I can tell that I wrote the previous post on an "easy breastfeeding day". The next day we hit a growth spurt.
During growth spurts Riley eats and eats and eats. I can not keep up. A cow could not keep up.
During this time I still love feeding her and its still a special bonding time, but its also trying in that I sometimes feel like a failure as a mom. I usually end up supplementing with formula, because its impossible for me to give her enough milk. If she is hungry, she is in a bad mood. She gets that from me!
Luckily they usually only last about a week for us and then things seem to go back to normal. Whatever that is!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The Joys & Trials of Breastfeeding
No one told me that breastfeeding would be so much work! But rewarding as well.
We had a bit of a rough start. Riley kept wanting to put her tongue to the roof of her mouth, so you obviously can't be very successful with sucking that way. But eventually we got that figured out. Then she would fall asleep and feeding would take an hour or more. She would keep feeding just not very vigorously. When I was told I would feed her every 2 1/2 - 3 hours, I didn't realize that that was start to start. So for the first several weeks I was pretty much sitting on the couch and she was attached to my boob.
In the beginning, I would only offer her one side because she seemed full and content. However, she was not getting enough. And she let us know! Boy did she let us know...it just took us several days to figure out what all this screaming was about. We've always loved her, but once I started offering her both sides we liked her a lot more!
Since our little Riley Girl is so petite I think she eats more often. We're still on a 3 hour feeding schedule, but luckily she has gotten faster at feeding! I go to a Breastfeeding Group every Thursday to weigh her and see how much she takes in during a feeding. She was 6 lbs. 12 oz. when she was born and the week that she turned 3 months we finally broke 10 lbs (just barely)! She is behind in weight for her age, but as long as she is making progress her pediatrician is happy.
I love nursing her and I feel like its a special bonding time for us. But it also causes a little anxiety for me when she wants more milk and she thrashes around crying like I'm intentionally keeping it from her. But despite all the tears that come with nursing for us, it is worth it because there are even more smiles!
I love when she is satisfied and she looks like she is drunk on milk. Or when she is almost done eating and falls asleep, but she is smiling while still on the boob. Makes me laugh every time! Now that she is getting older she looks at me while she is eating and it is the sweetest thing in the world. I would not trade our time together for anything.
I will cherish this stage; the good & the bad too.
We had a bit of a rough start. Riley kept wanting to put her tongue to the roof of her mouth, so you obviously can't be very successful with sucking that way. But eventually we got that figured out. Then she would fall asleep and feeding would take an hour or more. She would keep feeding just not very vigorously. When I was told I would feed her every 2 1/2 - 3 hours, I didn't realize that that was start to start. So for the first several weeks I was pretty much sitting on the couch and she was attached to my boob.
In the beginning, I would only offer her one side because she seemed full and content. However, she was not getting enough. And she let us know! Boy did she let us know...it just took us several days to figure out what all this screaming was about. We've always loved her, but once I started offering her both sides we liked her a lot more!
Since our little Riley Girl is so petite I think she eats more often. We're still on a 3 hour feeding schedule, but luckily she has gotten faster at feeding! I go to a Breastfeeding Group every Thursday to weigh her and see how much she takes in during a feeding. She was 6 lbs. 12 oz. when she was born and the week that she turned 3 months we finally broke 10 lbs (just barely)! She is behind in weight for her age, but as long as she is making progress her pediatrician is happy.
I love nursing her and I feel like its a special bonding time for us. But it also causes a little anxiety for me when she wants more milk and she thrashes around crying like I'm intentionally keeping it from her. But despite all the tears that come with nursing for us, it is worth it because there are even more smiles!
I love when she is satisfied and she looks like she is drunk on milk. Or when she is almost done eating and falls asleep, but she is smiling while still on the boob. Makes me laugh every time! Now that she is getting older she looks at me while she is eating and it is the sweetest thing in the world. I would not trade our time together for anything.
I will cherish this stage; the good & the bad too.
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