Some Momma-made Complications
Another day among the breastfeeding mommas yesterday and I leave wondering how it all became so complicated.
Yes, there are the situations when maternal anatomy does not fit into baby mouth since baby should have been inside a uterus a few more weeks. Yes, there are babies who chomp vs. suck and just don't "get it" quite yet.
But within hours of delivery, the refrain of "I don't think he's really getting anything" begins. The bottles come out and the baby begins to travel to the dark side. Oh, how they complicate a baby's willingness to continue to be satisfied at the source of teaspoons of colostrum. Who does not prefer the all.you.can.eat buffet?
"I don't think he likes it". How can a one day old infant have a preference already?
"Why is he crying?" Because he's a baby.
The slippery slope of "I just couldn't breastfeed, he wouldn't latch, I didn't make enough milk, I couldn't keep him satisfied" often begins with the escalation of bottle after bottle of increasing volume.
When it's uncertain mommy after uncertain, unbelieving mommy, I need to find a mom who has done this a few times. "What's the longest time you nursed one of your previous four children?" "Eighteen months". The LC sighs in relief. Wow - a mom who knows it works.
My boss came up to me yesterday and says "What do you know - breastfeeding CAN work!" (A sleepy baby finally woke up and nurses three times since she'd seen the couplet in the morning.)
There's the non-latching baby whose mother clearly needs a plan before discharge, expresses gratitude that we will help her with written instructions, and then never calls before heading out the door. Will she be a call in a few days asking for a consult?
There's the call from the teary mom on Day 4 or 5 who can no longer get baby latched who had started supplementing in the hospital just because she was afraid that the baby was not getting anything and wonders if she's messed everything up now. (Complicated things, yes. Made it harder, yes. Impossible to fix, hopefully no.)
There's the mom in the ER who needs a pump because she was not expecting to be there that long and when it's brought to her - yet another baby who is not breastfeeding effectively. But she'd pumped for a few months with her first, so the default correction of a breastfeeding complication is to PUMP. A good solution but easy to become a primarily pumping mom. I suggest a mini-consult, and do a bit of teaching of how to get the latched baby to feed more effectively - and grandma and mom are so grateful. Baby latched, does great and is kept awake longer. (slight jaundice remains, late pre-term baby) "We were going to call you guys tomorrow!"
Then there are the moms who have babies in the NICU who are so thrilled to begin pumping and to provide that one substance that no one else can for their baby. "Oh - there's some coming out!" Excited mom, excited dad - stressful situations but this can help.
And yes, there are the moms who clearly need to be formula feeding because breastfeeding is just not going to work for them. Baby is doing wonderfully but mom does not actually seem to like it. At all. On a busy day, we hope she will know her own limitations sooner rather than later. But we help as long as she's calling. Then the calls stop.
Ah well - my days are never the same, but are always rewarding. Education of those who do not know what they do not know.
Babies Can Nurse
Yes, there are the situations when maternal anatomy does not fit into baby mouth since baby should have been inside a uterus a few more weeks. Yes, there are babies who chomp vs. suck and just don't "get it" quite yet.
But within hours of delivery, the refrain of "I don't think he's really getting anything" begins. The bottles come out and the baby begins to travel to the dark side. Oh, how they complicate a baby's willingness to continue to be satisfied at the source of teaspoons of colostrum. Who does not prefer the all.you.can.eat buffet?
"I don't think he likes it". How can a one day old infant have a preference already?
"Why is he crying?" Because he's a baby.
The slippery slope of "I just couldn't breastfeed, he wouldn't latch, I didn't make enough milk, I couldn't keep him satisfied" often begins with the escalation of bottle after bottle of increasing volume.
When it's uncertain mommy after uncertain, unbelieving mommy, I need to find a mom who has done this a few times. "What's the longest time you nursed one of your previous four children?" "Eighteen months". The LC sighs in relief. Wow - a mom who knows it works.
My boss came up to me yesterday and says "What do you know - breastfeeding CAN work!" (A sleepy baby finally woke up and nurses three times since she'd seen the couplet in the morning.)
There's the non-latching baby whose mother clearly needs a plan before discharge, expresses gratitude that we will help her with written instructions, and then never calls before heading out the door. Will she be a call in a few days asking for a consult?
There's the call from the teary mom on Day 4 or 5 who can no longer get baby latched who had started supplementing in the hospital just because she was afraid that the baby was not getting anything and wonders if she's messed everything up now. (Complicated things, yes. Made it harder, yes. Impossible to fix, hopefully no.)
There's the mom in the ER who needs a pump because she was not expecting to be there that long and when it's brought to her - yet another baby who is not breastfeeding effectively. But she'd pumped for a few months with her first, so the default correction of a breastfeeding complication is to PUMP. A good solution but easy to become a primarily pumping mom. I suggest a mini-consult, and do a bit of teaching of how to get the latched baby to feed more effectively - and grandma and mom are so grateful. Baby latched, does great and is kept awake longer. (slight jaundice remains, late pre-term baby) "We were going to call you guys tomorrow!"
Then there are the moms who have babies in the NICU who are so thrilled to begin pumping and to provide that one substance that no one else can for their baby. "Oh - there's some coming out!" Excited mom, excited dad - stressful situations but this can help.
And yes, there are the moms who clearly need to be formula feeding because breastfeeding is just not going to work for them. Baby is doing wonderfully but mom does not actually seem to like it. At all. On a busy day, we hope she will know her own limitations sooner rather than later. But we help as long as she's calling. Then the calls stop.
Ah well - my days are never the same, but are always rewarding. Education of those who do not know what they do not know.
Babies Can Nurse