Even before I was pregnant with my daughter, I wanted to breastfeed my daughter. I thought I was going to have to work, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to. I am actually staying home with her, so I have been able to breastfeed. It was a struggle at first, but once she caught it has been great. She loves it and is so healthy.
One thing I never understand was when discussing the benefits of breastfeeding no one mentions the cost. Formula is expensive and breastfeeding is free!
The first week was rough. She was so tiny and had a little bit of jaundice so she kept falling asleep. She also would get so upset that she couldn't eat. Her weight dropped and we ended up having to stay an extra day in the hospital. We were so scarred. They kept pricking her heel to check her blood sugar and her poor little heel was bruised. We hated hearing her cry every time they did it. It tore me up. We had to supplement a but with formula.
Monday, two days after she was born we had the most wonderful nurse named Joyce. She was a true God send. She is a lactation consultant and was so helpful. I ended up taking my girl to see her a few times.
We finally got to leave on Tuesday, 3 days after she was born. We had been in the hospital since Thursday. We were so ready to go home.
She was doing much better on the right side than the left side. Apparently this had to do with my nipple on that side. We did try to use a nipple shield. I didn't give up and she finally caught on. She loves it now.
We did have trouble getting her to take a bottle. She apparently hates formula , so I ended up having to pump and use a Dr. Brown's slow flow bottle to get her to drink out of a bottle. I only have a hand pump, so pumping isn't super efficient.
I plan to keep breastfeeding her at least until her first birthday and more than likely longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment