Okay, just a forewarning. This post may be a little more information than you want to know so read at your own discrepancy.
I knew without a doubt that I wanted to do everything within my power to breastfeed my daughter once she was born. I didn't know that it was going to be such a struggle. When I was a wild & crazy teenager I got my nipples pierced with a girlfriend while on spring break. I never realized that that decision would impact my ability to breastfeed easily. I wish I would have been informed that it could cause problems in that area, but I guess the piercer didn't much care about that...I was just $ in their pocket. Anyways. Both of my nipples are inverted, one mostly so. The first time I tried to nurse my daughter after she was born we knew there was going to be some issues. The nurses in Labor & Delivery had to get me a nipple shield to use "temporarily". Well, the entire time we were in the hospital I had to use the shield to nurse. The doctor & nurses all said it was okay because my daughter was small & therefore had a small mouth so she would eventually be able to nurse without it when her mouth was larger & her sucking ability was stronger. Well, they were wrong. My daughter is 4 months old today and we still have to use the nipple shield at every feeding. It is the biggest pain in the booty.
Other than just having to make sure I have it with me at all times I didn't mind it too much. I hated that my body wasn't able to do what it was meant to naturally because of a stupid decision I made. However, the end result was all that mattered & the end result was my daughter WAS getting breastmilk. So, I was happy. However at our first few checkups the doctor didn't like that my daughter was not gaining weight they way she should be. After trying a few different things (upping my calorie intake, breast compressions, etc) I went ahead and took my doctor's advice to start supplementing with formula. This was not a decision I made lightly. Do not get me wrong, I am in no way saying formula feeding is a bad thing. I was a bottle baby, as were all my siblings & we came out just fine. I just was set on exclusively breastfeeding so doing this left me feeling a little defeated. However, I knew it was best for my baby so I started supplementing with formula two times per day. I would mix the formula with breastmilk to give her the maximum calories possible. This worked wonders. My daughter has gotten back on track with her growth.
Unfortunately the bottle has seemed to make my daughter lazy. Now when she nurses she gets easily distracted & doesn't stay latched on for very long. Sometimes she won't even latch on because with the shield there is nothing there her first few suckles. This upsets her and then she just gets really mad because she is hungry and thinks there is no food to be had. We have been having this battle for about two weeks now and it is really wearing on me. I do not want to stop breastfeeding her, for both of our benefits, but I feel i am almost at the end of my rope. I know that she will be a healthy & happy baby either way but I really enjoy the closeness we have during feeding time. I am not sure though that the stress, on both of us, is worth it. I am trying to not let this get the best of me but it is hard.
What are your opinions on breastfeeding? Do you have any battle stories of your own?
No comments:
Post a Comment