Breastfeeding

I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to breastfeed. Besides the fact that all the doctors, nurses, books, and programs make sure you are aware of the benefits, it is a HUGE moneysaver. Plus, you burn calories while breastfeeding! And I am all about getting off all that pregnancy weight. But what I wasn't aware of is just how HARD it was in the beginning.

As soon as Kaelyn was born she was on my chest, skin to skin, and stayed there for 2 hours. We tried breastfeeding, but she wasn't interested. The lactation consultant assured me this was normal, so I didn't worry. Later that afternoon she came by and Kaelyn was just too tired and still didn't seem interested. However, she did latch on for a few brief moments so I was able to figure out what it felt like and I thought I understood how to get her to latch. I continued to try all through the night and the next day, but K Jo just wasn't having it. She also wasn't fussy, so I wasn't too concerned. I finally got her to latch on for about 5 minutes that afternoon, but that was it. The next (and final) day at the hospital, the consultant came in before we left and once again Kaelyn latched on for about 10 minutes. It's a weird feeling, but it didn't hurt or anything so I thought "Ok, she's finally getting an appetite up, feeding at home won't be an issue". Wrong.
That night was the worst night we've had. It was obvious that Kaelyn was hungry, but she just wouldn't stay latched on. She would start sucking and let go. The three of us didn't get any sleep. And the frustration just made trying to breastfeed even harder. Friday I spiked a HIGH fever, but my milk finally came in. Somewhere between the frustration, sickness, and cuddling up sleeping, Kaelyn finally decided to latch on and actually eat. Success! But now one of my nipples was cracked open and raw, so feeding her on that side made me tear up. It was AWFUL. After it finally healed a few weeks later we haven't had any further issues with cracking, thank goodness.
It seems as if once K Jo started eating, she hasn't stopped! She would eat 24/7 if I let her. Thankfully she does sleep VERY well through the night. She has always only woken up once or twice during the night to eat. All I do is get her latched and fall back asleep. She falls asleep after a few minutes of sucking. Yes, my baby sleeps in the bed with me. I know they say not to do that, but that's the only way she will sleep. If I put her anywhere other than up against me, she immediately wakes up. Now she has even gotten used to holding onto my shirt when she falls asleep so that I can't move her away from me without waking her up. But I'm a light sleeper and I don't move when I sleep so I'm not worried. It's what works for us, and I've figured out that with raising a baby, you have to do what works for you and not stress about the little things. Eventually, she will sleep on her own. For now, I'm enjoying the cuddle time.
Back to eating all the time. Our move at 3 weeks old to IN from NC was anything but fun. We spent a whopping 21 hours in the truck when it usually takes 13. Between both Adam and I being exhausted and having to stop and let Chloe potty and having to change K Jo, it was awful. Let's just say that, eventually, we figured out that we just needed to let K Jo eat whenever she wanted. So I sat in the back and fed and Adam just kept pushing on. Again, not fun. At 4 weeks we started introducing a bottle (of course with breastmilk, no formula for this little one!). Not so successful. She choked on them and spit all the milk out the sides of her mouth. So I decided to wait a while longer on bottles. After all, I am a stay-at-home mommy now so I had plenty of time to work on bottle-training. She finally got the hang of the bottle between 5-6 weeks, but I only give it to her when we are going to be out of the house for a while where I can't breastfeed. I had been pumping since 3 weeks postpartum so I had a tiny supply built up. I decided I wanted to always keep at least 8, 6 oz bags frozen for when we needed it.
At about 6 weeks I discovered that Kaelyn was literally spending ALL DAY eating. She would fall asleep for maybe an hour, then she was right back at it. Nothing else could satisfy her. I then discovered that, when I gave her a bottle, she would take about 3 oz before she was full and would be satisfied for about 3 hours. Any more than 3 oz. and she would spit up profusely, and less and she was still hungry. However, when I pumped, I would only get about 1 oz of milk. I tried pumping an additional 10 minutes after she ate to increase production, but that didn't do anything. I then read about how to increase breastmilk supply using Brewer's yeast and Fenugreek, which is what my mother was told to do with Taylor. I started those supplements two days ago and (finally!) I can tell a difference. Now I feel much more full and she eats for a bit and then is satisfied for several hours. I can actually get things done during the day! Yay!
I plan on continuing breastfeeding as long as possible (no, not anything ridiculous like you hear those people who feed up to 4-5 years). I am so happy with all the money it has saved us and all the benefits our little princess gets from it. And while it can be MUCH less convenient than formula feeding, it's well worth it.