Six Months and Still Nursing (Part 3)

As some of you may remember, we came home from the hospital with our bundle of joy, and also a set of bili lights for his jaundice. We were not told we had to feed Joaquin formula just yet, but that it would be a possibility if his bili levels did not go down quickly.

On our first full day back home, I took Joaquin to the local police department to get his car seat inspected. I had made the appointment a month earlier and thought that I had made it early enough to get it done before Joaquin was born. Oops.

On the drive back, I started to notice that something felt different. I was in pain. We had to stop at a lab to get Joaquin's blood taken and when we parked I noticed that I had completed soaked through my shirt. Great. I guess my milk came in. Fortunately, I had a big cardigan to cover use as a cover up.

For the next couple of days, nursing went well even though it seemed like I spent the majority of my (many) waking hours sitting on the couch nursing. Each meal took about 45 minutes and he ate about 10 times per day. It was a lot of sitting. I took to playing spider solitaire on my laptop while nursing, as it was something I could easily do with only one free hand.

Then we got Joaquin's bili level results and found out they had gone up. We were instructed to feed him formula only for 4 days. I freaked out and thought that this would ruin my attempts to get him to latch. I had read a ton about nipple confusion and was so worried that he would never go back to nursing after four days with bottles. But, we had to do it. So, Jay took on the task of bottle feeding while I pumped.

When we were finally given the go ahead to re-start nursing by Joaquin's pediatrician, I was nervous that it was going to be difficult to get Joaquin to eat. It took a little bit of patience, as Joaquin got frustrated at first with having to work harder for his meals. But, he got the hang of it again quickly.

So, here are my tips for the early weeks of nursing:

1. Don't let all of the nipple confusion talk freak you out. A bottle or pacifier here and there is not a big deal (and may actually be a good thing, which I will discuss in a later post). Babies have a sucking reflex that is very strong especially when they are brand new.

2. Be patient - you will spend a lot of time sitting. Think of it as forced healing time for your body.

3. If you can afford it, buy a Kindle or something similar. You won't be able to hold a book open while nursing and computer games get very old, very quick. I don't recommend TV while nursing either, as it may distract the baby from the task at hand.

4. Be prepared for your milk to come in. You will get a hint when you start to feel sore. Stock up on nursing pads while you are pregnant and keep some in your purse to avoid any embarrassing situations.

5. Buy a pump while you are pregnant. You never know when you will need it. Plus, sometimes you might need to pump just to relieve pressure. Read all of the directions and clean all of the parts before your baby is born. You will be too tired to figure all of it out after your baby is born.