Nursing Story
Jul. 31st, 2007 04:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
littleweedsI suppose it all started Thanksgiving of 2005. We were momentarily home from one dinner getting ready to head for the next one. It was 5 pm exactly when I slipped on the stairs coming down from the bedroom. I rolled to not land on my belly (8 months pregnant) and landed on the point of my shoulder instead. I felt fine for a little while. We only started out for the hospital because I was worried about the baby who at that time was rioting in my belly over the adrenaline surge.
I got in the car and noticed something wrong when I attempted to buckle my seatbelt. Boy do you get fast service at the emergency room when your check in information says "fell" and "8 months pregnant." I was in and out in less than two hours but left with a broken collarbone and my arm in a sling.
Fast forward six weeks. I was at an appointment with my midwife and ob to schedule induction in two days due to pregnancy hypertension. I was induced that same day (never left the hospital from the appointment) because I was leaking amniotic fluid.
Labor and delivery went amazingly well and was only 6 hours from the first contraction to the last. I barely noticed my broken collarbone until afterwards. We got to nurse almost immediately and the hospital was very supportive.
My daughter Elena mostly roomed in with me and when she wasn't with me they would bring her back to me when she was hungry. No pacifiers, no formula, no pushing for either. They even had an LC on call to help.
I had a lot of trouble getting Elena in a position to nurse and getting her latched on using only one hand. I remember being very frustrated because I'd have problems, call a nurse who would call the LC, and then the LC would just latch Elena on and never really showed me how to do it. Not related to breastfeeding but the nurses would occasionally be frustrated with me calling to help with even just changing Elena's diaper until they walked into the room and remembered my injury.
Things did not get much better once we got home. I couldn't seem to get the hand of it and nobody seemed to have any advice. I called my cousin who was a great help. She brought over a boppy pillow so I could support with that and latch her on with my good hand. She also showed me a better way to position my daughter so she got the most of nursing. We were fine until my milk came in. I did call my local LLL leader and she had one suggestion but didn't really have any experience with my situation.
I was a little worried because my milk didn't come in right away. It was five days after birth and then suddenly Elena started refusing my left breast. It was too big and because of my sling I just couldn't get her to even try to latch on. The first day my milk came in, Elena spit up all over me and my first thought was "Yay! I'm not starving my baby!"
The first two weeks were very difficult. My shoulder hurt a lot, sometimes felt cold, and I had pins and needles in my arm. My nipples were scabbed over from a bad latch I had trouble correcting one handed. I started having crying jags all of the time. I had trouble keeping Elena awake enough to nurse and when she was awake enough she nurse for almost an hour straight. By the end of that hour I'd be in a lot of pain from the shoulder.
Because I had trouble picking her up at night to nurse, my daughter either slept with my husband or slept in a cosleeper beside me. It was a lot easier on all of us that way.
I was afraid of nursing and afraid of not nursing. I was afraid that I would really mess up my shoulder and need surgery if I kept nursing my baby. Nursing was so difficult that I'd be crying from frustration every time we nursed. I needed so much help to do such a natural thing; I couldn't even burp my baby which led to massive spit-ups then massive laundry. Thank god my husband was/is extremely supportive and took care of EVERYTHING. He had the first month off from work.
I came very close to giving up and sometimes only my pride kept me going. A couple of times when I just couldn't deal either because of a crying jag, shoulder pain, or being out of it because of the pain medication, we supplemented with formula.
Things came to a head a week or two after Elena was born when we went in for her second checkup with the family doctor. The doctor calmed me down, called the LC and got a hospital grade pump reserved for me. I was also diagnosed with PPD. The plan was to pump the left (the broken side) to avoid mastitis and nurse on the right. That same day I got out of the sling and into a figure eight brace that allowed me use of my left arm. I also got a prescription for an antidepressant from my midwife.
The next four weeks while my shoulder healed were still a challenge but things improved. If I was in too much pain to nurse, my husband fed her breast milk by bottle while I pumped. The new brace allowed me to pick Elena up by myself and we discovered that just bouncing her on my knee made her burp. That brought the end of the "Incredible Exploding Baby" episodes. The brace started giving me migraine level tension headaches but those I had learned to deal with in high school.
Eight weeks into our nursing relationship I went from hating breastfeeding to not minding it. That was a huge improvement to my mind. We started experimenting with positions we hadn't been able to use and could nurse just about anywhere.
I went back to work 7 weeks after Elena was born and started pumping three times a day. I made arrangements with my supervisor to space my lunch and breaks as needed. Although a dedicated nursing room would have been nice, all the building had was a shower room that had a seat, power, a sink, and a locking door. It was in the bathroom so I had to sit through poop-stink (I had a good rant going on about that), perfume, hairspray, and eventually even air fresheners. Since I'm allergic to many scents, I finally made a fuss when the air fresheners came back.
I eventually had to add two more pumping sessions around 9 months to be able to have enough milk for Elena for the next day. I continued pumping at work until she was 12 months old then continued pumping at home in the morning and the evening until 15 months. When her daily supply of Momma-milk ran out she would get cow-milk. We still continued to nurse when I was home anywhere from three to six times a day depending on how much she was up at night.
I came to love nursing and I'm proud of myself for making it through those difficult months at the beginning. Since then it's been clear sailing with very few problems. A couple of bites that weren't repeated and the start of a blocked duct that was quickly defeated my massive amounts of nursing are the ones I remember.
We delayed solids until Elena was 6 months old then went slowly avoiding foods that might trigger allergies. My husband is allergic to peanuts, chocolate, and something in most beer. We had problems with some foods I ate giving her gas but as long as I avoided cabbage, apricots, and onions we were ok. I didn't have to give up caffeine until she suddenly became sensitive to it around 13 months old.
I've had a wonderful support system. My family supported breastfeeding from the beginning and have come to see the benefits of extended breastfeeding. My husband has been absolutely fabulous. My doctor's office and my PA are extremely supportive of breastfeeding. They comment on how she's doing so well because of breast milk, told me that she doesn't need vitamin supplements because we're still breastfeeding, and are always aware of our continued nursing when prescribing medication to me.
The benefits just keep stacking up. Besides not needing supplemental vitamins, my daughter had has two bouts with a stomach illness that caused some pretty extreme vomiting and one instance of aspirant pneumonia from inhaling vomit. Both times she stayed out of the hospital only because she was breastfeeding and able to stay hydrated because of that.
I keep notes in my journal about the cute things that happen while nursing; Elena smacking herself with her baby doll, pushing herself away and getting pissed about it, the first time she signed "milk" to ask to nurse, when she started laughing because she loved boob so much, and most recently when she looked up at me and said "Yummy" while signing "milk."
Now I'm nursing a toddler and that brings new fun to the relationship. She asks to nurse by saying "Buh" or "Boo" and pointing to my chest. She says either "More ples" or "Osiiiiide" when she wants to switch breasts. She doesn't nurse with shoes on, if I can help it, to keep her from kicking my throat. She doesn’t nurse with a hard toy because one of us will certainly get bapped with it. We've tried some new and unusual nursing positions but not many because she prefers to be totally relaxed when nursing.
She still nurses 3 - 6 times a day during the week depending on how often she gets up at night and what her other needs are. On the weekend it's a free for all and she gets as much "Buh" as she can stand.
Elena has always been a little lactivist. Every where we go, particularly if it's a new place, she absolutely has to nurse RIGHT THERE and RIGHT NOW. She's out to prove to everyone that nursing toddlers is normal, right, and legal in public in our state.
Added 4/18/2008
The rest of our nursing relationship has been pretty much free from troubles. She is 27 months old and still nursing; sometimes once a day, sometimes 3 times a day, sometimes not at all.
I ocassionally get people asking "Are you still nursing? When are you going to wean?!?" but not very many. My response is usually "yes" or "none of your business."
These days Elena is very busy when we're out in public so most of our nursing is done at home.
Most nights she sleeps through without having to nurse but once or twice a week she still wants Midnight Momma Milk.
Last last year I started having problems with constant migraines; two to three day migraines twice a week. I have a wonderfully supportive doctor and PA. They have a book of medication specifically for breastfeeding mothers. The PA found a preventative medication for my migraines that doesn't affect my daughter. That makes four breastfeeding safe medications they've found for my various health issues (depression, migraines, and allergies being the main ones).
Nursing a toddler has been a lot of fun and handy. It soothes away hurt feelings and ouchies, calms the over-tired girl, and it just feels great to bring her into our bed on Saturday mornings to snuggle and nurse.
I got in the car and noticed something wrong when I attempted to buckle my seatbelt. Boy do you get fast service at the emergency room when your check in information says "fell" and "8 months pregnant." I was in and out in less than two hours but left with a broken collarbone and my arm in a sling.
Fast forward six weeks. I was at an appointment with my midwife and ob to schedule induction in two days due to pregnancy hypertension. I was induced that same day (never left the hospital from the appointment) because I was leaking amniotic fluid.
Labor and delivery went amazingly well and was only 6 hours from the first contraction to the last. I barely noticed my broken collarbone until afterwards. We got to nurse almost immediately and the hospital was very supportive.
My daughter Elena mostly roomed in with me and when she wasn't with me they would bring her back to me when she was hungry. No pacifiers, no formula, no pushing for either. They even had an LC on call to help.
I had a lot of trouble getting Elena in a position to nurse and getting her latched on using only one hand. I remember being very frustrated because I'd have problems, call a nurse who would call the LC, and then the LC would just latch Elena on and never really showed me how to do it. Not related to breastfeeding but the nurses would occasionally be frustrated with me calling to help with even just changing Elena's diaper until they walked into the room and remembered my injury.
Things did not get much better once we got home. I couldn't seem to get the hand of it and nobody seemed to have any advice. I called my cousin who was a great help. She brought over a boppy pillow so I could support with that and latch her on with my good hand. She also showed me a better way to position my daughter so she got the most of nursing. We were fine until my milk came in. I did call my local LLL leader and she had one suggestion but didn't really have any experience with my situation.
I was a little worried because my milk didn't come in right away. It was five days after birth and then suddenly Elena started refusing my left breast. It was too big and because of my sling I just couldn't get her to even try to latch on. The first day my milk came in, Elena spit up all over me and my first thought was "Yay! I'm not starving my baby!"
The first two weeks were very difficult. My shoulder hurt a lot, sometimes felt cold, and I had pins and needles in my arm. My nipples were scabbed over from a bad latch I had trouble correcting one handed. I started having crying jags all of the time. I had trouble keeping Elena awake enough to nurse and when she was awake enough she nurse for almost an hour straight. By the end of that hour I'd be in a lot of pain from the shoulder.
Because I had trouble picking her up at night to nurse, my daughter either slept with my husband or slept in a cosleeper beside me. It was a lot easier on all of us that way.
I was afraid of nursing and afraid of not nursing. I was afraid that I would really mess up my shoulder and need surgery if I kept nursing my baby. Nursing was so difficult that I'd be crying from frustration every time we nursed. I needed so much help to do such a natural thing; I couldn't even burp my baby which led to massive spit-ups then massive laundry. Thank god my husband was/is extremely supportive and took care of EVERYTHING. He had the first month off from work.
I came very close to giving up and sometimes only my pride kept me going. A couple of times when I just couldn't deal either because of a crying jag, shoulder pain, or being out of it because of the pain medication, we supplemented with formula.
Things came to a head a week or two after Elena was born when we went in for her second checkup with the family doctor. The doctor calmed me down, called the LC and got a hospital grade pump reserved for me. I was also diagnosed with PPD. The plan was to pump the left (the broken side) to avoid mastitis and nurse on the right. That same day I got out of the sling and into a figure eight brace that allowed me use of my left arm. I also got a prescription for an antidepressant from my midwife.
The next four weeks while my shoulder healed were still a challenge but things improved. If I was in too much pain to nurse, my husband fed her breast milk by bottle while I pumped. The new brace allowed me to pick Elena up by myself and we discovered that just bouncing her on my knee made her burp. That brought the end of the "Incredible Exploding Baby" episodes. The brace started giving me migraine level tension headaches but those I had learned to deal with in high school.
Eight weeks into our nursing relationship I went from hating breastfeeding to not minding it. That was a huge improvement to my mind. We started experimenting with positions we hadn't been able to use and could nurse just about anywhere.
I went back to work 7 weeks after Elena was born and started pumping three times a day. I made arrangements with my supervisor to space my lunch and breaks as needed. Although a dedicated nursing room would have been nice, all the building had was a shower room that had a seat, power, a sink, and a locking door. It was in the bathroom so I had to sit through poop-stink (I had a good rant going on about that), perfume, hairspray, and eventually even air fresheners. Since I'm allergic to many scents, I finally made a fuss when the air fresheners came back.
I eventually had to add two more pumping sessions around 9 months to be able to have enough milk for Elena for the next day. I continued pumping at work until she was 12 months old then continued pumping at home in the morning and the evening until 15 months. When her daily supply of Momma-milk ran out she would get cow-milk. We still continued to nurse when I was home anywhere from three to six times a day depending on how much she was up at night.
I came to love nursing and I'm proud of myself for making it through those difficult months at the beginning. Since then it's been clear sailing with very few problems. A couple of bites that weren't repeated and the start of a blocked duct that was quickly defeated my massive amounts of nursing are the ones I remember.
We delayed solids until Elena was 6 months old then went slowly avoiding foods that might trigger allergies. My husband is allergic to peanuts, chocolate, and something in most beer. We had problems with some foods I ate giving her gas but as long as I avoided cabbage, apricots, and onions we were ok. I didn't have to give up caffeine until she suddenly became sensitive to it around 13 months old.
I've had a wonderful support system. My family supported breastfeeding from the beginning and have come to see the benefits of extended breastfeeding. My husband has been absolutely fabulous. My doctor's office and my PA are extremely supportive of breastfeeding. They comment on how she's doing so well because of breast milk, told me that she doesn't need vitamin supplements because we're still breastfeeding, and are always aware of our continued nursing when prescribing medication to me.
The benefits just keep stacking up. Besides not needing supplemental vitamins, my daughter had has two bouts with a stomach illness that caused some pretty extreme vomiting and one instance of aspirant pneumonia from inhaling vomit. Both times she stayed out of the hospital only because she was breastfeeding and able to stay hydrated because of that.
I keep notes in my journal about the cute things that happen while nursing; Elena smacking herself with her baby doll, pushing herself away and getting pissed about it, the first time she signed "milk" to ask to nurse, when she started laughing because she loved boob so much, and most recently when she looked up at me and said "Yummy" while signing "milk."
Now I'm nursing a toddler and that brings new fun to the relationship. She asks to nurse by saying "Buh" or "Boo" and pointing to my chest. She says either "More ples" or "Osiiiiide" when she wants to switch breasts. She doesn't nurse with shoes on, if I can help it, to keep her from kicking my throat. She doesn’t nurse with a hard toy because one of us will certainly get bapped with it. We've tried some new and unusual nursing positions but not many because she prefers to be totally relaxed when nursing.
She still nurses 3 - 6 times a day during the week depending on how often she gets up at night and what her other needs are. On the weekend it's a free for all and she gets as much "Buh" as she can stand.
Elena has always been a little lactivist. Every where we go, particularly if it's a new place, she absolutely has to nurse RIGHT THERE and RIGHT NOW. She's out to prove to everyone that nursing toddlers is normal, right, and legal in public in our state.
Added 4/18/2008
The rest of our nursing relationship has been pretty much free from troubles. She is 27 months old and still nursing; sometimes once a day, sometimes 3 times a day, sometimes not at all.
I ocassionally get people asking "Are you still nursing? When are you going to wean?!?" but not very many. My response is usually "yes" or "none of your business."
These days Elena is very busy when we're out in public so most of our nursing is done at home.
Most nights she sleeps through without having to nurse but once or twice a week she still wants Midnight Momma Milk.
Last last year I started having problems with constant migraines; two to three day migraines twice a week. I have a wonderfully supportive doctor and PA. They have a book of medication specifically for breastfeeding mothers. The PA found a preventative medication for my migraines that doesn't affect my daughter. That makes four breastfeeding safe medications they've found for my various health issues (depression, migraines, and allergies being the main ones).
Nursing a toddler has been a lot of fun and handy. It soothes away hurt feelings and ouchies, calms the over-tired girl, and it just feels great to bring her into our bed on Saturday mornings to snuggle and nurse.
