I brought my giant baby home from the hospital, with post-caesarian instructions not to walk up stairs of carry more than ten pounds. They handed me a ten-pound baby while saying this. In my home, the bathroom was on the second floor, and there was NO WAY I could live in a bedroom for a month.
But back to the nursing. This kid was a fantastic nurser. Even in the early weeks, he would actually unlatch if his latch wasn't right, and try again. During the day, we nursed so constantly, there were only about 30 minute breaks from the end of one to the start of another. Each time he did both sides, about 15 minutes each side, but I stopped counting and trusted him after the first week or so. Sometimes it was 20 minutes, and he'd have a three-boober, left, right, left. Sometimes only three minutes a side and then done. The forty-minutes session was always the norm for us.
Nights were a little tougher, trying to get him to stay awake long enough to have a complete meal. There was certainly NO problem waking him at first, as he slept in 90-minute sections all night long, but he would fall asleep after the first side, and I would change his diaper to get him woken up enough for the second side. My big "startle the baby' trick was to spit in his ear. Gross, I know, but required very little energy from me, and I had very little energy for almost two years.
The first six weeks, it stung every time he latched on, which is well within the range of normal. This is one reason so many women give up so quickly. The nerves are getting used to the sensation and need time to adjust. That's why they tell you to switch the position the baby is nursing in every time. I did that for about two weeks, then figured we'd nurse in the most comfortable position for both of us, the cradle hold. The "football hold", where baby's feet are behind you (can you say, awkward) is apparently for women who have a lot of abdominal pain after the c-section. Mine hurt, but not enough to change the baby's position. That’s' what the Boppy was for. I think the doctor's advice had not caught up with the wonderful nursing pillows out there, or I'm just super tough.
He nursed, and nursed, and I ate and ate. People would say, "Oh, is he eating again?" And I'd say, "No, he's still eating." It was all one big meal for him.
We nursed everywhere. The Water Taxi, in front of the coffee shop almost every day, on airplanes, at friend's houses, basically wherever we were. I never tried to cover him with a blanket, even after he got older and got distractible, popping on and off. Once we nursed while walking down the street. He was in his sling, and hadn't taken a nap at all that day.
As far as pumping, I think it's a great thing, and highly recommend it, but I hated it, and did it probably 10 times. It wasn't a supply issue, as my boy just grew and grew, but I just didn’t feel like pumping on top of nursing all the time. I also had no good reason, and not-so-secretly loved having a reason to keep my angel near me at all times.
He had a pumped bottle at 8 weeks, which he had no problem with, but other than those two times in the hospital, formula never crossed his lips. I never felt the need to give him formula so he would sleep better or anything like that, because I knew too much. Formula does not equal sleep, and anyway, what else did I have to do? I wasn't working, had no other children, and meeting his needs is my job, so why not do it? Plus, I think I was too tired to think about it, and it was always easy just to pop a boob in him.
I don’t have any big problem with formula, I just didn’t see the point for us. Plus it's smelly and a hassle. I never minded taking my shirt off in public before, why stop now? We never used a pacifier either, although I tried about three times. He didn't take it at all, and threw up the third time. Again, no point in our family. He was also one of those babies that just eats and eats, and in turn, allowed me to eat and eat.
Overall, things went really well in the breastfeeding area. He didn't sleep, but I always figured he was just too busy.
The next installment will cover the rest of the first year, and the challenges of nursing an acrobat.
Thank for reading,
-Anne
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