Like KellyD, I know some of you from the LTTTC preg forum, but now graduated to here! I hope to get to know you all well.
Adam was born on the 20/10/2009 via emergency c, following 3 days of failed induction. He was a big baby, 4.47kg, and was posterior and not engaged at 40 +5 days. Anyway, my beautiful boy is here now.
Everything is going well apart form the breast feeding. I thought I was soooo prepared for it, had done so much reading and spoken to many people etc etc and was very determined to do it for all the right reasons. However, the reality for me is that it is the most excruciating experience (nipples are black and nearly falling off). I have had heaps of education and advice, and he is latching on correctly, but we are not bonding through the experience. Every time I get the confidence to go back and try, 24 hours later I am needing to take pain relief just to get me through the day. So today's feeling is that I just can't do it, it is way too traumatic for me, along with the guilt associated with not being 'able' to do it. Luckily at the moment I have plenty of milk, so I am expressing madly and topping up with formula as needed.
I have placated myself with DH's support, and know it is about survival at the end of the day. But I really wish the professionals would give you both sides of the story. In my other life, I am a breast cancer nurse counsellor, and I know from my patients point of view that they cope better when they get the good and the bad expectations so that reality is not so scary or unknown. I think the same applies here, I would have been more prepared had I known that women can have issues with the BF'ing. All I got told in hospital (even though they were fantastic) was that he wasn't latching properly....but he was. It's my nipples that's the problem.
Anyway, that's my only gripe so far!
Lovely to meet you all, and I will respond with personal's as I grasp the thread!
Hi Neptune!
Oh your nipples - you poor thing! I don't know whether you want bf advice today, but sometimes it does start like that, and yeah, they don't tell you, hey? Only that it shouldn't hurt - but it bloody well does for some people! DS took 11 weeks to get the hang of latching on properly so I wasn't in pain - despite being assured by 3 different LCs that he was attaching beautifully and my technique was perfect. Nipple shields got me through.
Anyway, expressing what you can in the meantime is a good compromise. You just do what feels right for you and your lovely little boy.
Must go, DS is playing monkeys with his auntie. so cute.
Congrats Neptune and Lily Dust - on the birth of your babies!
Neptune - do what you have to for you and the baby. I've sent you a PM, but your story sounds very familiar - except I did not have much milk! Dont feel guilty about what you are doing, and what you want to do in the future - I belive that the most important thing is a happy mum. I've tried everything over the past few months, and it was not until I made the decision to stop trying to fully BF and just go with what I could do, that I actually felt happy with my decision and started to look forward to feed time - bottle or boob! Now I only BF when I'm not in pain, I no longer express (took too much time and I was exhausted), and I ignor all the people that tell me that I should be doing something else as I now no longer want to throw my baby across the room when he latches on - and that can only be a good thing for the both of us!
AFM - not much - drove DS up to Canberra on Monday for a funeral, and back yesterday. Poor little one was sick of his car seat by the end of the two days - not sure how it will go when I want to go into town this morning! He was really good though. Cant belive how hard it is to go on a road trip with just me and the baby - talk about a struggle! Oh well, we survived!
It has been ages since i have been in here, as you all know, the days just fly by with a little one!
Welcome to the thread Kelly, Neptune and Lily Dust. Congratulations on the arrivals of your precious bundles.
Neptune - you are doing a fantastic job! I agree with FG - just do what is right for you and your baby. My older sister gave me that advice before I had Jasmine and it has served me well. I was lucky that my MW's were supportive of whatever I wanted to do. Jasmine has been predominately BF, but it took a long time for my milk to come in, so I was having to give her formula top ups and express after every feed to get everything moving along. It was exhausting! The good thing about it is that she got used to taking a bottle as well as the breast right from an early age, so if I had really sore nipples (she chewed the corner of one of them that ended up leading to mastitis) I would just express and feed from the bottle and/or give her some formula. She is now such a flexible baby with her feeding both with milk and with solids. Look after yourself and do not run yourself into the ground. If your nipples are sore then don't push yourself. You know what is best for you and your baby and whatever decision you make re feeding now and into the future will be the right one.
Kelly - I hope Tara is adjusting to the bottle ok. It is fantastic that you are seeing some weight gain.
I am still trying to catch up on the thread, so please forgive the lack of other personals. Hello to all of you yummy mummys xxx
AFM and Jasmine - we are doing really well. Jasmine is 7 months now and I just do not know where the time has gone. I look back at photos of when she was a newborn and just can't believe how much she has changed. She is such a little person now. She can sit on her own, she is rocking on her hands and knees trying to figure out how to crawl, she is moving in whatever way she can around the room (normally backwards), she is trying to pull herself up on things to stand, she talks (baby language) non-stop and is just the light of my life. I look at her every day in awe. I am so in love with her that I don't know how to put it into words. Sleep is still an issue for us (sorry to those with newborns - not trying to scare you!) Jasmine gets quite bad separation anxiety from me during the night, so will sleep fine when she is in bed with me, but does not want to sleep in her cot (even though it is right beside me). I am trying to get her used to her own cot and I know that it will happen eventually, but I just cannot use controlled crying. I know that every baby is different, and really this is the only issue that we have, and from my point of view it is not that big a deal. I was never somebody that needed a lot of sleep and fall back asleep quickly if my sleep is broken.
on Tara's weight gain - that is great and I'm so glad that ff is working for you. Good luck with getting DH repaired!
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Nipple shields got me through.
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