Breastfeeding is a strong topic among my culture. Including my family, especially my mother. From my first pregnancy I knew there was no "I can't do this" or even "it just didn't work out for me". Knowing that my mother exclusively breastfed all four of us for past the first year of life I had no excuse why I wouldn't be able to do it too.
With my first son I like to think that I was young and uneducated about the topic. Even though I breastfed for six months. That's pretty good if I'd say so myself. And I actually enjoyed it too. I didn't breastfed him exclusively, I supplemented with formula and I didn't see nothing wrong with that. With this child however, I knew what I wanted to do from early on. So I put on my learning cap and got to research. From websites and more websites to breastfeeding education classes I learned all that I could possibly learn. With the exception of engorgement and pumping and saving to return to work. For some reason those two topics kind of flew right over my head. Once at home from the hospital, about 4 days postpartum, I went through the transition from colostrum to mature milk and my breast were sore, hard as a rock, sensitive, you name it and I had no idea what to do. I knew I had to let the milk out but how? I was clueless. It was the middle of the night and Adrián was in no mood to eat or latch on correctly. So I tried pumping but I had never used an electric pump before and crap did it hurt! Of course that that made it worse, in my opinion. Because as I let milk out more milk was produced and Adrián was still not eating. Next I tried taking a hot shower, manually expressed some milk, and got Adrián to nurse a bit. It helped to an extent and I was able to sleep a bit. I also googled some things to try at home and every website kept saying to try placing cabbage on my breast to help the soreness. Again , it was the middle of the night so that wasn't much help at that moment.
The next day I had an appointment at the doctor for AJ and I told them about my night. AJ lost another ounce since the day before so they had me schedule an appointment with the lactation consultant. After meeting with her I learned how to latch him properly and things got better from there on. The day before I had also spoken to a friend's mother who is a LC and she gave me great advice on relieving engorgement (more on that later). On our next weigh in he had surpassed his birth weight and we were good to go until his one month check up.
Things were more than great the next couple of months. I had an over supply and was able to feed him according to his needs and save some for when I had school or was out running errands. He also didn't mind taking the bottle. He nursed for a total of 40-60 minutes at each session and at about every 1.5-2.5 hours.
At around 8 weeks he started nursing every hour. I remember feeling exhausted! I could barely get anything done around the house and I just wanted to sleep. I thought that he was going through a growth spurt since this is one of the times when it usually happens so I ignore it and kept on with life. Then I decided on starting my stash for when I returned to work. I called the Lactation Consultant at the Peds office and she told me to start pumping after every feeding and put it in the fridge and that at the end of the day I could combine all the milk I had collected as long as they were chilled and freeze them. Well, after starting this I felt like my world was ending.
I was worried. Very worried.
I discovered a dropped in my supply. And I didn't understand why. AJ would latch on correctly and we had developed somewhat of a feeding routine that had me with an excessive amount of breast milk. There was so much milk that I didn't know what to do with it all. If only I wasn't so caught up on whatever it was, I would of thought on saving enough milk for a rainy day and even for when I return to work. But no, I repeatedly told myself that it was too early for all of that. And now, now I'm dealing with my worse fear, a decrease in my supply.
I remember getting a little depressed with my son Steven when I had to stop breastfeeding him because I didn't have the time to pump as often as I should had. And this time around is no different. This past Friday I was in tears when I realized that my breastfeeding days were soon to be over.
I contacted my LC again and asked for advice. I got advice from two consultants and put them to work right away. A follow up post will be coming soon on how is all working out.
With my first son I like to think that I was young and uneducated about the topic. Even though I breastfed for six months. That's pretty good if I'd say so myself. And I actually enjoyed it too. I didn't breastfed him exclusively, I supplemented with formula and I didn't see nothing wrong with that. With this child however, I knew what I wanted to do from early on. So I put on my learning cap and got to research. From websites and more websites to breastfeeding education classes I learned all that I could possibly learn. With the exception of engorgement and pumping and saving to return to work. For some reason those two topics kind of flew right over my head. Once at home from the hospital, about 4 days postpartum, I went through the transition from colostrum to mature milk and my breast were sore, hard as a rock, sensitive, you name it and I had no idea what to do. I knew I had to let the milk out but how? I was clueless. It was the middle of the night and Adrián was in no mood to eat or latch on correctly. So I tried pumping but I had never used an electric pump before and crap did it hurt! Of course that that made it worse, in my opinion. Because as I let milk out more milk was produced and Adrián was still not eating. Next I tried taking a hot shower, manually expressed some milk, and got Adrián to nurse a bit. It helped to an extent and I was able to sleep a bit. I also googled some things to try at home and every website kept saying to try placing cabbage on my breast to help the soreness. Again , it was the middle of the night so that wasn't much help at that moment.
The next day I had an appointment at the doctor for AJ and I told them about my night. AJ lost another ounce since the day before so they had me schedule an appointment with the lactation consultant. After meeting with her I learned how to latch him properly and things got better from there on. The day before I had also spoken to a friend's mother who is a LC and she gave me great advice on relieving engorgement (more on that later). On our next weigh in he had surpassed his birth weight and we were good to go until his one month check up.
Things were more than great the next couple of months. I had an over supply and was able to feed him according to his needs and save some for when I had school or was out running errands. He also didn't mind taking the bottle. He nursed for a total of 40-60 minutes at each session and at about every 1.5-2.5 hours.
At around 8 weeks he started nursing every hour. I remember feeling exhausted! I could barely get anything done around the house and I just wanted to sleep. I thought that he was going through a growth spurt since this is one of the times when it usually happens so I ignore it and kept on with life. Then I decided on starting my stash for when I returned to work. I called the Lactation Consultant at the Peds office and she told me to start pumping after every feeding and put it in the fridge and that at the end of the day I could combine all the milk I had collected as long as they were chilled and freeze them. Well, after starting this I felt like my world was ending.
I was worried. Very worried.
I discovered a dropped in my supply. And I didn't understand why. AJ would latch on correctly and we had developed somewhat of a feeding routine that had me with an excessive amount of breast milk. There was so much milk that I didn't know what to do with it all. If only I wasn't so caught up on whatever it was, I would of thought on saving enough milk for a rainy day and even for when I return to work. But no, I repeatedly told myself that it was too early for all of that. And now, now I'm dealing with my worse fear, a decrease in my supply.
I remember getting a little depressed with my son Steven when I had to stop breastfeeding him because I didn't have the time to pump as often as I should had. And this time around is no different. This past Friday I was in tears when I realized that my breastfeeding days were soon to be over.
I contacted my LC again and asked for advice. I got advice from two consultants and put them to work right away. A follow up post will be coming soon on how is all working out.
My sweet baby,
Two months later and it feels like you've been a part of our family for years. You sure fit right in. My baby boy, you have grown so much this last month and have taken on your own personality. We haven't weighted you since your one month check up and just like then I again see some extra pounds on you. You just love to eat.
Nursing is still your favorite part of the day and is going very well for both of us. I'm proud to be able to continue providing you with all that you need to grow big and healthy. You have definitely gotten the hang of it and it only takes you 10-15 minutes to get all that you need. Which is great! At night you only nurse for a few minutes, like a snack or to satisfy your thirst. I hope you don't get too used to that and then decide to never sleep through the night.
I have to return to work at the end of the month and although I'm feeling better about it I'm a bit concern that my milk supply will decrease due to my schedule. I'm going to do everything in my power to provide you breast milk as long as I can. Lets hope my body adjusts well to the sleeping/awake pattern that is to come.
Your sleeping has been about the same this month. You are still sleeping 4-5 hours stretches at night and are very active during the day. You are such a happy baby. From the moment you wake up there's a smile on your face. I just love to stare at you and it brings so much joy to my heart that just by looking at me you get so happy. There's definitely a special bond between us. One that I hope never breaks. You have special bonds with daddy and big brother too. Daddy takes care of you when he gets up for work and big brother likes to kiss you and talk to you. He often reads you books too. I think you enjoy the sound of his voice. This month you also had your first sleepover at grandmas house. It was actually two times but the first time I couldn't bear to go home without you nor wake you from your sleep so we all slept at grandmas house :) the second time was much better and you behaved very well.
This month I also took the plunge on cloth diapering and so far so good. It doesn't seem to phase you, as long as you get change when you should you don't care if you're wearing cloth or disposable. And everyone that sees you wearing them gives us the thumbs up. I'm very happy things are working out so well.
You're a little piece of my heaven, in glad to have you as my son. I love you.
Love,
Mommy
Hours away from being six weeks postpartum it hits me. I'm an adult. A wife. A Mother! I can't no longer come and go as I please. Yes, I've been a mother way longer than six weeks but it was only to one child. A child that was the first grandson on both sides of the family. A child who loves being at his grandmother's house and a child who we could always find a babysitter for. As parents we were still able to go out dancing or visit friends as far as a couple of hours away. As for further trips it was so much easier too because he is older and no longer an infant or toddler. Somehow we've always managed to take him everywhere we went with the exception of our trip to Costa Rica in 2010. And even then as a four year old we called him every day from the resort and we missed him dearly. So what is this big reality check I'm talking about?
It all started several weeks ago when I started planning our trips for the year. We, or I should really say I, wanted to take at least two trips this year. A family trip to California to visit the sister-in-law and take our son to Legoland and Disneyland and a cruise for our anniversary since we weren't able to take one last year. The family trip was put on hold for later in the year due to my sister-in-law and her husband moving from their current location to San Diego in a couple of months. Ok not too bad we just have to push it a bit further. However, yesterday I called the husband to inform him of my plans to make reservations for our cruise and to purchase our flight tickets before they go up again (the cruise departs from San Juan, PR). His response: "Pam don't you think is a little too soon and selfish of you to book a 9 days trip with a newborn in the house". Mind you that his lecture was more than just one sentence and it lasted about an hour.
I didn't see anything wrong with wanting to go away for 9 days for some us time. I mean I love our kids and trust our parents and is not like they'll be staying with strangers or friends for that matter. But after it was all done and I processed what he meant I started to feel selfish and I was pretty upset. How dare I want to be away from my sweet baby boy not even a year after his birth. What kind of mother am I? He made it clear that he wasn't canceling the trip he just wanted to include the kids too so I started my research on where we should go. And that my friends is when it hit me. We can no longer come and go as we've done the previous years and do you have any idea how hard it is to plan a family trip with a child that is not even a year old. Yes he'll fly for free and stay for free at resorts but how could we really enjoy ourselves when he can't even walk? How will our older son enjoy himself when we have to think of the baby whenever we want to do something. From going on a cruise to going to Atlantis it just seems impossible! (I'm open to any suggestion you'd like to offer now).
I think back to when I debated to have another child because I was concern about school but I failed to take into consideration how drastically was starting over would change our lives. Not just as a family but more importantly as a couple. No more couple trips not for a few years at least. Now I understand why normal people don't wait 6+ years between childbirths. Ok, so maybe I am being a bit selfish but come on I'm just trying to keep the fire alive. I don't want us to let our marriage fall apart because we are focusing only on the kids and the family.
So what's the verdict on the trips for the year? Unknown.
I'm sure we will come up with a place to go to and it will be a great family vacation. So be on the lookout for a follow up post to this.
Good Night.
It all started several weeks ago when I started planning our trips for the year. We, or I should really say I, wanted to take at least two trips this year. A family trip to California to visit the sister-in-law and take our son to Legoland and Disneyland and a cruise for our anniversary since we weren't able to take one last year. The family trip was put on hold for later in the year due to my sister-in-law and her husband moving from their current location to San Diego in a couple of months. Ok not too bad we just have to push it a bit further. However, yesterday I called the husband to inform him of my plans to make reservations for our cruise and to purchase our flight tickets before they go up again (the cruise departs from San Juan, PR). His response: "Pam don't you think is a little too soon and selfish of you to book a 9 days trip with a newborn in the house". Mind you that his lecture was more than just one sentence and it lasted about an hour.
I didn't see anything wrong with wanting to go away for 9 days for some us time. I mean I love our kids and trust our parents and is not like they'll be staying with strangers or friends for that matter. But after it was all done and I processed what he meant I started to feel selfish and I was pretty upset. How dare I want to be away from my sweet baby boy not even a year after his birth. What kind of mother am I? He made it clear that he wasn't canceling the trip he just wanted to include the kids too so I started my research on where we should go. And that my friends is when it hit me. We can no longer come and go as we've done the previous years and do you have any idea how hard it is to plan a family trip with a child that is not even a year old. Yes he'll fly for free and stay for free at resorts but how could we really enjoy ourselves when he can't even walk? How will our older son enjoy himself when we have to think of the baby whenever we want to do something. From going on a cruise to going to Atlantis it just seems impossible! (I'm open to any suggestion you'd like to offer now).
I think back to when I debated to have another child because I was concern about school but I failed to take into consideration how drastically was starting over would change our lives. Not just as a family but more importantly as a couple. No more couple trips not for a few years at least. Now I understand why normal people don't wait 6+ years between childbirths. Ok, so maybe I am being a bit selfish but come on I'm just trying to keep the fire alive. I don't want us to let our marriage fall apart because we are focusing only on the kids and the family.
So what's the verdict on the trips for the year? Unknown.
I'm sure we will come up with a place to go to and it will be a great family vacation. So be on the lookout for a follow up post to this.
Good Night.
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