When my baby was a few months old, I was at a kid’s birthday party chatting with one of the other Moms about breastfeeding. Her comments were something to the tune of “Yeah, I didn’t really think I would breastfeed, but after my baby was born it was so easy and convenient. Same for you?”. My jaw almost hit the floor. I had been breastfeeding for about 4 months and it was hands down one of the hardest things I had ever done. During my pregnancy, I didn’t think twice about whether I would breastfeed or not. It was a given. I knew there would probably be a few obstacles but felt confident that I would be able to overcome them. What I hadn’t bargained on was things going awry from the start.
I had complications after delivery which landed me in the
operating room having surgery and a large blood transfusion. Because I had lost
so much blood, my milk came in late. For the first few days, my baby screamed
despite non-stop nursing. When we were discharged from the hospital she had
lost 7% of her body weight and I was told that was normal. At her first
pediatrician visit a few days later, she had lost a full pound. My nipples were
cracked, blistered and bleeding from the constant feeding. My baby was still
screaming with hunger. We were
instructed to supplement with formula and we did. My milk eventually came in a
week later and I thought we were home free! Alas, my nipples didn’t heal.
Nursing was SO painful. I tried lanolin ointment, Lansinoh Soothies in the
fridge were great, basically anything for sore nipples I could find (thank you
Amazon Prime!). I asked my OB about it, he said it was normal. I asked my
Primary Care Physician about it, he said it was normal too. By this stage I was
dreading nursing because of the pain. Sometimes she would nurse on each side
for an hour. I tried every different latch position possible. It seemed like
she never opened her mouth very wide, it reminded me of a goldfish. It was like
she was sucking from a straw rather than expressing the milk. It was
agonizing. I sought out lactation
consultant, Ellen Simpson when my daughter was about 2 weeks old. Ellen evaluated us and suggested that
she might have a tongue tie. A tongue tie restricts the tongues range of motion
so the baby cannot nurse efficiently. It was a lot of work for my baby to nurse
(like drinking a massive bowl of soup with a tiny straw), and that is the
reason I was so sore. We went to see a Pediatric Ear Nose and Throat specialist
the next day and he diagnosed a tongue and a lip tie. He clipped both in the
office that day. Numbing medicine was used and she cried for a couple of
minutes, but was able to nurse better immediately. Hallelujah!
When she was about 6 weeks old, she started to produce green
stools and was very fussy. She had always been very proficient in that area,
and very explosive, sometimes shooting poop 4ft across the room if we happened
to be changing her when it happened. I noticed that when she was fussy her
tummy was cramping, I could feel it against me as I held her. She also wasn’t sleeping
very well or very much, and had a mild rash on her face. We went to the
pediatrician and she tested positive for blood in her stool. He said to give
her bowel rest by giving her only Pedialyte for 24 hours (it also happened to
be New Years Eve…obviously we were not celebrating). Our poor baby was starving
and not understanding why she couldn’t have her milk. I pumped every 3 hours
around the clock so my supply wouldn’t be affected. It was hard for me to hold
her because she would be trying to latch on through my shirt. At our follow up
appointment, there was still blood so we were referred to the Pediatric
Gastroenterologist. There they diagnosed her with Milk Soy Protein Intolerance,
and I was instructed to remove all dairy and soy from my diet. In the following
weeks, she continued to test positive for blood in the stool despite my very
strict diet. I thought she must have allergies other than milk and soy, and one
by one removed eggs, fish, nuts, and all the top 8 allergens (I have allergies
to wheat and peanuts myself so they were already out). Week after week we went
back and they would have us try different elemental formulas, none of which my
daughter tolerated. One made her projectile vomit, and the other made her
reflux ten times worse. She hated the taste of them so every ounce was a fight
to get down. By this time she also had silent reflux and was first on Zantac,
and then Prevacid. I pressed the doctors numerous times about whether she could
be allergic to something else, and was repeatedly told “No”. I didn’t listen. We saw an allergist who did
skin prick testing when she was 5 months old. She was highly allergic to dairy
and all grains except rice. Finally everything made sense. It explains why she
continued to react even with the top 8 allergens eliminated; I was still eating
oats and other grains. And she was not allergic to soy! Once the grains were
removed from my diet she improved. She got better and better and at around 6
months we were able to wean her off the reflux meds.
At times I’ve battled with low supply too, and find that
Motherlove More Milk Plus and “power pumping” helps. Power pumping is when you
pump for 10 minutes on, then 10 minutes off, for up to an hour. It’s sort of
mimicking your baby having a growth spurt and telling the body to produce more
milk. Having a great pump is key! I recommend Hygeia brand. Before getting the Hygeia,
I had an Ameda Purely Yours and it wasn’t very good. Both are closed systems
but the Hygeia is a hospital grade pump.
My little angel is now 8.5 months old and thriving! Nursing
is now pain free for both of us. My diet is restrictive but it is worth it to
see her so happy and healthy. It is still challenging because I can’t eat out
(mostly due to risk of cross contamination) so travel and social scenarios are
difficult. I feel lucky I have been able to continue to breastfeed my baby. It
has created such a close bond between us and she finds nothing more comforting
than nursing. Though we have had a rocky start, I feel confident that she is
getting the best start in life I can give her.
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