Comments on Sticks & Stones...: My Breastfeeding Story Part 2 (Scroll down if you...

Hey, I'm reading this for the first time now. Lil...

2009-01-03T09:15:25.417-06:00

Hey, I'm reading this for the first time now.

Lila lost a full pound in the hospital. I stayed for 4 nights with her. On my last night, her ankle bracelet fell off and when they weighed her, she had gone from 7 6oz to 6 6. The night nurse told me that it was because my milk hadn't come in yet and that she wouldn't be able to return home with me the next day if I didn't give her formula in a bottle.

I cried and cried and cried. What a terrible way to make a new mother feel.

So, I gave her the bottle. The next day, the lactation consultant came in and was so angry with the nurse.

I can feel your pain with regards to the mastasis....

2008-09-28T20:26:44.910-05:00

I can feel your pain with regards to the mastasis. I have a 10 month old and I have encountered 8 infections. It is miserable!! You have inspired me to write my own breastfeeding story. Maybe I can help encourage someone to keep going even when the going gets tough. Take Care!

I just found your blog today. I really like readin...

2008-05-21T15:56:47.606-05:00

I just found your blog today. I really like reading about your family. I was reading about your breastfeeding story. I have exclusively pumped for both of my kids. I couldn't ever catch on to breastfeeding. I used the Medula pump in style both times. I also pumped a lot in the beginning. I had plenty stored in the freezer which made me feel good. When I started to pump less often it seems my supply goes down so I don't know if pumping less would work for me. My son is 13 months now but I pumped and fed him until he was 10 months when I just got tired of doing it. Thanks for sharing your story! It's nice to read I am not the only person that couldn't get it to work.
Love the name of your blog too!
http://www.inspiredmomof2.blogspot.com/

Praying for you and the new baby to have a good br...

2007-07-08T04:42:48.507-05:00

Praying for you and the new baby to have a good breastfeeding experience!

Your post helped me see that I am not alone. My little one would not suck or latch at first. Then, when she did finally latch on, she would nurse for over an hour and be hungry 15 minutes later. The lactation consultant recommended by my hospital said that there was no such thing as nipple confusion, and I believed her and tried to breastmilk early on. Slow flow nipple, etc... I felt like a cow, could not feel comfortable with the pumping routine.

Around 10 weeks I began decreasing nursing attempts and went to pumping exclusively and feeding her my half and half mix of breastmilk and formula, to help the milk last longer. By 12 weeks, I quit pumping all together, and it wasn't long before we used up our milk. I used an Ameda Purely Yours.

Anyway, I was heartbroken. I had all the support in the world, and I felt like I was cheating my baby's health and development by quitting so early.

The funny thing is, my little girl has had fewer bad colds, etc.. than her cousins who nursed til 18 and 2 months respectively... so far. Her temperment changed when she was full. For the better. Now, at almost 21 months old, nobody cares whether or not she nursed that whole first year. She certainly doesn't. Our emotional bonding increased when I stopped trying to be super-mom and began just cherishing the ability to cuddle with her while boddle-feeding, instead of having to put her down to pump following our failed nursing attempts which left her still hungry.

will I nurse the next one? I hope so (providing we have more kids). Will I try as hard and as long next time if I encounter the same struggles? Probably not.

I will go to a LLL meeting and I will not use the same LLC as before... all her advice contradicted the LLL and it resulted in a baby who preferred the bottle to the breast for food.

Oh, and then there's the whole mistake I made of trying to implement a so-called flexible routine. Really, Babywise & the BAby Whisperer's feeding suggestions were worthless for a child with nursing difficulty.

so we live and learn. Again, praying for you to be able to relax and not worry about the nursing, praying for baby to latch on like a champ,and for both of you to just enjoy getting to know eachother!

WOW! You were great to be so determined to breastf...

2007-07-05T09:16:38.125-05:00

WOW! You were great to be so determined to breastfeed. I love reading every woman's breastfeeding story because I had a hard time with my son at the beginning.

I'm sure you will be much more confident with this next baby and more experienced so that it will be a breeze!

I, too, am impressed on how long you stuck it out!...

2007-05-24T22:02:12.572-05:00

I, too, am impressed on how long you stuck it out! Your experience was similar to my 1st Breastfeeding experience. Every baby is different, and I have had 2 wonderful Breastfeeding experiences since the 1st one. I think that's why I am so passionate about Breastfeeding now. I have been there and know how hard it can be. I will pray that this little one will have a strong sucking reflex and will latch on perfectly. Thanks for visiting my blog!

I'm very proud of you that you stuck it out this l...

2007-02-11T13:23:58.599-06:00

I'm very proud of you that you stuck it out this long. You will be fine either way it happens. I will pray this latches on.
Miller's heart rate was 160 so fingers crossed you get a lil man like mine....he is so sweet.

WOW! You are a trooper. You tried so hard and fo...

2007-02-10T21:06:56.229-06:00

WOW! You are a trooper. You tried so hard and for that you should be proud.
I have told people this and for me it was true....
giving birth was earier than breast feeding.
I will pray we both have success this go around.

BF was hard for us too... THank you for posting th...

2007-02-09T20:46:56.457-06:00

BF was hard for us too... THank you for posting this story.. and iwillpray that this babe will be a sucking fool!

I've heard the heartbeat wives tales too but it di...

2007-02-09T14:54:55.603-06:00

I've heard the heartbeat wives tales too but it didn't work for the three I have. I also hope your breastfeeding goes better this time around! I nursed all 3 of mine and the youngest is still nursing (once a day) and I'm pregnant! You will be in my prayers.

I'm wishing you the BEST of luck this time! You t...

2007-02-09T09:26:56.146-06:00

I'm wishing you the BEST of luck this time! You tried so hard, give yourself a huge pat on the back.

Re: heartbeats... my most recent babe was pronounced by my midwife to be a girl early on based on heartbeat then later sounded like a boy. The day before she was born, mw said she sounded like a girl. She came out a girl... dh's family rarely has one girl per household, let alone two so I was really surprised! :o)

Congrats on your pg.

oh yes - early nursing is a NIGHTMARE!!! I can't c...

2007-02-09T03:46:41.097-06:00

oh yes - early nursing is a NIGHTMARE!!! I can't count the tears I cried in agony trying to keep my sucking MONSTER from completely RIPPING off my nipple! Oh the many visits with the lactation nurses, each one getting me to try to get him to latch on differently, insisting that it wasn't "supposed" to hurt.

My mom - in all her motherly wisdom - just said, "You aren't doing anything wrong. In one week your nipples will toughen up and all will be fine." And she was right!

But I was lucky! So often the problems don't get better.

My mom got mastitis when Sue and I were three months old and back then they told you to stop nursing. She was so devastated that she was forced to stop unnecessarily.

But about the bottle thing - you know I wish the LLL and other consultants didn't get so worked up about it. Julia was very tiny and severely jaundiced when she was born and wouldn't latch AT ALL!!! At the hospital they had Sue use a pump and we fed Julia with a bottle. We had no choice. She needed to drink to get better. I think it was a couple weeks before Julia was nursing well enough to stop the bottle. Now - 21 months later that baby is still nursing!

I was so ill after the birth of my son, that at one week the doctor gave me sedatives and an order to sleep through my 3am feed. I was terrified to do it. But I knew I needed to get some rest. My son took a bottle of my breastmilk for ten weeks for his middle of the night feed. Then at ten weeks he said he was done with the bottle and I couldn't get that child to take another bottle if his life depended on it.

We just need to do what is best for us and our children. There are no pat answers. We do our best - and what is best for our babies. You tried soooo hard. WAY TO GO!

And I sure hope you get an easier road this next time. :) You go girl!

And CONGRATS on the little one!!! You are ahead of me - I am only 6 weeks.

YOu walked on fire darlin' really! I am humbled by...

2007-02-08T21:09:55.793-06:00

YOu walked on fire darlin' really! I am humbled by your dedication. We've got months of prayers to send up for a positive breastfeeding experiance this time. ANd it will be bittersweet at times. But all the sweater for the trials.

You know we are praying for you. A heartbeat.. AW...

2007-02-08T19:59:38.310-06:00

You know we are praying for you. A heartbeat.. AWESOME!!!! I'm so thrilled or you!

It must have been so upsetting for you and you wer...

2007-02-08T18:32:30.407-06:00

It must have been so upsetting for you and you were trying so hard

We learn as we go through parenting. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. There are things Im still learning that Id wished Id known with my older two.

Im praying that you will be able to breatfeed really successfully this time round.

How exciting to hear the heartbeat

I can totally empathize with you. Taylor lost alm...

2007-02-08T18:18:12.329-06:00

I can totally empathize with you. Taylor lost almost a whole pound too after breastfeeding didn't work out. Actually it just didn't work out with ANY of them. I was so depressed about it too and I felt like such a failure. It's hard not to. But praying that you will have great success this next time.

You gave it your best shot, and that's all anyone ...

2007-02-08T17:13:08.763-06:00

You gave it your best shot, and that's all anyone can ask. I never had a problem with mine latching on, but Son #1 would doze off within a minute or two after starting. Nothing would wake him. Of course he'd cry and hour and a half later wanting to be fed again. Each baby is unique.

And I thought nine months of colic was bad. I tru...

2007-02-08T16:35:54.058-06:00

And I thought nine months of colic was bad. I trust this new little one will be totally different.

Isn't it amazing what moms do to get their babies ...

2007-02-08T16:35:54.285-06:00

Isn't it amazing what moms do to get their babies to breastfeed. Noone can say we are not champs!!

Yeah for the heartbeat! I LOVE that moment.

I do hope you can breastfeed this time and that is...

2007-02-08T15:06:40.496-06:00

I do hope you can breastfeed this time and that is goes MUCH easier. You tried so hard before and some don't even do that. Good for you!!!

I'm glad the baby is doing well and don't use the heartbeat as a guide. It is rarely an indicator of sex... nothing will tell you like a good ultrasound or seeing it for yourself when baby is born! LOL!

I actually think you did it a lot longer than I wo...

2007-02-08T13:23:31.790-06:00

I actually think you did it a lot longer than I would have! I got mastitis with my 2nd, she didn't have a strong suck either that was due to her underdeveloped trachia, I could only nurse her for 5 min at a time cuz she would fall asleep. it was very frustrating! so I pray right now in Jesus name that this baby will be born whole and healthy and with perfect sucking reflexes! Amen!

Oh my I'm so sorry that you had to go through all ...

2007-02-08T12:43:07.801-06:00

Oh my I'm so sorry that you had to go through all that. We're praying for you here too...this kiddo will be a nursing champ!!!

Congrats on that little heartbeat...so great to hear that!!!!

Try try again is what they say. I'm sure it will ...

2007-02-08T12:06:56.809-06:00

Try try again is what they say. I'm sure it will be better this time, couldn't be much worse, right?

Woo hoo! A heartbeat!

I didn't read this post b/c of it's graphic conten...

2007-02-08T10:12:44.533-06:00

I didn't read this post b/c of it's graphic content.

Post something about your dippity-doo husband!

You know, with all that you had to go through in s...

2007-02-08T10:12:09.492-06:00

You know, with all that you had to go through in such a short time, I'm amazed that you pumped as long as you did!! That's amazing. Any mom who can put up with a pump 24/7 must have nipples of steel (ok, that sounds grosser than I intended). I know that you really want to nurse the next one, so I really hope it turns out well for you...