My Breastfeeding Journey: 8th Week Mark

This Saturday marks my 8th week milestone with my 2nd baby in our breastfeeding journey.

So, this post is written to remember what we went through during the first 7 weeks of his life.

Now, I’ve read a lot of posts in social media of moms celebrating the beauty and benefits of breastfeeding. Articles made it seem like breastfeeding is a bliss. And if ever a mother shares some hurdles she had, it always seemed that she overcame them gracefully all the time. Even photos of breastfeeding moms always looked serene. These made me want to breastfeed all the more. I even wrote about my first breastfeeding journey. Boy, was I lured!

Before giving birth, I have learned that the first 2 to 3 days after delivery is the make-or-break point of having enough milk supply for the baby. So, it is best that the baby be fed on the breast and on demand so that our bodies will know how much milk it will produce (amazing, no??). And it isn’t until 6 weeks post-partum when our milk supply would start to stabilize.

Having this information on hand, I made sure that my birth plan indicated my desire to breastfeed — have the baby latch immediately, no formula milk or dummies to be offered, and have the baby roomed-in at any cost. I consistently reminded my OB and our Pedia every check-up about this plan and even talked to the NICU and OB nurses before my delivery (I might have sounded like a broken record inside the labor room, but I just had to make sure that my plan was understood).

Stat C-Section

After my morning delivery (I was sent for a stat C-section due to a double cord coil), my wish to have my baby beside me immediately was granted. Even though I felt like gotten hit by a truck 7 times when i woke up after the operation in the recovery area, I eagerly let the NICU nurse hand Keith to me and she gently helped the baby latch. Keith was such a champ, he really did not have a hard time latching. So, we stayed there side-by-side for a good 4 hours until he was whisked away again to be measured and all that stuff they need to do for newborns while I was being prepared to be transferred back to my room.

The struggle of nursing a baby and nursing a CS wound at the same time was real! There will be times when you won’t know which to attend to first, the pain on your nipples because baby’s still learning to latch properly or extreme pain you feel at your wound especially when you laugh or cough. Imagine that?!

The first few days, we fed on a side-lying position, but at the time i can manage to sit down, we were able to do the cradle hold, a hundred thanks to a nursing pillow which made my life so much more comfortable.

Engorgement

Baby was roomed-in on the same day he was delivered and so, we started to breastfeed again. He was such a sleeper in his first few days. I remember that, on his 2nd day, he was able to sleep for about 5 hours straight. There was an attempt to wake him up and feed him, but Mr. Sandman was on his side. And that was when my series of engorgement started to come in.

I would have not thought that having an abundance of milk would be such a pain, literally. Imagine having two solid rocks with a texture of a pebble hanging on your chest for the whole day. That was what my engorgement felt like. Plus, flu-like symptoms. Fortunately, my lactation consultant (LC) did a breast massage (yes, their is such a thing, thank God!) and prescribed me to take Vitamin E to lessen my engorgement. I also started to put warm compress and pump every after feed to relieve myself of the much pain Mr. Engorgement made me feel.

To lessen engorgement, I had to pump the other boob while baby’s on the other one. Notice the unkept hair? 😂

Tongue-tied, Grade II

The day after my first real encounter with engorgement, our pediatrician informed us that baby was tongue-tied. This explains why, after talks with my LC and her mentioning that breastfeeding was supposed to be pain-free, I still felt a 3-4 discomfort in a 10-point scale every feed, the discomfort being in the nipple area. When my LC checked on my nipples, they were deformed and had whitish blisters indicating that there was a problem with baby’s latching despite a nicely formed fish-mouth. I was lucky though that I did not get to experience cracked nipples.

This also partially explains my engorgement. Babies with tongue-ties do not suck efficiently due to their tongue’s restriction and so breasts are not fully drained. I had three serious engorgements (serious meaning having fever) in a 7-week span.

To address our tongue-tie issues, a medical professional can release baby’s frenulum (that membrane under our tongues). We are fortunate enough that a dentist (and the only one), Dr. Amado Fuentes, performs just that here in Iloilo.

Cluster-feeding

Being a second time mom, I am not new to the idea of growth spurts. Growth spurts are the moments when babies grow rapidly in development and may cause sudden changes in feeding and sleeping patterns. For us, at every growth spurt mark, baby seems to be very hungry and clingy and needs a little less sleep. So, this means that he is latched to me ALL day. Well, he does give me at most 15 minutes of rest, I gave to give him that. But, imagine him latched to me while I’m cleaning my toddler’s room and while playing and taking care of my toddler.

It is because of this neediness that my anxiety attacks are triggered. So, two of the things I learned to help me get through are 1) not looking at the clock (so that I won’t know how long baby has been attached to me) and 2) baby-wearing (I swear by this life-saver!).

Anxiety Attacks

Did I already mention that breastfeeding is stressful? It also means serious sleepness nights, more sleepless than my first baby being fed formula because baby wakes up every 2 to 3 hours and feeds for 45 minutes at the least. And this sleepless, tired state made me more stressed which consequently triggers my anxiety attacks.

Thankfully, husband volunteered to take over diaper changes and dropper-feed baby for one night-time feeding so I can just pump. Through this, I was able to have an ample amount of rest to re-enegize myself for the next day.

Our first two months of exclusive breastfeeding was definitely not a breeze. It was a whirlwind type. Painful, confusing, unpredictable. There were times when i was tempted to ask my husband to have us switch to formula. But what keeps me going is when I look at my healthy, smiling baby and tell myself that this whirlwind is worth it after all.

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OB-Gyne: Dra. Ellen D. Abelita Pediatrician: Dra. Ma. Luisa D. Kanapi Dentist: Dr. Amado Fuentes Lactation Consultant: Ms. Adhara Sebuado

#mommylife #postpartumanxiety #motherhood #breastfeeding #breastfeedingiloilo