If you have read my blog since Emily was born, you probably know I have had a lot of issues with breastfeeding.
Quick recap - Had issues getting Emily to latch at the beginning. By the time she started latching correctly, she'd lost weight. Found out the issue was production and I started pumping after every feeding. At the beginning, I would pump about 6 times a day and would get 1-2oz each session. At my best, I was getting 10-12 oz a day. I would hand-express, even after I used the pump. As of the last two weeks, I've gone down considerably.
Since I've had so many issues, I had already decided that, at 6 months, I would start to decrease my pumping sessions. It seems by body is starting to do this for me because I am now pumping four times a day and I have been getting about 2oz for the first of the day, and about 1.5 for the rest of the sessions, bringing me to a total of about half of what I was doing before.
I kind of knew this would happen. I feel like I could have done more. For example, I could've tried to eat more (even though my time was limited) or pumped more or drank more. But that doesn't really matter because it's coming to a close.
Emily hasn't actually been breastfeeding for about a month and a half. She will only latch about 5 seconds or swallows (if that) and pull away. The thing that really sucks about this is that I am going to be buying a lot more formula. A big container lasts me a week right now.
I'm going to keep pumping 4x a day until her Well-Baby check-up in about 2 weeks. Then, I'll talk to Dr. Smith about how to not affect her digestion too badly. She's already eating some baby food (rice cereal and sweet potatoes) at dinnertime and, since her diet is less than 20% breastmilk, I hope it will be a smooth transition.
I hope that my next experience with breastfeeding will be a lot different. I think this time was heavily influenced by the pressure I felt. I kept hearing from person after person, "Every woman can breastfeed. Don't let them pressure you in to formula. Breast is the best. Your body will produce enough." I think that I would have stressed less and produced more if I hadn't been so stressed about breastfeeding and that I had to breastfeed.
I really want to breastfeed next time but I won't be listening to everyone about it next time. I need to do this my way next time.
Quick recap - Had issues getting Emily to latch at the beginning. By the time she started latching correctly, she'd lost weight. Found out the issue was production and I started pumping after every feeding. At the beginning, I would pump about 6 times a day and would get 1-2oz each session. At my best, I was getting 10-12 oz a day. I would hand-express, even after I used the pump. As of the last two weeks, I've gone down considerably.
Since I've had so many issues, I had already decided that, at 6 months, I would start to decrease my pumping sessions. It seems by body is starting to do this for me because I am now pumping four times a day and I have been getting about 2oz for the first of the day, and about 1.5 for the rest of the sessions, bringing me to a total of about half of what I was doing before.
I kind of knew this would happen. I feel like I could have done more. For example, I could've tried to eat more (even though my time was limited) or pumped more or drank more. But that doesn't really matter because it's coming to a close.
Emily hasn't actually been breastfeeding for about a month and a half. She will only latch about 5 seconds or swallows (if that) and pull away. The thing that really sucks about this is that I am going to be buying a lot more formula. A big container lasts me a week right now.
I'm going to keep pumping 4x a day until her Well-Baby check-up in about 2 weeks. Then, I'll talk to Dr. Smith about how to not affect her digestion too badly. She's already eating some baby food (rice cereal and sweet potatoes) at dinnertime and, since her diet is less than 20% breastmilk, I hope it will be a smooth transition.
I hope that my next experience with breastfeeding will be a lot different. I think this time was heavily influenced by the pressure I felt. I kept hearing from person after person, "Every woman can breastfeed. Don't let them pressure you in to formula. Breast is the best. Your body will produce enough." I think that I would have stressed less and produced more if I hadn't been so stressed about breastfeeding and that I had to breastfeed.
I really want to breastfeed next time but I won't be listening to everyone about it next time. I need to do this my way next time.
You know what? I only breastfed Alena for four months because of all the opinions and pressure from everyone else. Then with Christian, I ignored everyone and made it clear that I was doing it my way. And guess what? We made it a successful TWO years! Stress and relaxation are a big part of success.
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