How's your "New MOM" experience?.......

[ishereal]

Me ummmmmmm wow, first thing this nursing thing is a bit challenging, no one told me that he would have to learn to latch on or that my nipples would become sore and I would still have to nurse through it.
I am having a wee bit of trouble feeding him every 2 hours as he does not want to wake up no matter how hard I try, but when he does nurse HE NURSES WITH A VENGEANCE .........
I feel like I have been hit by a train in my vagina and rectum, moving around sucks sooo bad.
Ow yeah I am wearing very sexy DEPENDS

[Ironica]

Not all babies *need* to nurse every 2 hours. Is he gaining well? Wetting plenty? See what happens when you let *him* decide when to nurse. He may simply be a more efficient nurser from the beginning than some babies are. If your supply dips, he *will* ramp up his demand to fix it.

[cubasianchica]

i know what you mean mama. When my baby was born he latched on right away. He was quite the sucker. He made my nipples crack and bleed. I was willing to go through the pain though but the nurses said he wasnt wetting enough diapers and not enough dirty diapers either. at 2 days old they made me start supplementing with formula. Needless to say when I got home and tried the breast again he would not latch on. He has nipple confusion now. my milk is well established now but he will not latch on for the life of him. it is quite depressing and frustrating. ive contacted la leche league for help and took away all artificial nipples but have been unsuccessful so far. Im not giving up yet but in the meantime Im pumping and giving him my milk. hang in there and let us know how its going. maybe you can pass on some tips for me.

[ishereal]

Originally Posted by cubasianchica

i know what you mean mama. When my baby was born he latched on right away. He was quite the sucker. He made my nipples crack and bleed. I was willing to go through the pain though but the nurses said he wasnt wetting enough diapers and not enough dirty diapers either. at 2 days old they made me start supplementing with formula. Needless to say when I got home and tried the breast again he would not latch on. He has nipple confusion now. my milk is well established now but he will not latch on for the life of him. it is quite depressing and frustrating. ive contacted la leche league for help and took away all artificial nipples but have been unsuccessful so far. Im not giving up yet but in the meantime Im pumping and giving him my milk. hang in there and let us know how its going. maybe you can pass on some tips for me.

How long did your milk take to come in?

[Phoebes*mom]

My DD is two weeks old now and I was really sweating nursing in the beginning. She slept constantly through the first few days and I thought she wasn't getting enough; she definetely wasn't nursing every 2 hours. However, she did get the hang of it and has been gaining weight really well. It just took a few days to wake up from the newborn sleepiness.

Nursing can be painful in the beginning. With DD#1, it was awful. This time around, it is a lot easier but we were dealing with a shallow latch for awhile. It does get better...I promise. Just hang in there.

[sparkly]

I, too, was trying to nurse every 2 hours for the first few days because I was worried my milk production would decrease otherwise...but I've relaxed about it. I wait for him to get squirmy at night (he sleeps with us) and then we change him and feed him (in that order). Last night it was at 10:00, 1:15, 3:00, and 7:00 a.m. Sometimes he skips the 3:00 one. During the day I nurse him about every 2-4 hours, though in the early evenings he seems to want to eat constantly.

I wrote down his diaper changes for a couple days to make sure he was going through enough of them (I am washing them daily, so he'd better not go through any more than he currently is!!) That, plus the fact that he gained a pound and a half in a week, made me feel more comfortable with my supply.

I got blisters on my nipples within 2 days, so I used nipple shields for a few days until they healed. He didn't have any problem switching back to real nipples after that (I'd read to avoid the shields at all costs, but I was in way too much pain). I put lanolin on them after every feeding, and that really helps. He still doesn't open his mouth quite big enough, but we're getting through it and it's getting easier.

If I could give one piece of advice...TAKE NAPS when you're in between feedings (another reason to not do it every 2 hours!) I am trying to take at least one nap per day (with Emmett on my chest, because he's there all day even when I'm moving around), because I didn't do that for the first week, and I got really really worn down. Also, stay hydrated--that will help you make plenty of milk, plus I seem to lose a lot of fluid from breastfeeding.

[3for3hb]

I never did the wake them up to nurse routine. It's probably why I've got a tendency to get mastitis (too engorged too often). I just let them decide when to nurse. They know when they are hungry and they let me know.
Caedmon slept a LOT the first two weeks and I was pumping two and three times a day (at 6 - 8 ounces each session) just to keep myself from being too engorged. But apparently he was getting enough because he gained two pounds in the first two weeks of his life outside the womb.

He's nursing a lot more now but definitely not every two hours. Maybe more like every 3 to 4.

The best advice I ever got before having my first - regarding anything- was that "just because it's natural doesn't mean it's gonna be easy."

I had super sore nipples this time because I didn't prepare them. Lanolin is a life saver though. As long as you keep them moisturized, they heal so much faster.

[ishereal]

I am using the lanolin and it does help so much!!! My milk is coming in and my boobs feel like they are on fire, my right breast has a pulse LOL. The golden milk is kinda cool to look at.

My lo has a bit of jaundice and I am sitting him in front of the window with the sun hitting his torso and legs, he really likes it. He also had a bit of ketones in his urine which should clear up as my milk is arriving and he will be able to fill up more, though it did scare the hell out of me at first, but what doesn't I'm a first time mom LOL

[Organicavocado]

I finally got to see your pics and you were such a birthing goddess. You are so beautiful you know!!

Nursing kicked my butt. Klaus will be 4wk tomorrow and its just now gotten to be alright for us (not saying it will take that long for you! I have terribly flat nipples). I was not using the lansinoh because my nipples were so sore that putting it on hurt. I figured out that I can hold a little bit under hot water for a second and then it goes on so much easier.. nice and even, and painlessly.. it didn't sit there and make me sticky. Thats just a general tip for everybody. Or maybe everyone already knows that. LOL

Soaking boobs in a warm bowl of water helped when my whole breast felt like it was going to explode. I would just sit there and leak into them when I was engorged.. then put cool packs on them after. It helped the engorgement go down faster.

Keep going! It will get better.

[ishereal]

Does anyone notice the weird noises and facial expressions their lo makes while sleep?? And the things he does with his eyes, I'm watching something out of the Exorcist!!!!!!!!! LOL

[Organicavocado]

yeah theeye thing freaks meout too nak

[ORLY?]

Originally Posted by ishereal

Does anyone notice the weird noises and facial expressions their lo makes while sleep?? And the things he does with his eyes, I'm watching something out of the Exorcist!!!!!!!!! LOL

HAHA! YES! The funny thing is that hubby still does this!

[ishereal]

Ow yeah I don't think I washed my prefolds enough because his urine always goes through : It's ok I just keep changing them!!!!!!! Not to mention whenever air hits his penis he has the need to pee

[Ironica]

Originally Posted by ishereal

Ow yeah I don't think I washed my prefolds enough because his urine always goes through : It's ok I just keep changing them!!!!!!! Not to mention whenever air hits his penis he has the need to pee

Well, duh! Newborns know that you're supposed to wait until the clothes come OFF to pee. It takes them *time* to be diaper-trained!

I'm not joking, btw... this is the whole concept behind EC, and how 70% of the world gets by without diapers. We did it with our son, and it was *fabulous*, we can't imagine handling things any other way. We did use prefolds full-time until 10 months, but took him to the potty whenever we thought he might need to pee/poop, and by 10 months, we were down to ~3 misses a day and switched to training pants.

[ishereal]

Revenge Of The Yellow Poop!!!!

So while changing his diaper he decides to keep pooping, so out comes runny yellow poop then while cleaning that up, out comes yellow grainy runny poop HOW FUN !!

[paphia]

I gotta say, second time around has been sooooo much easier. DD was very (VERY) high needs in the beginning, I mean she literally nursed constantly except for one 20 minute break every couple of hours. I got mastitis at 3 weeks and 6 weeks from cracked nipples. Nursing hurt so bad in the beginning that I would swear under my breath every time she latched on. I slept sitting up with her for 6 weeks straight (uuggghhh my tailbone) because I could not for the life of me get side-lying nursing to work with her. She never slept and I would have to do deep-stepping around the house with her for hours at a time and especially in the middle of the night. She hated sposies and any time she peed in them she screamed so I had to change her constantly until I figured out to try cloth at four months. She refused to be out of arms except for one nap that she would take in her swing but I didn't get that swing until about 5 weeks. It was so, so hard. I just took it five minutes at a time when I was in the thick of it.

This time? The kid sleeps all the time, is super efficient at nursing, never cries - just fusses, doesn't mind that dd isn't very gentle with him or is always kissing him and hugging him when he's trying to sleep, he likes his moby wrap (dd hated any carriers before 4 months), he's so sweet and easy. My boobs are totally fine since I nursed dd throughout my pregnancy. I get decent sleep most nights because I can nurse lying down. I don't know about weight gain because we don't have a scale but he's wetting plenty of diapers and seems to look like he's filling in. I am getting chores done during the day. DD still takes more effort than this newborn. How did this happen? Dh and I keep giggling to each other how it feels like we're getting away with something here and reality is going to *have* to catch up to us eventually. It's so weird.

There aren't too many surprises. Except the occasional wizz to the face. Boys are lots of fun!

[GISDiva]

Ugh. My new mom experience has been less than stellar in the nursing department.

It's been a week now and still no milk, just colostrum. I had a bit more blood loss than usual, plus Leo isn't a terribly good nurser and a very sleepy baby. The combination of that, my midwife says, can cause a delay. Then a bit of jaundice hit and worry about weight loss, so we had started feeding him an ounce of organic formula at the "normal" feeding times. Was it the best decision? I don't know. If my darn milk would just come in, I would feel a lot better about it and we could start weaning him off the bottle. Which he takes just fine and dandy, by the way, because it's easy. He likes to suck fingers too, just not me.

So I'm ramping up the pumping, sent hubby out for fenugreek (although I don't know if it will help my milk come in the first place?), wearing him in my sleepy wrap skin to skin and hoping for the best. He is nursing some, just not well, and sometimes won't at all. When he does nurse, it takes quite a while. I just let him go at it for as long as he wants to build up his sucking stamina. So between (sometimes) hour long nursing sessions, pumping, and feeding, I don't have a lot of time left for much else. DH has been awesome, quite the servant and cheerleader. If he could breastfeed Leo himself, I think he would.

*sigh* Sorry, that was long. I'm off to post a similar story in the breastfeeding forum...

[ishereal]

OW NO, I HAVE THRUSH........ dang it

[melanyh]

gisdiva: just wanted you to know i'm having similar issues w/ds2 (12 days old) and am having to give small amounts of formula (originally SNS taped to boob for days ...) -- but w/my PPD and growing feelings of resentment (as par w/ds1 ) i started supplementing (by choice, i own that) and have been pumping like crazy and doing mothers milk tea, etc.

at 12 days pp i get maybe 1/2 ounce total pumping. i know when baby nurses they get more -- but only NOW is Soren's weight gain good & the pee clear & poop regular and color better. it really is so so so difficult for some women, and i'll own anxiety & ppd and depression being MY issues and not Soren's fault -- but they are there and real and up front needing attention.

i had to find a way to give baby the LOVE first and right now, supplementing is giving me that. i know lots will judge & disagree and hell, i judged (and still do) myself so harshly for ever (as long as 12 days lets you!), but i had to move forward and stop resenting my baby boy.

i don't want folks to think i universally applaud formula or think it the miracle cure, but i understand how it happens and how the choice is made and respect it. don't know if that matters at all.

damn, i should be sleeping -- Soren is sleeping & i'm online.

[nycmaman]

I am so happy and in love with her. Emotionally I am great, except towards end of day when the no napping catches up...physically pretty good...still a bit sore with a labia tear, mostly my big issue has been boobs, she latched on great right away and nursed like a champ, my milk came in 2nd day and by 3rd I was severely engorged. so thats really been my battle for the last week, trying to fight off mastitus, I am very hard, red, sore and swollen glands etc...I desperately want to avoid taking antibiotics...and this whole issue is the one thing that is really upsetting me....esp when I get more tired
Also I am finding it hard sometime to maintain the protected space that we had planned for the 2 weeks after the birth...I feel guilty and then after visits exhausted and confused about why we aren't sticking to our plan.....