Bottle to Breast

My first child was formula fed.  My second child, exclusively breastfed.

ROUND 1

When I got pregnant for the first time, the hubby and I were thrilled and confident.  Already an aunt & uncle to 4 little girls,with two of our nieces living close by, we felt prepared.  I knew about pregnancy, delivery, and caring for baby.  The one thing I had no knowledge of though – breastfeeding.   I never bought a book, never went to a class and yet I thought I was going to slap that kid on my boob and hit the ground running.  Uh huh, sure.

Wyatt came into the world ready to go.  He latched minutes after birth and I thought “we’ve got this”.  WRONG.  His latch was messed up and the nurse brought me nipple shields to try.  When the lactation consultant came to see me, I was preparing to check out of the hospital.  So, I told her I was fine and we went home with no consultation.  We tried nipple shields at home and different positions and all we got was frustration.  None of us knew what the heck was going on, and Wyatt decided to check out.  He decided he would just prefer to sleep than deal with the hassle of his mommy’s ignorance.

I called the lactation consultant at the hospital and at my description of the situation, she told me to try feeding him via bottle to get him awake and active, and to schedule an appointment.  I followed the first piece of advice,  but never made an appointment. I cannot honestly tell you why I was avoiding this.  I am not a modest person, not overly busy (other than the baby), and I was recovering very easily.  The best explanation – I was S-T-U-P-I-D.  Wyatt did fine on pumped bottles and I periodically tried to get him to latch but it would always just end in tears of frustration for both of us, so I decided to just pump.  After a month or so, my supply went down due to laziness and a distaste for pumping.  He was put on formula.  I was so disappointed in myself for not giving it a better try. I gave up at a month and a half – had I consulted an LC we probably could have got us going again.  But I had to let it go and move on.  He thrived and grew on formula; he has always been a healthy kid.

ROUND 2

I found out I was pregnant again, just after Wyatt’s first birthday.  I had hopes of giving it a better go this time but with the caveat that “with a new baby and a little guy less than 2, we will just see”.  Abigail was born and latched on (just like Wyatt) within minutes of delivery but this time, I was coming in armed and ready!  I was more educated and had a team of BFing friends to cheer me on and answer my questions.  I was determined not to give up so easily and seek help if/when there were problems.

At Harris SW if you have a healthy baby, you have an option for your 2 day post hospital check-out weight check: you can either see your pediatrician or go back up to the hospital and have the lactation consultant do the weight check.  If given this option, I cannot say enough “SEE THE LACTATION CONSULTANT!”  If we had known about this option with Wyatt, it might have changed EVERYTHING.

Again with Abigail, I checked out of the hospital so fast (just over 24 hours) that I never had a chance to see the lactation consultant.  BUT, I scheduled my 2-day weight check with her.  When we went we were already doing pretty good.  I nursed Abigail while there and she corrected a potential future issue of Abigail latching with her bottom lip rolled in a bit and gave me some tips for some other small issues.  From there we were unstoppable.  Abigail exclusively breastfed for 11 1/2 months (until she self weaned).  She refused bottles so she was with me always.  But having my body and hers perfectly synced up with supply/demand resulted in an easy time for us.  A year really went by quickly.  To know that for the first 14 months before solids were introduced (9 in womb and 5 out) my body was the only thing that sustained her and made her grow gave me great pride and at the same time humbled me.

As a mother, I am reminded everyday of my ignorance in raising children.  Daily, I learn something new about myself, my children and what it means to be a mom.  I enjoy sharing my experiences with other moms, hoping their learning curve won’t be as steep as mine.  The most important things I can pass on to new moms are:

• Surround yourself with knowledge – educate yourself, have a team of supporters around you, and go to professionals if it starts to get tough or you are worried.
• A good latch is key.
• Understanding supply and demand is a must.
• Persistence.

If you want to breastfeed and it doesn’t work the first time, for whatever reason – do not lose heart!  Know you can still have a successful breastfeeding experience with your next child!  Being unsuccessful with the first round only means you go into the next round with more knowledge and determination.