Nursing…no, the other kind of nursing
When Charley was born I knew I wanted to breastfeed her. (Stop reading here if you don’t want to read about this kind of nursing.) She took to it easily and we never had much trouble with it to begin. I think the problems came later and were mostly related to my own lack of knowledge. I had read a couple books about nursing and had grand intentions of nursing for a full year…but in the end I just didn’t stick with it. I gave up at 6 months for a lot of reasons, mostly selfish. I am not saying that women who stop nursing are selfish, I am saying that I was being selfish, please hear that difference. Now, I don’t need any pats on the back for making it to 6 months or reassurance that I’m not a “bad” mom for quitting. The reality is that I did, and I regret it. I regretted almost every single day for the next 6 months. Even now Charley is 18 months old and I wonder…what if? But it is what it is.
So now I have another shot. Another chance with Matthew. Thankfully he too has taken well to nursing and at 7 weeks now we’re going strong without any problems. I’m much better educated about the how’s and why’s of it all this time around, and I’m also much better prepared for when I return to work (a major hiccup in my breastfeeding relationship with Charley). At the rate I’m going now I should have about 300 oz of breastmilk pumped and frozen, ready for Matthew’s daycare consumption, when I return to work. Yes, you read that correctly. 300. Isn’t that nuts!?
How have I managed that? A few things. 1. I am blessed with a body that produces milk in abundance in response to my infant’s needs as well as my manipulation. 2. When I say manipulation I mean that after Matthew’s first feeding every morning I pump about 1 hour later…thus tricking my body into thinking he is eating more frequently and making more milk. You have to be careful with this as it can cause something called “oversupply” which can cause problems for the baby, but Matty is a trooper and he’s doing great. 3. My Medela double electric breast pump is fabulous and works like a charm. It was also free, so yay for that! 4. Knowledge. Through amazing mothers who support me and information available in books and on the web I am much better informed this time around. For example I now know that I have “Overactive Let-down” or “OAL” and what problems that could cause and how to counteract/deal with it. I had it with Charley as well and it contributed to our starting to supplement with formula (when I wouldn’t have had to if I’d known what OAL was).
I am really excited this time around about breastfeeding. I have done the formula & bottles thing before, I did for 6 months with Charley, and now I can say with certainty a few things. 1. It is not easier (FOR ME, again, FOR ME), 2. It does not help a child who is not sleeping “through the night” start doing that and 3. It is expensive. I needed to discover these things for myself, and armed with this knowledge I feel much better equipped to stick with it through the difficult times. I am not saying formula will never touch Matthew’s lips, I actually have no problem with it if we come to that for some reason, and I am not saying I have it all figured out. Only that I am really happy to be nursing my son and I look forward to continuing to do so for at least a year…now, beyond that…well, that’s a whole different post.
Great breastfeeding resources:
The Nursing Mother’s Companion
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding
Moms you know who have nursed their young ones…like me!
(I need to say one thing about The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding: I am not comfortable with this books’ stance on breastfeeding and HIV positive mothers, nor do I agree with all of their views/opinions on child-rearing/discipline. That said, the information about the how-to’s and why’s of breastfeeding were immensely helpful to me.)