After Tash was born, I retained tissue, which screwed with my milk supply. It took about 8d to come in and then when it did, I was not producing much before it dried up.
During this pregnancy, I told Owen and friends that I wanted to *try* breastfeeding. I will honestly say I never was for or against one form of feeding. I felt if it worked out, it worked out, if it did not, then that was fine too. Tash was on formula for the first 10m of her life and she turned out fine, so I have no strong feelings really one way or the other when it comes to how my child receives her nutrients.
So 12 days ago Kate was born. She as not BF immediately bc I gave birth to her at home and the EMS were more concerned with checking vitals, making sure she was warm enough to go outside and getting us both to the hospital. It was probably an hour before I tried to feed her. The first 24hrs we had a great latch, but then between leaving the hospital and getting home it went to crap. I saw the PHN x3 (former midwife) and she helped me out, but my nipples were so sore/bruised that I switched to pumping to give them a break and to heal.
Of course pumping does not help with supply increase as well for some as it does for others. Once I 'healed' I tried a few more times but even with the correct latch BF'n just makes me cringe. I do not enjoy it at all. K flails, her hands get in the way, she won't open her mouth all the time, so getting the correct latch means taking her off and on several times. Little Miss would prefer to just chomp down. I followed the tips of the PHN, nipple to nose, wait for her mouth to open wide but the little "brat" will stare at my nipple or hours and then as soon as I move her head or my boob *chomp*. gah!
So, because I was not feeling invested one way or the other, or have strong feelings one way or the other, it was perhaps not hard for me to feed her Formula, like I said Tash did just fine. However, I am not quite ready to give up yet and have been pumping every 3hrs for the last 12 days. I'm not sure how long I'll keep it up, I get about 1 bottle a day (5oz) so she gets 1 bottle a day of BM, which for me is better then none at all.
Dr. F gave me a prescription for Motillium, but it's not working wonders. When we saw him again this week he told me to up from 4 a day to 6. He was also super nice about it all. Saying some women get an excess of supply while other women never get that much. On the same note, some women just can't pump enough milk, but breastfeed fine. There are other things out there to help increase supply, but like I said, I'm not sure how far I want to go.
Anyway, the key thing is a)Kate is happy and nourished (she is now over her birth weight 8lbs 3.5oz!) and I'm happy. And that is all that matters. I'm okay with my decision and so is Owen.
I promise I'll post some more photos soon. I was going to upload some today but a pint size 3 yr old is on my pc today playing "music" so it will have to wait until she's in bed.
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