Kjell's Breastfeeding Story.
I had a very uneventful pregnancy, I was able to work 2 jobs through my 6th
month and worked at my full time job until 4 days before the birth of my son,
Kjell. I only left then because I ran out of work to do.
Kjell's birth was a great experience, a quick and happy experience for every one
involved. Then came nursing. I knew I was invincible, I got through childbirth
without drugs or even raising my voice, so there was no way the "simple" act of
breastfeeding would get the better of me. Oh, what a joy it is to be humbled.
From the first latch on minutes after birth, I was in pain. Kjell nursed like
he was never going to see that nipple again. By the time I left the hospital my
nipples were purple, they were severely bruised and cracked. The lactation
consultant gave me some hints on positioning and care, but nothing seemed to
help. I spent the next several days crying every time Kjell wanted to eat, the
thought of the pain to come was almost as bad as the pain itself. I would soak
my nipples in hydrogen peroxide prior to nursing to remove the scabs that had
formed. It was a miserable time.
Then came the true test of my resolve and determination to breastfeed. I got
mastitis, 3 times before he was 6 weeks old. It finally cleared up after 8
visits to a local clinic to receive IV antibiotics. By that time I was just
being stubborn, I wanted to quit breastfeeding, but couldn't let the stupid
infection win. I truly felt like that would have been giving up.
Today, Kjell is a happy, 20+ pound 5 month old who has never had anything but
breast milk. And I am thrilled not to be packing bottles around when life takes
us moose hunting, glacier climbing, or whale wacthing.
UPDATE 12/7/97
Kjell, now 8 1/2 months old, is still nursing as his primary source of food. I
have been offering "real food" 2x a day for about the last 2 months. Sometimes
he will eat it, but often he just wants to nurse. He truly is a poster child
for breastfeeding. Kjell now weighs in at 25 pounds, and is 31 inches long.
Gone are the days when we could sit in the rocking chair and nurse. We now have
to sit on the floor or the couch in order to have enough room for his legs.
Breastfeeding is better now than it has ever been. Kjell is no longer a little
guy who wants to be held and cuddled, he wants to go. Crawling from one end of
the house to the other, and pulling himself up on everything in sight, now the
only time we get to cuddle is when he is nursing. He doesn't awaken every
night any longer, and call me crazy, but I kind of miss those middle of the
night feedings. They were a special time when there was nothing to distract me
from my baby. Gone too, are the days when he would nurse in a calm manner. Now
he is highly skilled in what we have labeled "nursing gymnastics". His hands
are in my mouth, on my nose pulling off my glasses. His feet are on my chin, up
by my ears, or up by his ears. Life is busier now, and better!
