Mommy milk is important to me! So much that after 9 weeks of struggling with nursing my first born dear son Jack, I took on the challenge of exclusively pumping. And I continued eping until I found out I was pregnant with Fish #2 when he was 10 months old.
I would not describe eping as difficult, although it required a huge commitment of time and worry. The hardest part for me was not knowing if I was doing enough to keep up my supply. The early days were more than hard....the never ending cycles of nursing, pumping, feeding, nursing, pumping, feeding. Battling a low supply, several rounds of thrush, weeks of cracked nipples, out of control hormones, a resented c-section, numerous unsuccessful visits with the lactation consultant and an unhappy baby at every feeding session. The exhaustion and the frustration mounted until I finally made the decision to focus on pumping. The decision was bitter sweet as I now had pure focus which gave me even more determination and motivation to succeed against the odds and what I had heard over and over from the many doctors and nurses. But on the other hand, I also felt as though I had failed myself as a woman and a mother and that I had deprived my baby of the ever special bond that resulted from nursing.
Once the decison was made, I stepped up to the challenge, pumping 12+ times daily in order to build my supply so that I could eliminate formula from our house! It got a lot easier as time went on and it became a big part of my daily routine. And when the time came to hang up the pumping horns, it was even more difficult for me than some of the early days of nursing (as you will see in my post tomorrow).
This time with my dear daughter Eloise it has been much of the same and yet so different. I was obviously better prepared for battle this time. The battle against doctors, others opinions and my own body. This time, I would stand my ground and refuse to supplement. I would have Newman's ointment and my trusty Medela PISA ready to employ if needed. I would understand that the first month or so would be dedicated to nursing and building a supply. With Eloise, things started off on the right foot as I Vbac'ed and got to nurse her immediately following her birth. But slow weight gain and extended jaundice brought on the supplementing recommendations right away. But with the encouragement of my mother and a great lactation consultant, I held strong. I supplemented but with mommy milk instead of formula. I am very proud of the fact that we have made it to 11 weeks of nursing! We have encountered low milk supply, slower weight gain and nipple confusion, but things are going ok. We still have good days and bad days....but all in all we are still nursing and enjoying each day of it! It is kind of funny as pumping is now my comfort zone and it would be so easy to go back to that. They definitely each have their positives and negatives (look for a post on this later this week).
I know one thing for sure, whatever way you do it, it is worth it! It has been one of the most challenging but rewarding parts of motherhood for me thus far. It is a sacrafice that many mothers make for their babies. And this sacrafice should be praised! Join me and follow my posts dedicated to breastfeeding this week as we celebrate world breastfeeding week!
I would not describe eping as difficult, although it required a huge commitment of time and worry. The hardest part for me was not knowing if I was doing enough to keep up my supply. The early days were more than hard....the never ending cycles of nursing, pumping, feeding, nursing, pumping, feeding. Battling a low supply, several rounds of thrush, weeks of cracked nipples, out of control hormones, a resented c-section, numerous unsuccessful visits with the lactation consultant and an unhappy baby at every feeding session. The exhaustion and the frustration mounted until I finally made the decision to focus on pumping. The decision was bitter sweet as I now had pure focus which gave me even more determination and motivation to succeed against the odds and what I had heard over and over from the many doctors and nurses. But on the other hand, I also felt as though I had failed myself as a woman and a mother and that I had deprived my baby of the ever special bond that resulted from nursing.
Once the decison was made, I stepped up to the challenge, pumping 12+ times daily in order to build my supply so that I could eliminate formula from our house! It got a lot easier as time went on and it became a big part of my daily routine. And when the time came to hang up the pumping horns, it was even more difficult for me than some of the early days of nursing (as you will see in my post tomorrow).
This time with my dear daughter Eloise it has been much of the same and yet so different. I was obviously better prepared for battle this time. The battle against doctors, others opinions and my own body. This time, I would stand my ground and refuse to supplement. I would have Newman's ointment and my trusty Medela PISA ready to employ if needed. I would understand that the first month or so would be dedicated to nursing and building a supply. With Eloise, things started off on the right foot as I Vbac'ed and got to nurse her immediately following her birth. But slow weight gain and extended jaundice brought on the supplementing recommendations right away. But with the encouragement of my mother and a great lactation consultant, I held strong. I supplemented but with mommy milk instead of formula. I am very proud of the fact that we have made it to 11 weeks of nursing! We have encountered low milk supply, slower weight gain and nipple confusion, but things are going ok. We still have good days and bad days....but all in all we are still nursing and enjoying each day of it! It is kind of funny as pumping is now my comfort zone and it would be so easy to go back to that. They definitely each have their positives and negatives (look for a post on this later this week).
I know one thing for sure, whatever way you do it, it is worth it! It has been one of the most challenging but rewarding parts of motherhood for me thus far. It is a sacrafice that many mothers make for their babies. And this sacrafice should be praised! Join me and follow my posts dedicated to breastfeeding this week as we celebrate world breastfeeding week!
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