Feeding Kendall has been a roller coaster ride. We've been around 180 degrees and back again.
A lot of people have strong feelings about breastfeeding vs. pumping vs. formula. I have always been on the line about the issue. I wasn't crazy about the idea of breastfeeding but wasn't opposed to it either. The point of this post is not to debate which is best. What works best for one family is not best for the next. I simply want to document our journey. :)
After contemplating the benefits of breastfeed, I decided I'd try. There is so much research about the positive effects on the baby's health and well being. Another big selling point for me was the price. You can't beat free! What can I say...I'm cheap :)
Even after deciding to breast feed, I still wasn't overly excited about it. Friends at work told me I'd never follow through with it, having that attitude. I still went through preparing myself as much as I could. A friend loaned me a book, that I read. I also looked up a bunch of information online.
Once Kendall was born, there was something so special about feeding her. I was hooked. It was a huge bonding experience for us. We were both having to learn how to do it. And sucking was a little harder for her since she was early. The first 2 days went surprisingly well.
Then Jaundice....oh the yucky jaundice. It started to set in while we were still at the hospital. Kendall started to get more tired and lazy. She started struggling to latch on. The nurses encouraged us to begin supplementing with formula. She needed to be doing a lot pooping and peeping to flush the jaundice out of her system. She wasn't getting enough from me. We were scared to bottle feed because of nipple confusion. The lactation specialist at the hospital recommended finger feeding.
Michael became the expert finger feeder. Basically, finger feeding consisted of a tube attached to a syringe. The tube was then taped to his finger that Kendall sucked on. This way you could control what she was getting. She had to work for her food. If she wasn't actively sucking, he wouldn't push the syringe down.
On day 5, Kendall's jaundice count was up to 19. The low 20's are dangerous with jaundice. If it didn't come down she'd be hospitalized. Her new pediatrician ordered the lights to put her under and said we had to get more fluids in her. She was super sluggish with her counts that high. Nursing was a joke. In came the dreaded bottle. He assured us that nipple confusion wouldn't be a problem. (Note the foreshadowing here).
Her first bottle
This post has turned out longer than I anticipated, so I'm gonna go ahead and make it a two-parter so I can have a couple of days to finish writing it...in between feedings...haha.
3 comments:
Breastfeeding was easy as pie with #1, but I had a lactation consultant. I also had done a bunch of homework, joined a breastfeeding message board, etc. I was so confident I would nurse her for a year, but then I got pregnant when she was 5 months old and my milk went pretty much away. After baby #2, I nursed her 6 months and decided I was TIRED of being either pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 2 full years! Lol Plus, she was a pain to nurse on one side and made me sore!!! #3 was a dream, but her glucose dropped and she had jaundice, too. She had to go back and be stuck 3 times. I think her highest # was 17. So we also fed her through a syringe, but we didn't do the finger sucking. That was a neat idea. #4 wanted to nurse every 2 hours up until 9 months old, even at night, when I decided I was OVER IT. Ha! While I am a big advocate for breastfeeding, I also realize it doesn't work for everyone and I've been on both sides of the fence. It's not easy, that's for sure!
Filling in the gaps: My hospital with the last 3 didn't have a lactation consultant or anything. And we fed formula through the syringe. Only had to do it one time, though, and her glucose got back to normal. She was doing good with nursing, so I just had to nurse more often and she ended up fine. It's crazy all the different experiences you will have with each individual child. I put #4 on cow's milk at 9 months because he REFUSED formula but would take whole milk. I mean, I talked bad about people who did that. Then I became "one of them." Haha Never say never! :)
I can hardly remember my kids being that small much less the troubles or lack of that they had. She's sure a keeper though!
Think I'll pop in for the next blog post! :0)
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