When Nate was born we had a flooding of family members who
came to meet him. Parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins…
Everyone came and it was great. I felt great. After a long labor I had a great
delivery and had a surge of adrenaline to get me through visiting hours. While
I had all this energy, Nate was obviously exhausted from his journey because he
slept the span of visiitn hours. From 5:00pm – 11:00pm. I was almost naïve
enough to think that I would actually get to sleep too once everyone left. But
as soon as my head touched the pillow he woke up screaming.
Isn’t that the way it usually happens? I had tried nursing
him earlier but he wasn’t too interested in latching on. I had requested a
visit from the lactation specialist but was told she wouldn’t be in until the
next day. Now that he was awake I tried nursing again. He was not having it. My
rule was absolutely no pacifiers or bottles because I didn’t want him to
experience nipple confusion. I gave that rule up pretty quickly and used a
pacifier. That calmed him a bit and taught him the art of sucking. I would
replace the pacifier with my body and Nate would scream. My night nurse
suggested he was hungry and since my milk hadn’t come in yet I should
supplement with formula.
In my research before delivery I knew that I would only have
colustrum (the golden milk), which is all he would need until my milk came in a
few days later. But now that I was in the moment and felt hopeless against his
cries I gave in. But not too much. The nurse was able to drop formula in Nate’s
mouth with a dropper while I encouraged him to latch on to my breast. This
worked for a little while and we did this off and on throughout the night.
In the morning I met with the LC. She told me I had
“inverted nipples” which is why it was difficult for Nate to latch. Great! She
suggested I get a nipple shield to stimulate a more full nipple and make Nate’s
job easier on him. So that is what we did and hit made nursing SO much better
for both of us. He latched on right away and I never became “raw” and
blistered. A win, win. I’ve spoken with mother who felt that using a nipple
shield took away from their nursing experience. I don’t feel this way. To me,
using this tool made it easier for both of us, thus allowing us both to enjoy
this journey even more.
I do remember that the most difficult day as a nursing
mother was when Nate was four days old. At this age, even though he was
latching great, my milk hadn’t come in yet and he wanted milk. He cried and
cried – attempted to eat and grew frustrated that what he was looking for
wasn’t there. I cried and cried with him. I called my cousin who was my nursing
guide (every new mom should have one of these) and she told me to lay with Nate
skin to skin and feed him as often as possible. But wasn’t that the problem? He
wanted to eat and I didn’t have what he wanted. But it all comes down to supply
and demand. If my body does feel Nate demanding milk, my body wont supply it.
If I chose to supplement with formula then my body wouldn’t feel his demand and
my milk wouldn’t come in.
Day Four was long and hard for everyone in the household.
But we made it day five and everything was a breeze after that – as long as I
had my nipple shield J
Want to nurse? You can DO it! I am an advocate for “breast is
best” but am also for empowering women and momma’s – find what works best for
you and your baby. My advice? Do NOT give up . It can be tough – especially the
first week and when you navigate growth spurts. But stick with it!!
Find a friend, someone you feel comfortable with, who was a
nursing mother and can be your cheerleader on tough days.
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