Immediately after I found out I was expecting again I began having problems with bleeding cramping etc, this was actually my 3rd pregnancy in less that 18 months and having miscarried the first pregnancy I was very worried. When I discussed continuing nursing with my doc, she told me that they were more concerned with me running up and down stairs than nursing so to continue. Eventually I did miscarry yet again 2 days before Kandace and I were due to fly to Italy.
The stress of everything finally caught up with me and my milk supply started to dwindle. I talked with her pediatrician and he told me that the decision was mine and that I had held out longer than most of his parents (at 7 months). The funny thing was that the first time I met this man he looked at my daughter and before he even opened her chart and read anything stated "This is a healthy breast-feed baby!" So at that time I allowed my remaining milk to dry up, with many regrets.
When my daughter was 15 months old we found that we were once again expecting. Happily this time!! Our son was born OCT 93. The hospital were he was born had no infant nursery so he received all his newborn assessments in the LDR with mom and dad in presence. Immediatly after his 5 min APGARS he was brought to nurse. He didn't open very wide but latched on without much difficulty. He did very well in the hospital. Some trouble did come up about one week later.
I was nursing my little boy one morning when I noticed that when he latched on and I let down I would have EXCRUCIATING pain throughout my breasts. I made and appt to see my OB/GYN to fingd out what was happening. He explained that my nipples were cracked and there was some cream to put on them. Then he asked how long did I want to nurse? For at least a year was my answer. He looked at me rather oddly and prescribed the medicine with 6 refills. When I asked him why this happened he said that it had something to do with the baby latching on but he didn't know the specifics. So when I left there I went to talk to the pediatrician to see what he would say. When I walked in to talk to him he said that from what he understood it was because the baby was latching on the nipple itself rather than the areola, he called in his nurse to double check his theory and she said yes, often that can cause cracked nipples. She also said that the cream wouldn't heal them just make them more comfortable. That I may find it easier for a few days to express the milk and bottle-feed it to him because the pain was so great but to not let my breasts become too engorged because that would streatch out the areola and could cause more pain. She also showed me how to make sure the baby was latching on properly to treat and prevent reoccurance. After that brief instruction, Kevin and I went on to enjoy 11 months of nursing, through a major surgery and a vacation, he never had formula and stopped nursing on his own at 11 months. Funny thing is that he won't drink milk no matter what the fat content or flavor
I am currently expecting my 3rd child in August. I am looking forward to the development of that special bond that I soo enjoy with my other two.
Kaci
