I don't even have time right now to get into what a saga breastfeeding has been for me (note that I said saga and not "journey." Nothing bugs me more than the use of that word to describe anything other than getting from point a to point b. Setting sail from continental Europe to travel to South America in the 15th century? Journey. Cutting refined carbs, working out and losing a few pounds? Not a journey. But I digress).
Someday I will write the whole story, but for now I will give the Cliff's notes. In my quest to make it to six months of feeding my darling baby boy nothing but breastmilk (six months is the minimum lenght of time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics), I have had three visits with a lactation consultant; one with a doctor who specializes in breastfeeding; endured scabs, blood blisters, and bleeding from my nipples; started taking a prescription drug to boost my milk supply, and pumped several times a day in addition to nursing eight to ten times a day to make sure baby S. is getting enough to eat. Oh, and I cut out wheat and dairy because they don't agree with him.
To put it bluntly, it's fucking exhausting and I am ready for it to be over. The crux of the problem is that he has a bad latch, and I can't seem to fix it no matter how hard I try or how many experts I see. (And for those who know the lingo, he doesn't have a tongue tie; I checked). The latch problem is what's causing my nipple injuries, and it also means he isn't removing as much milk as he should at each feeding, which is causing my supply to drop. I could supplement with formula, but I have been told that this will cause my supply to dip even more.
In desperation, I attended a breastfeeding support group last week. It wasn't that helpful for my specific issues, but it was nice to hear that other moms are also not loving it and are having their own issues.
Except this one mom. She complained about "oversupply" (which I'm told can suck but I hardly doubt it sucks as much as undersupply) and also worried that her baby only spends 5-7 minutes per breast at each feeding. To put this in context, S. spends 30-45 minutes at EVERY feeding. This means I do nothing all day but nurse and pump, nurse and pump, nurse and pump.
Honestly, this chick seemed nice, but I found her infuriating. It's as if she'd said, "I am worried that I have too much money; I just don't know what to do with it all. And no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to put on weight."
Bitch.
Someday I will write the whole story, but for now I will give the Cliff's notes. In my quest to make it to six months of feeding my darling baby boy nothing but breastmilk (six months is the minimum lenght of time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics), I have had three visits with a lactation consultant; one with a doctor who specializes in breastfeeding; endured scabs, blood blisters, and bleeding from my nipples; started taking a prescription drug to boost my milk supply, and pumped several times a day in addition to nursing eight to ten times a day to make sure baby S. is getting enough to eat. Oh, and I cut out wheat and dairy because they don't agree with him.
To put it bluntly, it's fucking exhausting and I am ready for it to be over. The crux of the problem is that he has a bad latch, and I can't seem to fix it no matter how hard I try or how many experts I see. (And for those who know the lingo, he doesn't have a tongue tie; I checked). The latch problem is what's causing my nipple injuries, and it also means he isn't removing as much milk as he should at each feeding, which is causing my supply to drop. I could supplement with formula, but I have been told that this will cause my supply to dip even more.
In desperation, I attended a breastfeeding support group last week. It wasn't that helpful for my specific issues, but it was nice to hear that other moms are also not loving it and are having their own issues.
Except this one mom. She complained about "oversupply" (which I'm told can suck but I hardly doubt it sucks as much as undersupply) and also worried that her baby only spends 5-7 minutes per breast at each feeding. To put this in context, S. spends 30-45 minutes at EVERY feeding. This means I do nothing all day but nurse and pump, nurse and pump, nurse and pump.
Honestly, this chick seemed nice, but I found her infuriating. It's as if she'd said, "I am worried that I have too much money; I just don't know what to do with it all. And no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to put on weight."
Bitch.
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