Hello my name is Kim. I would like to share my experience with you on breast feeding. I am the mother of 3 boys ages 14 ½, 12 and 3. I did not attempt to breast feed my first 2 sons because I was young and uncomfortable with the idea. Before the birth of my 3rd son I decided I would give breast feeding a try this time around.
The 1st night after my son was born was awful. He was crying because he was hungry and not able to latch on. I was crying because I didn’t know how to help him latch on and eat. The night nurse tried to take him to the nursery but we wouldn’t allow that. The next morning the nicest lactation nurse came in and helped us learn. Our son still had trouble latching on but we got through it and arrived home 2 days later.
Once we were home, as any newborn being breast feed would want to eat every hour. I attempted this for about 1 week. After the 1st week I decided to purchase a breast pump and store the milk in bottles. Once I began pumping off the breast milk and feeding him out of the bottle I was able to get him on a schedule. I was able to monitor how much he was actually getting and how often. Just as if he was on formula we had our son on a 3 – 4 hour feeding schedule. He was getting all of the antibiotics and nutrition from the breast milk along with getting on a schedule. I feel getting a newborn on a feeding schedule is very important to both mother and child. You hear a lot of stories about mothers having post partum depression. Maybe some of the depression is due to lack of sleep. Breast feeding can be rewarding but stressful when the baby wants to eat every hour or two. I am a person that needs to know how much nutrition my kids are getting and get them on a schedule. He started sleeping better and would go 5-8 hours a night without waking up for a feeding at 6 weeks old.
When he was 2 ½ months old he was sleeping through the night in his own bed without waking up for a feeding.
When he was 5 months old we took a trip two days each way to Texas to see his grandmother. I was able to pump breast milk during our trip but we started supplementing with formula because the trip was stressful due to the length of time on the highway there and back. I did end up drying up after the trip and we used formula until he turned one year old.
The one thing I will never understand is why nurses and lactation specialists don’t give mothers the option of pumping off the breast milk and feeding it out of a bottle. I am sure there is a reason but I haven’t found it. If you want to breast feed but have trouble, consider doing what I did. Pump the breast milk and feed it from the bottle. You will be able to know how much your baby is getting and get the baby on a schedule. This helps you from getting totally worn out. Plus the advantages of breast milk are well documented.
