Breastfeeding Breakthroughs!

I am breastfeeding our daughter.  I did not give birth to this daughter, nor have I ever carried a baby.  And yet, I am able to breastfeed!

It is amazing, precious, thrilling, and HARD.

Last month, I was ready to give up.  Gianna took an average of one to two hours to nurse with each feeding.  I was worn out trying to feed Gianna, keep up with Abigail, make formula (from scratch) and wash and dry the bottle and tubes between every feeding.  Night time was the worst.  With Abigail I kept a bottle by the bed and when she woke up I just fed her quickly.  It was no big deal.  But with Gianna, J would get up to wash the bottle from the previous feeding and refill it, I'd dance around with Gianna to keep her calm, turn on the light to set up the system and ensure the tube was positioned properly in her mouth, and then feed her for an hour.  Or two.  In addition, Gianna was showing signs of GI trouble and I was eliminating much from my diet to try to help her.  Occasionally (not every time!) she would arch her back, pull off, clamp back down and cry in distress.  We assumed something in my milk was giving her gas and I began to eliminate things from my diet to help her.  No more milk, chocolate, peanuts, raw vegetables and limited caffeine for me!  Sniff, sniff!


I was ready to throw in the towel.  A bottle would be SO much easier.  


To give her three full months of breastfeeding and bonding, I decided to get it one more month .  But in the last two weeks, some amazing breakthroughs have happened!  


First, the tube broke in the middle of the night.  The next morning I bought a new one from a local hospital and rediscovered that the set comes with THREE tubes of various sizes.  I had been using the medium size, as suggested for adoption, put the others away and forgotten about them.  I decided to try the larger size and WOAH!  We instantly cut our feeding time in half!  Now feedings take 30-60 minutes.  In addition, we now had two bottles which cut my washing in half!  I felt like a free woman!  (So did J! He doesn't have to get up anymore!)


Then a new friend lent me her ring sling.  As I attempted to navigate the learning curve, I remembered Dr. Sears' book has a whole section on ring slings.  In the breastfeeding section, he writes, 

It organizes problem suckers.  Some babies breastfeed better on the move, especially those problem suckers who need movement to organize their sucking.  Tense babies (those with a suck problem called tonic bite) and backarchers often breastfeed much better in the sling because of the organizing effect babywearing has on their entire physiology.  As the baby's whole body relaxes, so do the suck muscles.  (The Baby Book)

That's Gianna all over!!!  In fact, her back arching and problem sucking had me previously thinking she was having GI problems and I'd eliminated quite a bit from my diet.  Now I'm not so sure!  But just this afternoon she was having one of her fits, so I put her in the sling and tried to nurse her again and it worked!!!  She was able to relax and nurse!  It was wonderful!

Another bonus is I'm free to move around, play with Abigail, and do little things around the house.  Yesterday I made a chicken salad, including chopping some celery, bell pepper and green onions all while nursing Gianna!!!  

Plus, it is going to be a huge help when feeding Gianna in public.  We have not figured out the nursing cover.  It's warm and dark, so she falls asleep, and I can't see what's happening with the tube in her mouth.  But the ring sling has a tail that can be thrown over my shoulder.  It's a much better fit for us. 

Finally, I increased my dosage of domperidone to the max dose (160 mgs/day) and it has really helped my milk increase.  Last month I estimated I made 4 ounces per day.  Now I'm estimating NINE!!!  Gianna had been getting up two-three times at night (!), but now when she fusses I offer her my breast without the supplement.  When she fusses again I switch sides. This process buys me one to three hours.  We get up one time and she takes two to three ounces before falling back asleep.  In the morning she continues to take about three ounces per feeding.  By the afternoon my milk is depleted and she takes a full four ounce bottle. 

So for every two ounces of formula she receives, she gets ONE from me!  I'm providing ONE THIRD of her milk!  This is so far beyond my wildest expectations.  I am over the moon with pride and joy!  

Our Lady of La Leche, pray for us!





P.S.  I absolutely, positively, could NOT have done this without J's help and support.  He is absolutely wonderful and I am so, so thankful!!!  Thank you so much, J!!!  I love you and appreciate you!!!