“It’s the most natural thing in the world…”

I’m starting to believe that people who say that breastfeeding is “the most natural thing in the world” either
a. don’t have children
b. are a lactation consultant or
c. produce milk like a cow for their babies

For the rest of us, however, it is not exactly the most natural thing in the world. In fact, I’m finding, once again, that breastfeeding can be frustrating, challenging and heartbreaking all at once. For those of you who don’t know the story, when Wyatt was born I tried for almost 3 weeks to breastfeed him. By the end of this time I was producing no more than a teaspoon of milk at each sitting. When I finally decided to throw in the towel, I was completely devastated. I felt like a complete failure as a mother. What kind of mom can’t even feed her newborn? At the time, it seemed like everyone around me was breezing through the whole milk production part of motherhood. Since this time, I have found that not everyone finds breastfeeding as effortless as the books make it sound…
With Brooklyn now a whole 3 days old, I am finding some of the same obstacles I was hurdling about 3 years ago with a very newborn Wyatt. Three days in, and my milk has yet to come in, and my baby is HUNGRY. We left the hospital this morning and she was down 11% of her body weight. And Brooklyn actually had an “advantage”, if you can call it that, over other newborns – she was given IV fluids for a day in the NICU. None-the-less, she is starved. Her pediatrician told us as we left that we should start supplementing with formula until my milk comes in so she can maintain some weight. Plus, she is a little jaundiced, which happens to babies sometimes if they do not eat enough. And when they are jaundiced, their bilirubin levels go up making them lethargic and too sleepy to eat properly. See the vicious cycle?

So, although I am going to give breastfeeding a fair shot with Brooklyn like I did for Wyatt, I am going to try to not get too discouraged if it doesn’t work. I always laugh and make jokes about not being able to produce milk (“ha ha Chris, I guess mine are just for looks, huh?”), but deep down it is one of the hardest parts of motherhood for me. The feeling of not being able to provide that essential part of life for your child can be pretty tough on a new mom. But just so you don’t think I’m giving up, here are some of the things I am doing to try to breastfeed my beautiful bebe:

1. At each feeding – Brooklyn “latches on” for at least 10 min
2. Then she gets an ounce of formula
3. Then I pump. What ever milk I get goes into the fridge to put in the bottle at the next feeding.
**This whole process takes about 30-40 min. And she eats every 2-3 hours. Do the math.
4. I am drinking mother’s milk organic tea four times daily. Tastes like fennel seed. Add honey and it is bearable.
5. I am taking fenugreek herbs 3 times daily. Tastes/smells like fennel seed.
**In essence, I smell like fennel**
6. I am taking Reglan 4 times daily. This is supposed to increase milk supply as well.
7. I have increased my water intake to something like 1 million ounces per day. This makes me pee A LOT. Even more than when I was pregnant. It’s just not as urgent.
8. I have a chart that documents when she eats, when I take my pills, how longs she eats, etc. to try to keep track of all this craziness.

So in the end, I fell like I am doing everything I can to ensure my baby gets at least some breast milk in the first few weeks of her life. I hope it works, so I can quit obsessing and going crazy over it! Chris would agree with this statement, I’m sure….

ASIDE – click HERE to see Brooklyn’s picture on the medcenter one website. She even opened her eyes!

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