Another milestone today: Gabe's first outing! No big deal, really--just went shopping with Candace and Lily and Grandma! Candace needed a dress for a work party so we all went shopping with her!! Can I just say one thing? I LOVE MY STROLLER. It is seriously the best out there for infant carriers! The ones that come in the whole "travel system" are horrendous--they are huge and bulky and hard to maneuver--ugh. So I got the Graco stroller frame thing--it folds up really slim, it's light and compact and really easy to steer around. I. Love. It. It totally rocks. And I got it on CraigsList, so it was a steal of a deal!
Anyway, while we were out, we found a cute little outfit for Gabriel! My mom bought it for him but we don't get it till Christmas...bummer... Anyway, it's really cute.
So I'm a little frustrated right now. I was pumping and feeding Gabriel with a bottle--but still breast milk. And then one day I get the retarded idea that I should give nursing another try...bad idea. It totally threw my milk supply out of whack! I was pumping about 3-4 ounces per breast before and now I'm lucky if I can get that COMBINED!! It sucks sooo bad! Especially since he's wanting to eat every hour right now! I can't keep up with him! I'm afraid I might have to supplement with formula... =( HUGE bummer. I do NOT want to have to give him formula! But if I can't give him all that he needs....ugh...this is hard. My nipples can't take much more of this anyway! (TMI for you? Oh well. I'm over it) Unless I get calluses or something...eew. I don't even want to think about that. But I'm just so sore!! I'm beginning to dread pumping time! Even though I know it's doing SO MUCH good for my little boy....it just makes me so sore and to only get an ounce or two out of each breast is so disheartening...makes me want to give up. But I felt that way in the beginning too--I stuck with it and eventually started getting quite a bit. I just don't know what to do! I've been pumping consistently, drinking more water--more than before when I was getting plenty of milk! And I've been eating better too! I just don't understand why it's not working. The worst part is that he has thrown up TWICE in the past two days. I'm talking projectile vomiting. And entire bottle--not just a little spit up. Three or so ounces. THAT sucks...especially when I can barely keep up with the demand for it. Poor little guy--I know it's not his fault.
So there's the joys and frustrations for the time being. Blah.
2 comments:
Ashley, the first week or two of breastfeeding Aislinn was *so* painful for me and I didn't have issues with Ben at all. It turns out that she was latching on well enough to nurse but wasn't opening wide enough (taking enough of the areola in) so it was like nursing a pair of pliers!! I started getting anxiety when it was time to nurse and after about 30 seconds I would scream and cry while she nursed away. I got nipple shields and they saved my breastfeeding life. You just put them over you before you have the baby latch on and it teaches them to latch correctly. If he's *not* latching on properly and you're expressing less milk, that could be the cause for your production decrease--your body doesn't think it needs to produce as much. I'd give them a try--they'll make breastfeeding stop hurting and hopefully your supply will go back up!!
Sorry this was a novel, but I hope it's helpful for you! <3
hi, so, i read your blog. :D The first few weeks, and even months sometimes are really hard, but it does get better. I promise! Do you have any lanolin? That can really help soothe and heal. Because breastfeeding works in the supply and demand principle, the best way to get your supply up is to let him demand more. Just take a day where you don't do much other than just let him nurse as much as he wants. You will feel really empty and that you have no supply, but you will see it start to go up soon. Also, oatmeal is a good booster (the old fashioned or steel cut kind, not instant or quick) and you can make up some cookies with it if you don't like to eat it regular. Supplementing with formula will really just make the problem worse because you're not letting your body know it needs to make more milk. Of course, I'm just trying to help and if you end up using formula that's fine too! I'm in support of breastfeeding but I don't think any woman should be made to feel bad if she doesn't do it. Congrats on your beautiful baby!
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