Seriously. I wish that I was a big, milk producing cow!
Alright, strike that, I wish I could keep up with my little piglet of a daughter!
I used to giggle when the nurses at the hospital or our pediatrician talked about nipple confusion. JP had jaundice his first week that resulted in an extended stay at the NICU and under the lights. IV in the head and everything. Our options were stay another X days in the hospital with him trying to get him to nurse for 30 minutes every 3 hours... not an easy task when your little one is very fatigued and the atmosphere is less than comfortable. Or we could supplement with formula and go home the next day. I'm a hardcore advocate for breast feeding, but the decision was a no-brainer.
We started JP on formula and once we got home he continued to nurse, only taking a bottle when it was offered, which was several times a day once I returned to work 6 weeks postpartum.
Now the piglet...
She was quite upset at me starting with day 2 after we left the hospital. She nursed for 3 hours straight the day we took her to get checked out by the pediatrician. My milk had not come in yet, and the poor thing was so hungry! The dr. told us we could continue doing what we were doing... which meant she would spend the majority of her time latched on and eating and we would have to come back for a weight check in 4 days. Had I known that I was going to be a SAHM, I would have pushed for this option. I don't like formula feeding unless absolutely necessary. In the situation we're in now, I could have pumped reserves for the rare occurrence of a date or just a few hours away. Sure, it would have meant less sleep for me, but I knew then it was the option I would have liked best.
But our situation was different then. I was slated to go back to work in a short 5 and a half weeks, and my dear hubs would need to feed the babe... which meant introducing bottles into the equation.
So, we went for option #2, supplement with formula and not have to come back in until her 2 week checkup. I figured she was going to need to take a bottle eventually... better to get her accustomed while I was still at home instead of throwing her into the bottle routine days before I returned to work. Plus, JP didn't have a problem with switching back and forth between bottle and breast. Surely that was an indication of how my kidlets adapt...
Only not.
It was fine for a bit. We were only giving her bottles at night, giving me a 4 hour block of sleep that I did not take for granted. We continued to supplement after she went in for her 2 week check and had gained an entire pound! She didn't seem to favor taking a bottle more than nursing until she had a growth spurt.
Now she nurses until she has to work for it. Then she gets frustrated and cries and screams until we give her a bottle. She doesn't help a sister out and suckle so my supply meets her growing demands. I know that we set her up for this behavior, and you can't really blame the kid for doing what she has become accustomed to from the very beginning. But it continues to break my heart a little when I'm not able to provide her with the food that she so desperately needs (you would think that she had never eaten before ever... She attacks the bottle like her life depends on it.)
I have tried to pump when this happens as to try and coax my supply up... it seems to work a little, she is still taking a bottle 2-3 times a day... the amounts keep getting less.
I will be thrilled the day that we give her a bottle, not because she has nursed for an hour but is still hungry and won't latch on... but because my hubs and I are on a date and she's with a grandparent.
Guys, yesterday was a bad day. Not very many of you knew it, but I was scheduled for a uterine ablation. I was excited at the prospect of not having a period anymore. (Yes, I'm talking about periods. Gross. Moving on.) They have gotten pretty rough, not letting me do a 90 minute swim without having to stop and change my tampon. I am crampy and uncomfortable the majority of the month. This , among other things, is less than convenient. So, yeah, I was looking forward to surgery. My husband brings me into the surgery center, I get prepped, they take me back, I go night night. I wake up... "We were unable to complete the procedure" No one was willing to go into too many details, as I was coming out of general anesthesia, and still kind of in and out. I remember talking briefly with the doc, but no one else. A nurse came to take me to recovery. She got me into the big chair in the recovery room. I began to cry. She covered me up, and held me while I ugly cried. She han...
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