Wednesday, June 22, 2011

less stressed about breastfeeding, hurray!

Besides hanging out beside the pool with Sadie, and relaxing, I finally got to meet with a doctor in chilliwack who happily took me as a patient for just-in-case reasons. So being away from vancouver where I'd like to have this little guy, things could happen here where I could end up in preterm labor...far away from everyone that knows my situation. For peace of mind, I decided that I should get someone out here that knows everything too. The last thing I want is to not have anyone know my situation, and end up getting joe shmo doctor from who-knows-where dealing with this, and not getting things done in time. My worst fear is having to wait for some random doctor to do a c-section with the cerclage possibly tearing my cervix because its contracting. Something I've had nightmares about.

So, a while ago when I had my gallbladder attack, I met with a really nice OBGYN that said it would be smart to connect with her throught this pregnancy in case anything happens here at my parents. I got to meet her again yesterday, and she was the nicest doctor by far that I've met.We talked about my other huge worry-breastfeeding, and she put me right at ease. I know what to do now in case I get stuck in a situation like what happened with Sadie. I never really talked about what happened with breastfeeding Sadie on here. It was a frustrating situation all together, and I felt like a failure. I know now that it was a lot of issues that weren't addressed right away, and that its something that I wont let happen again.

The story last time with Sadie: 

My supply was terribly low. I was behind because I didnt start breastfeeding until about 8 hours after having her. She was sleepy and jaundace, so feeding was hard, she wasnt really into it. Milk didnt come in until day 3, but there was so little that I needed to suppliment with formula because she was losing weight and not getting better. I started pumping way late, like day 3 when they realized that Sadie was getting worse, and I was happy if I got 1oz.  So my doctor told me to breastfeed every 2 hours, feed her formula, and then pump for 20 minutes afterwards. Combined with no sleep, I was a mess. I cried all the time with frustration, was prescribed drugs to boost supply (2 months later) and then quit after 4 horrible months. That routine drove me over the edge for sure.

So, any of you have similar issues? How did you get through them?

4 comments:

heidi said...

the best gift i ever got at my first baby shower was a card from a lactation consultant who goes to our church. she offered her services to me whether or not i was struggling with breastfeeding, just to help me out. she was a GOD-SEND!!! yes, i was struggling as i think is normal for every new mom. she came to my home and showed me so many different techniques. one thing she stressed was not using formula to supplement. she said that every bit of formula my baby was getting would take away from the baby building my own supply. he was having such trouble latching (and was also so sleepy) that i would pump a tiny bit and feed it to him in an eyedropper!

i truly believe that without her help i would've thrown in the towel. because of her, i nursed tristan for 12 months and then samuel for 16 (sam was so much easier cuz i knew what i was doing right away!) so please, get an actual lactation consultant to come and help you. the la leche league is the best, you can find their contact info online. i recently read an article in a pregnancy magazine that said over 95% of women are able to exculsively breastfeed their babies, but so few end up doing it because of the stress and fear that their babies aren't getting enough. its normal for babies to lose weight at first. sam lost more than 10% of his body weight the first week and they gave me formula for him and wanted me to go back and get all kinds of blood tests etc. on him and i just said "no". i knew that he'd awaken more and more and begin to eat better and sure enough within a few days he was gaining weight again.

sorry for the novel! i hope and pray that it goes so much better for you this time around. and please know that i pray for you and your sweet little babe every day.

Cherrypopz said...

I didn't get a chance to breastfeed. When Antoine was born he had hypoglycemy. He was too tired and his sugar level too low to be able to feed. And he wasn't able to get my breast im his mouth because he was so small and has a sunken palate on one side. So the nurses started feedhim formula. I was try to feed him and if it didn't work would give him formula. I was so sad and humiliated that I gave in and stopped trying. At home I started pumping ever 3 hours and I was able to produce milk, but I was SO exhausted that I stop that do. I'm still sad about it. And it costs an arm and a leg in formula.

Miranda said...

I think I'm gonna see a lacticion consultant just to make sure we get a good start on things. Formula was so expensive with Sadie, and the last thing I want is to go through that stressful situation again. I know that stress will just make it worse too.

Cherrypopz, I totally felt the same way, I felt defeated and like a terrible person for giving up/failing.

Cherrypopz said...

I know how you feel. My fiancee used to feel like a failure too. He was so disappointed. I don't know how it is in Vancouver but in Quebec the health system pushes mothers a lot to breastfeed because of all the benefits but when it's not working out, you feel even more guilty because you're not able to give your child antibodies and protection through breastmilk. I wish you all the best this time!

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