I think I made a mistake when I decided to introduce the bottle. Since then I have added a whole new set of issues to deal with.
Pumping is very demanding. It seems as though I'm always saying, "I gotta go pump, I'll be back." It's also very time consuming, sometimes I sit there for 40 minutes trying to squeeze every last drop out to get 4 oz. I often worry that I won't have enough to feed her.
Her Doctor said that if Alex doesn't eat straight from the breast my milk could diminish quicker than I'd hoped. And it seems as though it has already started. At first I had too much milk and now I'm not sure I have enough...grrrr.. It's as though I can never win with this breastfeeding thing.
My nipples are more sore than they've ever been, Alex has to be burped way more often and seems to have a lot more gas in general that causes her pain. It's a race to get ahead of Alex's feedings, sometimes I barely make it.
Alex mostly rejects the breast now, however there is the odd time when she will have a snack. I miss looking down at her beautiful face, as she sucks away to get her nutrition from one of my body parts. It's the most wonderful feeling. Back then it was still a struggle though, she would only eat for short periods and because the flow of milk was too fast she often pulled away and cried. She wouldn't eat enough so my breasts would fill up and ache like crazy. I can't win.
Do these breastfeeding advocates know all of the above, or am I the only one faced with the struggles?
Thursday, June 18, 2009
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2 comments:
Your not alone- there are tonnes of people who struggle with breastfeeding, I am still nursing Sydney my goal was to nurse her till she turns 2 or till she weans herself and I have had huge obstacles as well, I have had mastitis so badly that I thought I wouldn't be able to nurse any longer, it was harder in the beginning then got easier, then I had to deal with the whole biting issue as well. I am a bit neurotic with breastfeeding though there are just so many benefits to you and the baby that I wasn't willing to go down without a fight! Like I said though you need to do what works best good on ya for pumping like that, that is really time consuming, I would try t offer her the breast more frequently and see what happens my milk supply goes up and down tonnes! Good luck Kris
Thanks for the encouragement Mel, I'll keep at it!
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