Grace

[jerawo]

I can't type a lot now, but BF was completely awful for me for weeks. When Ely was 3 weeks old I was thinking he was going to be an only child because there was no way I could BF another one. Now two weeks later, it's so much better. Babies change very fast, and I know that you and Titus will figure it out and it will get better.

[SharonAnne]

grace, i replied in the weekly thread, but basically, yeah...what jennie said

[ex-stasis]

Ditto. BFing has been pretty much the hardest thing about being a new mom... the only thing so far that has made me break down and cry, thinking that I just can't do it anymore. That was within the first two weeks... things are so much better now. Hang in there.

[bamamom]

I posted either in pp thread or weekly thread..youcan look up my post if you want to. It is so hard in the early weeks, but it DOES get better!

[PatsGrace]

Thanks for all the support guys, it helps to know that I'm not the only one out there! We are all going through some tough stuff together!

I decided to give myself a day of not even trying to get him to latch, just feeding him tons with the nipple shield and with the sringe. The nice thing is that I have so much milk we only had to use formula for a day But even if I didn't, the wonderful feeling on that first day of actually feeding him (when he was 3 days old) and making him satisfied with formula after so much screaming...well, it made me realize that the important thing is his health, even if that meant formula. I know you all know what I mean!

And now that my milk is in full force my nipples are like flat hard barn doors: trying to latch is a joke! BUT after letting him nurse with the shield my nipples are long enough for him to have a good shot at latching....so that gives me hope


good luck to us all!

[Karennnnn]

Grace,
There's a time and a place for everything, even formula The point is that you don't abuse it, you use it in its time and place!!!
BF can be so challenging in the beginning. Even though I knew I'd be rushing through the newborn stage I've been willing the first few weeks to fly just so I could get over the hump of re-learning to breastfeed.
Nights are the hardest because you're so tired and you wake up and you're crying and saying that you can't do this.... At least I am. And I'm sure I'm not alone.
Anyhow thank goodness for ample milk supplies. Sounds like you've got more than I do, but I have at least 10 bags in the freezer, around 4 oz in each bag. I feel more comfortable knowing they're in there just in case. Insurance!
Matter of fact I dreamt that we all went to the beach and everyone left but I stayed longer. Then I realized that the baby wasn't with me and I was like "WHAT WILL SHE EAT!?!?!" because they were on their way home and didn't have the bags with them. That was a really distressing feeling. I think I did think to myself formula would be o.k. Odd.
Hey by the way everyone, stay off the scale. I knew there was a reason why I didn't weigh myself during pregnancy!! It wasn't so bad but I know at the 2 week mark with my son I was down to what I was prior to getting pregnant. So I couldn't control myself today and got on. And this scale even weighs light as far as I know. Bah humbug!
Karen

[Fleetwood]

To Selena

Hi Selena
Breastfeeding should never make you cry.
On the contrary make you so happy that your breasts are working correctly.
Seems like you are in Canada?
Try to find your local LLL capter PLEASE!
Trust me they are not a bunch of nutty women.
When I was in UK I connected to LLL over there as well as in the USA.
You will meet with other mothers trying to do the same as yourself and also hopefully gain a little wisom.
I am the mother I am today because of other mothers that I have copied!!!

[fabienne]

Grace,

I have had a rough 2 1/2 weeks with BFing myself--so much so that it's kept me away from checking email and being on the boards for most of that time. I posted in last week's weekly thread about Jean-Luc having a jaw issue that didn't allow him to open his mouth completely, making for a very tight latch involving him gumming at my nipples to get milk. It is extraordinarily painful. We saw a chiropractor for a couple of weeks (had our last appt today) to help him with it, and things have improved a lot; my husband and I still have exercises to do with him, though.

We are still not totally in the clear with our issues, though--just discovered yesterday that I have thrush. BUT, things are SOOO much better with every single day that goes by. All I can say is HANG IN THERE, GIRL!!!!!!!! You CAN do this. I'm actually happy to know I have thrush, to be perfectly honest, because at least now I have an explanation for my nipples feeling like I have freaking shingles!!! Anyway, I just wanted to chime in with the others to let you know that you are not alone, and don't feel guilty about doing whatever you need to do to make this work. Before doing this I was far more of a "purist" in terms of not using nipple shields, not pumping, etc....but that's because I didn't know any better, and now I realize it's better to use whatever resources available to you than to give up on yourself.

I want to echo the advice about going to La Leche League meetings as well. My leader came over yesterday and diagnosed the thrush. Jean-Luc is not showing any symptoms of having it himself, and I never would have known that my shiny nipples were not normal had my leader not noticed them!!

Take care!!