MadeLynn latched on right away the day she was born but wasn't really that interested in eating. She was pretty swollen from all the IV's I had to have pumped in me during delivery and it was a long labor so I think she was just trying to recover. But, I was a little nervous so I had the lactation consultant come and meet with me. She right away suggested a nipple shield. I hated that thing. It was really hard to put on and I didn't feel like it was helping but I continued to use it because I was nervous about making sure MadeLynn was getting enough to eat. The first 3 days of MadeLynn's life were a struggle because she was actually losing weight. We had doctor's appointments every morning to weigh her. I was a nervous wreck because she had been born at 9lbs 1oz and in two days dropped down to 8lbs 2oz. But all that nervousness was completely gone by day four because in one day she went back up to her birth weight...my milk had finally come in!
MadeLynn nursed every 2 hours for the first and second month. Slowly at night she would start to have 4-5 hour stretches of sleep and finally at a little over 3 months old, she slept through the night! But that was short lived (lasted a week) because she then learned to how to roll over (belly to back) and began waking up at night to practice.
I have to say that her 3rd month of life was the hardest month for me. Newborn struggles were nothing compared to the sleep deprivation of the 3rd month. MadeLynn was nursing every two hours of the day and then every hour at night! It was a nightmare. I also began to have an over supply issue which was causing a lot of tummy troubles with MadeLynn. I had been trying to pump and teach MadeLynn to eat with a bottle but all the pumping was really messing with my supply and making MadeLynn miserable. So I decided to stop pumping and gave up on bottle feeding. I cried a lot during this time because I saw MadeLynn in pain and she wasn't sleeping. Some of the advice I got was about formula or adding rice cereal to a bottle. I NEVER felt like either one of those were an option. I got really nervous and felt like I was failing her. But then...suddenly she started becoming a whole new baby.
I started to really see her change. She smiled and giggled all the time and would hold babbling conversations. She was always so happy and bubbly. She would stay awake for 3-4 hours at a time. She was rolling around and grasping at and holding toys. Finally... I understood what all the nursing was for; a growth spurt! And boy did she grow! She was gaining beautifully and she well ahead developmentally. The doctor was really impressed and said that I had "nice and rich milk".
It feels pretty good to know that you produce good milk. I know it can be a major struggle for a lot of women and my heart really goes out to them. I know that it is an absolute blessing to be able to breastfeed MadeLynn and for her to thrive so well from it.
MadeLynn is now 4 months old and weighs almost 15lbs and is over 25 inches long. The doctor said she is very advanced and extremely strong. I am one proud Momma!
I am a huge advocate for breastfeeding and I am actually really excited to participate in my first nation-wide Latch On event this Saturday. It's a time when, nation-wide, all breastfeeding women nurse for one minute at the same time to celebrate breastfeeding!
Here's a link to their website to explain more about it: The Big Latch On 2014
If you struggle with breastfeeding, don't give up. Research. My biggest advice is to research and always ask for help. One of my favorite websites was MamaNatural.com as well as YouTube. SO many women have so much advice and tips and tricks. Pick what helps you and do what you feel is best. I liked the Mama Natural website because she has such great advice and her videos are always positive and happy!
So MadeLynn and I are 4 months strong of exclusively breastfeeding and I plan on doing it for 6 months or more before introducing anything else (like homemade baby food). I also plan on continuing to breastfeed as along as MadeLynn wants. I am choosing to do baby-led weaning.
Well, good luck to all you mom's who breastfeed. Breast is best!
1. Be sure you get the right latch
