Friday, October 19, 2012

Breastfeeding troubles

So I have always known that I wanted to breastfeed and if possible to do it for at least the first year. There are many reasons why I decided this but most likely the main one was a wonderful nutrition class I took in college (favorite class: anyone currently at VT I suggest it, its called Nutrition through the lifespan). This is what I decided for me and I am not saying that it is the best choice for anyone else. This post is about my experience so far.

I knew a head of time that I may not be able to exclusively breastfeed for the first year and that I may need to supplement. This is because I had a breast reduction. I found a surgeon that knew my wishes and worked hard to make sure I would still be able to breastfeed. Knowing this I went into the situation with an open mind.

At the hospital I first fed my daughter with in the first hour. She latched but did not feed long. I was told this is normal, she is just a "sleepy baby". This continued for the next day. I had a lactation consultant from the hospital visit me. She helped with positioning and recommended I use a pump to help stimulate my milk due to my reduction. I asked her if Emily had a tongue tie because when she latched I was in extreme pain. I was told no and that this is normal. I didn't question it. I had never had a baby before and these were the experts.

Emily still refused to latch for long periods of time through out our stay. I saw a different consultant and asked her about the tongue tie. Again, I was told she was fine because her tongue came out of her mouth. Before leaving I asked the pediatric team, again I was told everything was alright.

At our first Pediatric appointment after the hospital. I asked again and was told she was fine because her tongue came past her gums. She was 3 days old. I had rented a hospital grade pump and was pumping to stimulate before nursing. That afternoon she started refusing to latch. she would scream and arch away from me. Luckily I was still pumping and my milk started to come in. We fed that to her in a bottle and continued to try to latch.

The next day James went to work and I was at home with a 4 day old baby who refused to latch and was becoming lethargic. By 2pm she had not had a wet or dirty diaper for over 16 hrs and was still refusing to latch. In desperation I called the lactation consultant from the hospital. She told me to feed her some formula. Well duh! My sleep deprived brain coupled with my fear about Emily becoming dehydrated seemed to not come up with this solution. She also wanted me to come into the hospital to work with them about latching. Well I couldn't. I was alone and still on pain meds so I could not drive. I fed a bottle to Emily and 20 minutes later a wet diaper.

Over the next few days we continued to try to latch. She refused. We fed her pumped milk and formula because I was not producing enough at that time. I was holding out for Saturday. My mom was coming and Moms know how to do everything right? Plus she had nursed 4 babies. I was sure she would help. Nope, it stumped her too. So by Sunday Emily was 7 days old and we were out of options. I started calling people on the long list of experts the hospital gave me at discharge.

No one answered at the hospital. But the message said to call the La Leche League. I called them, no one answered. I continued down the list. And there was a random woman's name. It seamed out of place but it said she was a LLL leader. So I called. It was her house number and she answered. In explaining I broke down. I was tired, overwhelmed and ready to give up. She told me it would be alright. Do you know how amazing it is to hear that? Then she came over. One of the first things she said was "You are a great mom". I wanted to cry. Here I was so worried and someone told me I was doing everything I could and that I was a good mom. I really needed to hear that and it made everything better.

after working on positioning she asked me if irt hurt when she did latch. Why yes it does. It feels like someone is clamping my nipples with pliers and twisting. But that is normal right? That is what they told me at the hospital. WRONG! So she stuck her FINGERS IN EMILY'S MOUTH. She was the first one to do that. And guess what! She had a tongue tie and an upper lip tie.

We were refereed to a specialist, Dr. Amy Grawey. Who is a family medicine doctor as well as a lactation consultant. She did the laser procedure to remove the ties. Afterwards Emily would still not latch. So at our follow up she suggested a nipple shield. Emily latches wonderfully with the shield.

I also asked about ways to increase my supply because at this point I had gone over 2 weeks with out a baby nursing and my supply was low. I tried fenugreek which did not work so I moved to Reglan. A prescription my OB gave me. It started to work with in days but I discontinued use after having feelings of depression. Reglan is known for increased risk of Postpartum Depression.

Right now we are nursing with the shield. Some people have suggestions for removing the shield but James and I have decided we don't want to put our daughter through that trauma right now and maybe will try later. Using a shield is not so bad. I am also pumping. We still have to supplement but I am fine with that. I have done my best for my daughter and that is all I can do.

I suggest finding help if you are having problems as soon as you notice them. Stick with it you will find what works for you. And if that means you need to stop, do it. A happy mommy makes a happy baby and feeding your child formula is not the end of the world. You still love them and they will know that.

2 comments:

  1. That is certainly the most important thing - a happy mommy makes a happy baby! Your mother turned out just fine- she was completely bottle-fed!

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  2. Also -Brewer's Yeast increases milk production. But, in the end, you do what works best for you and your baby whether it's formula, breastmilk, or both.

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