My first experience with nursing was a few hours after Josey was born.. a nurse was trying to shove my breast into my babies mouth. Josey wouldn't latch. I had a very long labor with Josey and was so completely exhausted I ended up falling asleep while the nurse was doing this to me. What happened wasn't right on many levels. NOT a pleasant experience at all.
Once my sweet baby did latch I had no idea how I would nurse her. I never knew how hard a baby could suckle! I was shocked! We were sent home with instructions of nursing her every 1-2 hours waking her up if needed and breaking off after 15-20min and trying the next side. Needless to say... a few days later I was completely exhausted, again. I made the decision to wait about 2 1/2 to 3 hours for every feeding, and still broke off after 15-20 min. When Josey was 10 days old she bit me so bad that the tip of my breast was damaged on one side. I can't begin to tell you how bad this hurts. Even though this happened to me I still have no idea how such a tiny baby could do that, or bite SO hard.
Within a few days I got a fever and didn't know why. Suddenly nursing hurt so bad it made me feel delusional. I have never felt more sick in my life. I found out that I had mastitis. I kicked up the amount of water I was drinking, took extra vit c, massage with warm heat or in a warm shower or bath. Tried to nurse often. Josey had to break the scab from the bite every time she nursed (cause I was switching). Weirdly enough, the mastitis was gone within a few days. Little did I know that this would be one of five terrible flare ups of mastitis in 7 1/2 weeks. The next 4 times I got mastitis I had prescription and it would fade for a week or so and come back just as horrible as the last. I can tell you this, I WOULD RATHER HAVE A BABY AGAIN, THAN BE IN THE PAIN OF MASTITIS. Mark my words! I don't know how to describe it to you. I have never cried so much out of sheer pain and frustration than in those weeks. I felt SO bad. I wanted to nurse my baby so bad and be successful at it. I was defeated.
My nursing journey sadly ended at only 7 1/2 weeks with Josey. My bitten left side that kept getting infected waved the white flag of surrender and stopped producing milk. After weeks of trying, crying, appointments, different prescriptions, and boob ultrasounds it was D-O-N-E. So swift and final. When I weaned Josey nothing even filled up on the "sick side".
Josey was always happy and healthy throughout this journey. And she liked eating so much she hardly blinked when she had her first formula bottle. Um, which broke my heart by the way. Stinker.
We used Enfamil for most of the first 6 months. When she was a bit older I was at Sam's Club and compared ingredients to their brand and Enfamil, its the same thing... So to save some money we switched to their brand and never looked back. I think it was about $200-$300 a month for formula depending on what brand I grabbed.
I now have a 9 weeks old son, Graham. His nursing journey has been a bit different. He ate pretty much right after he was born, and oh boy did he want to eat a lot! This time I am alternating sides with each feeding. No switching for one feeding, unless he's still hungry after emptying one side. This method works well for me so I fully know that he is emptying each side and helps me prevent mastitis. This is my opinion, but I feel that when babies nurse this way they won't miss any of the nutrient hind milk, and have a better eating experience without being taken off suddenly. Since I've had Graham I've also been nursing on demand. Any nursing period is a lot of work, but nursing on demand is not the workload that I had pictured in my head. Quite the opposite, actually.
About 2 weeks or so after Graham was born I got mastitis, and kicked it within 24hrs without a prescription. I was terrified!!! And super paranoid! When Graham was about 3 1/2 weeks I got mastitis again and it was gone in 24hrs. This time, in my mind, I made the best nursing related decision ever and called a lactation consultant for an in home visit. During this home visit I learned SO much! I was actually doing a lot of things right with latching which was one of my big concerns. We found out that Graham was tongue tied all the way to the tip of his mouth. This was causing him to do short frequent nursing sessions because he was working so hard to suck he'd get tired. Also, since he had a hard time sucking, he had a hard time finishing each side.
My lactation consultant recommended some chiropractic work to be done on Graham and his tongue to be cut by a local dentist who uses a water laser. The chiropractor was for all the tension Graham had in his neck, jaw, and shoulders from working so hard to nurse. He also used to hold his head looking up at the ceiling all the time from this tension. Since we've gotten this adjusted, he hasn't held his head funky or been completely tense while eating.
We got Graham's tongue cut soon after the lactation consultant visit. We really wanted to do the water laser because the dentist would have a better chance of completely fixing the problem and not just doing one snip. Graham did end up having one of the most "tied" tongues the dentist had seen in awhile. He had to have tissue separated further back in his mouth, which wouldn't really have been fixed had we had his tongue cut the old way. We had a hard time after Graham had his tongue cut because we had to start all over with nursing. A few days after his tongue was cut, Graham refused to nurse for almost a day and a half. I called the lactation consultant and used her recommendations to do skin to skin like when he was just born and he finally nursed again. It was slow progress to get back on track with nursing. It took almost two weeks to fully be regular again.
Now Graham is 9 weeks old and gaining weight and eating like it's no ones business! We are still doing on demand, which translates into about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours anyways. Well, by this age. I think its all around easier on demand. With my first I was glued to my watch or the clock, now I don't even glance at them. It's more simplified now.
If I could give any advice... Please please call a lactation consultant if you have ANY problem! Have her come to your house, or go in for an appointment with her. Don't be afraid to ask questions. It doesn't have to be a big issue for a consult. They're there to help Mom's with all this stuff, it's their job!
And, hey... sometimes breastfeeding doesn't work out. I definitely learned that with my first. It doesn't make you an less of a Mom or any of that. Don't beat yourself up. Breast is best. I agree wholeheartedly, but I'm also thankful that formula is here for when it doesn't work out.
That said, I still will go through many lengths to be able to breastfeed.
We'll see how things go with my second baby! I hope to nurse him for awhile. I don't know how long... He's still a tiny baby so I'm not really concerned with that yet. Maybe if he still wants to nurse before bed when he's 1 1/2 that's totally fine with me. Some Mom's may think that's too soon, some may think that's too long. I'll just see how it goes and make my decisions when I get to that bridge.
I hope to post again on natural mastitis remedies and all sorts of info ;) It may take me a bit, but I want it all written down and easy to share!
Happy parenting!
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