Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Uh Oh... Booby Traps - iNeed a Playdate Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Uh Oh... Booby Traps iNeed a Playdate a Blog for Northeast Ohio Moms

2.11.2011

Breastfeeding Blog Hop: Uh Oh... Booby Traps

It’s Week 6 of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop.
This week’s topic is: OBSTACLES

When I was pregnant with my first... I was SO not going to nurse.  I was going to feed that kid formula and as soon as possible he was going to be eating table food.  HA!  I also did not think I could or would ever have children and was certainly  not going to breastfeed if I did by some random chance get knocked up... HA!  

Fast forward through the denial, struggle and eventual acceptance that I would have a bouncing baby and I discovered that there were four other woman in my office pregnant.  I feel bad now for my co-workers at the time who had to put up with us but eh...  that is another story.  All we did was talk about our pregnancy and those who had kids regaled us with their birth stories and when we finished with THAT we talked about the actual babies and all baby related stuff.  All this talk and you know breastfeeding would come up and would you believe it was peer pressure TO breastfeed that got me to try it!  That and the promise that I would lose the baby weight faster helped.  It helped a lot.

Looking back I can not believe I stuck with it though.  I delivered at an urban hospital that gave out formula samples like beads at mardi gra... Tits?  Have some formula!  I think I saw more social workers then nurses and I was so doped up that I can honestly say that I think I slept through most of my stay there.  No one came to visit me and the Husband (then the Baby Daddy) was moving us into a bigger apartment.  I vaguely remember a lactation consultant coming in but I don't have a clue what she talked about but I think we talked about pumping because a medical grade pump that look like a medieval torture chamber was in my room the next day.... I digress.  

Once home... baby and I were naturals.  We bonded from the get and nothing stopped us.  I was nervous because he would only nurse from one breast and only for 8 minutes a session.  My amazing pediatrician reassured me it was normal and he was making all his milestones.  When I went back to work I HAND PUMPED twice a day until he was nine months and then... I dried up.   I did have enough stored up that he only had a can maybe two of formula but all in all I was very lucky.  Of course, now I know there are things I could have done to keep baby nursing and keep milk supply up but...  we survived and there were so many other things I could stress about (and did).  Besides... I was not going to have another baby again...

My second baby I had in a neighborhood hospital that is geared to mom and baby.  They believe in kangaroo care, I did not have to be strapped down with monitors and I got to start nursing within minuets of her birth...  it was so beautiful and I was not doped on any additional drugs, don't get me wrong I had an epidural but once that wore off I did not even take a Tylenol.... at least not till I got home.

Jamba Mama LOVES to nurse and will do it for as long as she possibly can and then will just suck... and suck.  Now that she is older it is not as bad but since we co-sleep all she has to do is roll over and oops there it is and she will nurse.  Of course, because, of this she actually drinks less while at the sitters... all the same my milk supply is starting to dwindle again.  I went from pumping, twice a day to sometimes once... I do have some stored for the sitters but...  We may just be nursing at night and have to forgo pumping at work; deplete the back up supply.  Again... not going to worry because she is healthy and happy and will soon be drinking organic milk, from a cow and not from a lab.

Other then being a human pacifier because this baby wants nothing to do but nurse...  I have been very lucky that the traditional obstacles did not persuade me to stop sooner and that my initial support group kept me on track.   In fact, it is because of the woman that have fallen victim to these booby traps; seeing their struggle made me more resolved to continue nursing.  Wendy (@ABCGP) this week's guest host included the following in her blog post:
Common obstacles to breastfeeding are many, including:
  • Interventions during birth that delay the initial breastfeeding experience, making it harder to initiate…
  • A myriad of health issues and physical differences (mom or baby) that can cause difficulties without the specific knowledge of how to accommodate or fix them
  • Sneaky formula samples or propaganda featuring charts on transitioning your baby to formula as though it were just the normal, expected thing to do…
  • Well-meaning but misinformed peers telling you that you can try to breastfeed, but it most likely won’t work (because it “didn’t work” for them) so you should have a backup plan…
  • Workplaces that are not supportive of breastfeeding or do not allow working moms the time and space to pump as needed…
  • A cultural perception of breastfeeding as “weird” or “inappropriate,”  which can cause women to not want to breastfeed, or cause them to feel self-conscious, ashamed, or even fearful of confrontation when they have to feed their babies away from home…
  • That friend or family member who wants you to hide away – even at home – and constantly tells you that it’s time to stop nursing now for one reason or another…
Did I mention that Jamba Mama is now 10 months and 3 weeks and is still nursing!  Just have to keep the pumping going at work and we will be okay.
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