Breast is Best!
Yes, I am dedicating an entire post to breast feeding. It's the thing that is on my mind 24/7 right now. It's the thing that I was dreading about having the baby. I know most mom's consider this a magical time and it's wonderful and a bonding experience and all that. I completely agree with all of that but I also have the flip side of things too, painful nursing, breast infections, and major, we are talking MAJOR, amounts of milk.
Today the Pediatrician asked how nursing was going. I told her I was having a hard time. She looked at CH and his weight and the fact that he has gained almost an entire pound in 1 1/2 weeks and then looked at me like I was crazy. So I determined that what she really meant to ask was is the baby having any trouble with nursing. As long as the baby is doing well and gaining weight I guess my concerns and frustrations are not valid.
I came home from the hospital on Friday and by Monday of last week I had a major double breast infection. Fever, chills, engorgement, redness, everything. It was awful, I was so sick I could not move off the bed. I went to the Dr. in my pajamas! He was saying things to me like, "If you're not better by tomorrow then we are admitting you to the hospital." Not what I wanted to hear after just breakin' out of that place. Luckily I am on my trusty antibiotics and feeling much better but I know that the minute that I'm off them I'm going to be right back at square one. How do I know this...past experience.
I've always been prone to infections since baby #1, but they have gotten worse and more frequent with each child. When I nursed L I had on average 3 infections a month. Now not all of these were to the point of medication but they were all painful and came with the dreaded fever and chills. I nursed him for 15 months, yeah I'm a die-hard! In fact the only child that I gave up on was C. I only nursed him for 4 months and at that point he was fighting me every time he ate and we'd both end up crying and it was just not worth the stress. Oh, and he would only nurse on the left breast and so I ran around town for 4 months VERY lopsided! He was happier with a bottle and guess what...I was a nicer mommy and could enjoy his infancy.
So now I have this little baby that is a lazy eater. I don't know what the deal is but he's a good latcher, my milk comes quickly, and he's a good eater but for some reason he only will stay latched for about 15 seconds then he pulls away and we have to start over. So what should be a 15 minute nursing session sometimes turns into 30-45 minutes of frustration on both our parts and that's just for one side! So right now I'm BFF's with my trusty Madella Pump in Style and I make sure to feed this baby as often as I can. I don't go many places that will take a long time because I dread nursing in public because of the frustration. Normally I'm very discreet and can nurse and it looks like I'm just holding my baby, but with this guy it's basically a peep show. On, off, on off, struggling, crying, screaming, etc the whole time. During the day I can handle it better and am more patient but when it's 2 hours of my night taken up just trying to get him to eat it's a little stressful. I've taken to only feeding him once a night and that's only if he insists, if I can get by with sticking a poppy (pacifier) in his mouth then that's what he gets.
The big question is...is this worth it? Is breast really best if we are struggling with every feeding? I was a formula baby and turned out ok, and so did C. I don't know what the next few weeks holds for CH and I, we'll see how the next infection goes and if I wind up in the hospital that may be the end of that!
Today the Pediatrician asked how nursing was going. I told her I was having a hard time. She looked at CH and his weight and the fact that he has gained almost an entire pound in 1 1/2 weeks and then looked at me like I was crazy. So I determined that what she really meant to ask was is the baby having any trouble with nursing. As long as the baby is doing well and gaining weight I guess my concerns and frustrations are not valid.
I came home from the hospital on Friday and by Monday of last week I had a major double breast infection. Fever, chills, engorgement, redness, everything. It was awful, I was so sick I could not move off the bed. I went to the Dr. in my pajamas! He was saying things to me like, "If you're not better by tomorrow then we are admitting you to the hospital." Not what I wanted to hear after just breakin' out of that place. Luckily I am on my trusty antibiotics and feeling much better but I know that the minute that I'm off them I'm going to be right back at square one. How do I know this...past experience.
I've always been prone to infections since baby #1, but they have gotten worse and more frequent with each child. When I nursed L I had on average 3 infections a month. Now not all of these were to the point of medication but they were all painful and came with the dreaded fever and chills. I nursed him for 15 months, yeah I'm a die-hard! In fact the only child that I gave up on was C. I only nursed him for 4 months and at that point he was fighting me every time he ate and we'd both end up crying and it was just not worth the stress. Oh, and he would only nurse on the left breast and so I ran around town for 4 months VERY lopsided! He was happier with a bottle and guess what...I was a nicer mommy and could enjoy his infancy.
So now I have this little baby that is a lazy eater. I don't know what the deal is but he's a good latcher, my milk comes quickly, and he's a good eater but for some reason he only will stay latched for about 15 seconds then he pulls away and we have to start over. So what should be a 15 minute nursing session sometimes turns into 30-45 minutes of frustration on both our parts and that's just for one side! So right now I'm BFF's with my trusty Madella Pump in Style and I make sure to feed this baby as often as I can. I don't go many places that will take a long time because I dread nursing in public because of the frustration. Normally I'm very discreet and can nurse and it looks like I'm just holding my baby, but with this guy it's basically a peep show. On, off, on off, struggling, crying, screaming, etc the whole time. During the day I can handle it better and am more patient but when it's 2 hours of my night taken up just trying to get him to eat it's a little stressful. I've taken to only feeding him once a night and that's only if he insists, if I can get by with sticking a poppy (pacifier) in his mouth then that's what he gets.
The big question is...is this worth it? Is breast really best if we are struggling with every feeding? I was a formula baby and turned out ok, and so did C. I don't know what the next few weeks holds for CH and I, we'll see how the next infection goes and if I wind up in the hospital that may be the end of that!
Comments
I'm going to say it....breast IS great....but guess what...so is formula. You do the best you can, but it is not worth it to be so sick you can't take care of your baby...or yourself. Breast infections are nasty things. It's not to be taken lightly. Your baby will be just fine, FINE on formula. People can knock formula all they want...it's made for babies...it's not filled w/ nails & Satan! I believe you HAVE to take care of yourself. If you are getting violently sick from nursing...stop. If you want to keep truck'n...go for it. Take it one day at a time. You have to really watch your health on this. I am so sorry you have to go through this. I wish I could say it's easy. Sure, nursing is "natural"....but it also can bring you to your knees & destroy all the time you have w/ you baby & fill your days w/ pain.
You are great & I hope things get better. If you need help weaning, call me. If you need help truck'n, call me. But most of all...enjoy that dang cute baby!