Information is Knowledge and Knowledge is Confidence!
Who ever said that breastfeeding is natural and easy?
My breastfeeding (BF) experience was anything but natural and easy. It wasn't my son's fault. He came out and latched/nursed within the first hour. Our midwives commented that he had a great, strong suck. I wasn't good at getting him to grab enough of the nipple, that was frustrating. Eventually we figured that out. Within a couple of days I kept mentioning to our midwives that it still hurt. I figured after a few days my nipples would toughen up, but they hurt SO bad. The midwives came to our home EVERYDAY for 7 days to check our BFing technique and always said we were doing great. They asked if the pain was constant or only when he latched on...it was constant, even when he wasn't nursing! They suggested I use Lansinoh, so I did. Just the water in the shower falling on my chest was excruciating, I cried through my showers! For about 2 weeks, I literally walked around the house with my breasts hanging out of a nursing shirt! Finally, it was my hubby and I that noticed the inside of our son's mouth was white...really white. We pointed it out to the midwives and they FINALLY diagnosed that we both had thrush. They prescribed Nystatin for both of us. It didn't work. We used Gentian Violet and they prescribed me the All Purpose Nipple Ointment. (Why they didn't do this sooner? Why didn't they notice it sooner in the first place? I have NO idea!!!) It seemed like we got the thrush/yeast under control.
Our son lost the usual weight, less than 10% his birth weight. He was slow to regain. The midwives had me nursing as often as possible and for as long as he'd stay at the breast. At 3 weeks of age, our son had not regained his birth weight. He had gained a bit and then lost a second time. The midwives told us that I didn't have enough milk and that we had to supplement with formula, so we introduced bottles with a fear that he would prefer them and no longer want to breastfeed. I began to take Blessed Thistle and Fenugreek Seed to increase my milk supply. Within a few days, the midwives prescribed me Domperidone to increase milk supply. I tried to pump between feedings, but it didn't seem to increase my supply, just diminished what my son got from me at the next feeding.
A friend of ours, Bobbi, told us two great pieces of advice early on that helped me stick with breastfeeding:
- Give it six weeks. After six weeks, you will know if you want to stick with it or not.
- Breastfeeding is a state of mind; if you want it, you will do it.
So that's what we did for the first two and a half months, I'd nurse our son and then he'd get a bottle to top him up. One week, two different breastfeeding friends told me they had seen Lorraine, a Lactation Consultant at the local health unit. I took it as a sign that I needed to see this Lorraine and booked an appointment. She weight my son, watched me feed him (counting his sucks per swallow, a technique I didn't know about!) and then weighed him again. Nothing. No change. She was obviously concerned and immediately aware that I had an extremely low milk supply. She increased my dose of Domperidone, Fenugreek Seed and Blessed Thistle. We saw her once a week for a while and he started to gain weight (formula was helping). She increased the Domperidone again (40mg 3 x day + 30mg 1/day). By weighing him before and after a feeding, we saw the amount of milk my son was getting from me slowly increase. All along we had kept a notebook record of all his feedings and amount of formula he took. Lorraine had us calculate how many ounces of formula he took everyday. At one point it was up to around 20oz of formula per day and she calculated that he needed 40oz a food a day to maintain his weight and continue to grow as he was, so that meant he was getting 20oz of breastmilk per day, 50% of his diet. Considering the first time I saw the LC, my son got almost no milk from me, this was a huge improvement.
Over time, we saw his formula intake decrease and therefore we knew my milk supply was growing with his demand. This was so encouraging. Both my son and I loved breastfeeding, the closeness and snuggling, not to mention the health benefits of it. At around this time we tried moving him from his bassinet to his crib to sleep at night and it didn't work for any of us, so we started co-sleeping at this time. Nighttime BFing became so easy! At first I tried to keep up my notes of what time he fed, but eventually I gave up because I basically slept through most of them, or stayed sleepy enough to hardly remember how many times we nursed during a night. It was wonderful and we've been co-sleeping/breastfeeding our nights away ever since! There's something special about being curled up with my little guy nursing and me being totally relaxed and able to pause and take in every little detail about him.
At 5.5 months of age, we introduced solids. Slowly, over the next few months, the frequency of nursing him decreased as he took in more solids. When he was about 10 months old we were forced to suddenly place him in daycare (I hurt my back and was told NOT to lift, bend or carry). We dropped to BFing in the early morning, late afternoon, before bed and during the night. And we're still doing it today (he's almost 14 mths old)!
Unfortunately, I have continued to suffer with Thrush/Yeast on and off throughout our first year. My son has not had any visual symptoms for over 8 months, it's just me. I've been on and off of Fluconazole, Gentian Violet, APNO, probiotics and Grapefruit Seed Extract. When it hits, it sucks! Breastfeeding becomes excruciating. Every time I experience it, my family and friends ask if I will take the opportunity to stop BFing. I say no. I love it, my son loves it...I hate the yeast issue and am dealing with it...but I love the connection BFing has given my son and I. I don't really know when we'll stop. I've noticed in the last month or so that sometimes when we feed after daycare and he hears Daddy moving around the house he's distracted and nurses only briefly before he wants to go and explore, and that's totally ok. This is for him...but I'll miss it when he's done.
A NOTE TO OTHER BREASTFEEDING MOMS
If you have trouble breastfeeding but want to do it, stick with it and get help! Contact your local health unit to get in touch with a certified Lactation Consultant. "Information is knowledge and knowledge is confidence" (I said this to my LC about my experience working with her). The whole experience is one of the best things I have ever done. It's a point of pride for me, that I overcame all the struggles and have succeeded in doing what I believe in.
