies in general.
After about 48 hours of labor, Marley entered the world on July 18, 2006. I gave birth naturally in a hospital, with the help of my midwife and my doula ( two_roads). She was born full-term, but small at 6 lbs, 4 oz. I was exhausted after the long labor, and I’m sure little Marley was, too. They lifted her to my bare stomach immediately after birth, however, and I nursed her shortly thereafter. She had a voracious suck - so much so that she missed my nipple the first try and gave me a “hickey” on my areola. After that, though, she was tired and stayed tired for most of our stay in the hospital. The hospital where I gave birth had made budget cuts which eliminated their on-staff lactation consultant, so I was forced to rely to on the varying-degrees of knowledge that the nurses had. Nonetheless, the nurses did not give Marley formula or pacifiers on my request, and if the nurse assigned to me was unable to assist me, they sought nurses who could. We did have troubles those first few days because of my flat nipples and due to incorrect latching - leading to bleeding, cracked, and sore nipples. The nurses were amazed that I was still nursing - I just shrugged it off…any pain I felt was well worth it for my daughter. The nurses recommended pumping (they brought me a hospital grade pump…which I didn’t use), nipple shields (which I tried once or twice, and decided not to rely on) and soothing gel pads (which I loved, used, and made sure to have a couple to bring home with me!).
After we went home, I was careful about watching Marley’s latch and by her first week appointment Marley was back up to her birth weight and then some. I was so proud that my body was nourishing her! She began to wake up more easily for feedings and be more alert in general - and then the seemingly never-ending growth spurts were on! There were times when I was sitting with her on the couch for what seemed like hours. It didn’t bother me, though! If my partner was around to help me, I had him get me water or food…and if he wasn’t, I made sure to grab these things before settling in. I relished the time I had with my daughter…and I definitely spend too much of my life rushing from one thing to the other, so these first few weeks when I wasn’t working and could really focus on her…well, I was going to do just that (and not worry about the housework!...or at least try not to!). I was tired from waking up so often at night, of course, and a few times in those first few weeks I broke down and cried out of sheer frustration or exhaustion…but I knew it was all part of recovery (“the baby blues”) and could get through this.
Around the 3 week mark, I decided we would go in for a short visit to my office. After getting in to the office, Marley, as usual, wanted to nurse. So we settled into a chair and I began feeding her. I realized I was quite cold, and so my partner got a receiving blanket and laid it over me thinking I just wasn’t used to the air conditioning. Well, after feeding Marley, and realizing I was now getting waves of chills I dreaded that I had mastitis. I went home, called my midwife right away, and started searching for what I should do…well, after getting a temperature reading of over 103, starting antibiotics, massaging, nursing, and repeating - I finally felt better…and thankfully haven’t had any problems like this since (*knock on wood*).
I went back to work part-time at 6 weeks and full-time at 10 weeks. I am very lucky to have a job that is flexible around my needs as a mother. They have been supportive of me and approved my requests for a flexible work schedule, and they have also let me bring Marley to work a few hours a week during her first year. The transition from me being with her full-time at home, however, to me being at work was a little hard. At first, I don’t think she knew how to compensate and she drank a lot of expressed breastmilk. There were many days when I didn’t think I could keep up with her; my partner would call me and say that she finished the milk - could I come home? Or could I meet them so I could feed her? I dropped what I was doing and made breastfeeding a priority. After getting used the routine, though, Marley switched completely. She was sleeping with us, and whereas around 2 and 3 months she was sleeping long stretches at night, she decided to reverse this and wake up and take advantage of the fact that I was right next to her. During the day, then, she slowed WAY down on her milk intake when I was away from her. I soon experienced a huge pileup of milk in the fridge and freezer and had to come up with other ways to use it (Marley has taken many milk baths…which is the only thing that ever helped her dry patches on her skin!). Marley continues to wake up often in the night to eat. Since we co-sleep, I don’t find this to be a hindrance, though, and don’t plan to night-wean her or force her to change her habits.
When Marley was between 4 and 5 months old, I noticed some white marks on the inside of her lip. Before bringing her to the doctor, I tried the Grapefruit Seed Extract method of dealing with it (Dr. Jack Newman), as well as taking acidophilus. Even after going to the doctor and getting nystatin, it wouldn’t clear up with consistent treatment…we tried washing everything, using only paper towels, etc…but then one day about a month after it appeared it just went away and hasn’t been back since.
Other than these problems in the first few months, we have had a great nursing relationship (and I would say that we’ve had a great nursing relationship regardless, and perhaps even as a result of, these bumps along the way!). We’ve nursed in public - in restaurants, in malls, and wherever we might need to in order to meet her needs - never once using a blanket or cover up. Marley now knows the sign for “milk” and asks for it often (many times more than she even wants…I think she just has fun getting me to pull my shirt up!). I’ve dealt with (and still sometimes do deal with) sleep deprivation from her many night-nursings, but I signed up as a parent not to pass the buck or find the easy way out, but to provide the best I can for my child…and that’s all I can hope to do…and one of the best ways I can do this in her early years is through breastfeeding. I plan to let her wean herself and not interfere with her needs.
Long before I got pregnant, I knew that I would breastfeed my child(ren). I didn’t know all the details, but I knew it was the best thing to do for my baby. I was absolutely clueless, however, on the details…how long, what it entailed, and so on and so forth.
When I became pregnant, the search was on - for anything and everything I could get my hands on about pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding, and babies in general.
After about 48 hours of labor, Marley entered the world on July 18, 2006. I gave birth naturally in a hospital, with the help of my midwife and my doula ( two_roads). She was born full-term, but small at 6 lbs, 4 oz. I was exhausted after the long labor, and I’m sure little Marley was, too. They lifted her to my bare stomach immediately after birth, however, and I nursed her shortly thereafter. She had a voracious suck - so much so that she missed my nipple the first try and gave me a “hickey” on my areola. After that, though, she was tired and stayed tired for most of our stay in the hospital. The hospital where I gave birth had made budget cuts which eliminated their on-staff lactation consultant, so I was forced to rely to on the varying-degrees of knowledge that the nurses had. Nonetheless, the nurses did not give Marley formula or pacifiers on my request, and if the nurse assigned to me was unable to assist me, they sought nurses who could. We did have troubles those first few days because of my flat nipples and due to incorrect latching - leading to bleeding, cracked, and sore nipples. The nurses were amazed that I was still nursing - I just shrugged it off…any pain I felt was well worth it for my daughter. The nurses recommended pumping (they brought me a hospital grade pump…which I didn’t use), nipple shields (which I tried once or twice, and decided not to rely on) and soothing gel pads (which I loved, used, and made sure to have a couple to bring home with me!).
After we went home, I was careful about watching Marley’s latch and by her first week appointment Marley was back up to her birth weight and then some. I was so proud that my body was nourishing her! She began to wake up more easily for feedings and be more alert in general - and then the seemingly never-ending growth spurts were on! There were times when I was sitting with her on the couch for what seemed like hours. It didn’t bother me, though! If my partner was around to help me, I had him get me water or food…and if he wasn’t, I made sure to grab these things before settling in. I relished the time I had with my daughter…and I definitely spend too much of my life rushing from one thing to the other, so these first few weeks when I wasn’t working and could really focus on her…well, I was going to do just that (and not worry about the housework!...or at least try not to!). I was tired from waking up so often at night, of course, and a few times in those first few weeks I broke down and cried out of sheer frustration or exhaustion…but I knew it was all part of recovery (“the baby blues”) and could get through this.
Around the 3 week mark, I decided we would go in for a short visit to my office. After getting in to the office, Marley, as usual, wanted to nurse. So we settled into a chair and I began feeding her. I realized I was quite cold, and so my partner got a receiving blanket and laid it over me thinking I just wasn’t used to the air conditioning. Well, after feeding Marley, and realizing I was now getting waves of chills I dreaded that I had mastitis. I went home, called my midwife right away, and started searching for what I should do…well, after getting a temperature reading of over 103, starting antibiotics, massaging, nursing, and repeating - I finally felt better…and thankfully haven’t had any problems like this since (*knock on wood*).
I went back to work part-time at 6 weeks and full-time at 10 weeks. I am very lucky to have a job that is flexible around my needs as a mother. They have been supportive of me and approved my requests for a flexible work schedule, and they have also let me bring Marley to work a few hours a week during her first year. The transition from me being with her full-time at home, however, to me being at work was a little hard. At first, I don’t think she knew how to compensate and she drank a lot of expressed breastmilk. There were many days when I didn’t think I could keep up with her; my partner would call me and say that she finished the milk - could I come home? Or could I meet them so I could feed her? I dropped what I was doing and made breastfeeding a priority. After getting used the routine, though, Marley switched completely. She was sleeping with us, and whereas around 2 and 3 months she was sleeping long stretches at night, she decided to reverse this and wake up and take advantage of the fact that I was right next to her. During the day, then, she slowed WAY down on her milk intake when I was away from her. I soon experienced a huge pileup of milk in the fridge and freezer and had to come up with other ways to use it (Marley has taken many milk baths…which is the only thing that ever helped her dry patches on her skin!). Marley continues to wake up often in the night to eat. Since we co-sleep, I don’t find this to be a hindrance, though, and don’t plan to night-wean her or force her to change her habits.
When Marley was between 4 and 5 months old, I noticed some white marks on the inside of her lip. Before bringing her to the doctor, I tried the Grapefruit Seed Extract method of dealing with it (Dr. Jack Newman), as well as taking acidophilus. Even after going to the doctor and getting nystatin, it wouldn’t clear up with consistent treatment…we tried washing everything, using only paper towels, etc…but then one day about a month after it appeared it just went away and hasn’t been back since.
Other than these problems in the first few months, we have had a great nursing relationship (and I would say that we’ve had a great nursing relationship regardless, and perhaps even as a result of, these bumps along the way!). We’ve nursed in public - in restaurants, in malls, and wherever we might need to in order to meet her needs - never once using a blanket or cover up. Marley now knows the sign for “milk” and asks for it often (many times more than she even wants…I think she just has fun getting me to pull my shirt up!). I’ve dealt with (and still sometimes do deal with) sleep deprivation from her many night-nursings, but I signed up as a parent not to pass the buck or find the easy way out, but to provide the best I can for my child…and that’s all I can hope to do…and one of the best ways I can do this in her early years is through breastfeeding. I plan to let her wean herself and not interfere with her needs.