Debbie's Breastfeeding Story
I am the mother of a seven month old breastfed girl. She and I both love nursing, but it wasn't always that way.
When she was born, my daughter had problems with breathing so I didn't get to breastfeed right away. When I brought her home, she refused to eat and lost 15% of her birthweight in the first two days. She couldn't figure out how to latch on. I went back to the hospital and had a visit with the lactation consultants. With their help, I learned how to pump and feed breastmilk from a bottle. The first few days went like this: I would attempt to have my baby latch on, she would get frustrated and cry, then I'd cry. I'd try a silicone nipple shield and then a bottle of expressed milk. After feeding her the bottle, I would pump for 15 minutes, clean all the apparatus and start over again in about 1 hour. Needless to say, it was very exhausting. My husband said to me, why don't you just give her some formula? But I wasn't giving up so easily.
It took Haley 5 weeks before she learned how to latch on, but she's doing great now. We both love it and I love the health benefits for both her and myself.
My advice for a new mother is to hang in there. If you have a problem like mine, it can work. Just give it some time. Also, good advice is to call the Lactation Center at the local hospital or La Leche League.
Good luck to all new mothers.
