WHEN I WAS PREGNANT WITH MY FIRST CHILD, I CAN’T REMEMBER REALLY THINKING ABOUT HOW I WOULD FEED HER WHEN SHE WAS BORN. MY HUSBAND AND I TOOK THE BREASTFEEDING CLASS AT FRENCH HOSPITAL AND I WAS PRETTY SURE THAT’S WHAT I WANTED TO DO BUT FIGURED IF IT DIDN’T GO WELL, THEN THERE WAS ALWAYS FORMULA.
WE PLANNED TO HAVE OUR DAUGHTER AT FRENCH HOSPITAL, BUT AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT SHE HAD A VERY DIFFERENT PLAN. MY WATER BROKE AT 36 WEEKS SO MY OB SAID TO HEAD STRAIGHT TO SIERRA VISTA SINCE THEY HAD A NICU. WITH LITTLE LABOR, OUR DAUGHTER WAS BORN BY C-SECTION THAT SAME MORNING. THE SURGERY WENT WELL BUT AFTERWARD I HAD COMPLICATIONS WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. I DON’T THINK I WAS ABLE TO HOLD HER MUCH IN HER FIRST DAYS BECAUSE I WAS HEAVILY MEDICATED AND COULD HARDLY STAY AWAKE. I PUMPED WHAT I COULD BUT SHE WAS FED FORMULA FOR A MAJORITY OF HER FEEDINGS. SHE HAD VERY BAD JAUNDICE AND WAS PUT UNDER UV LIGHT WHICH FURTHER INHIBITED OUR BONDING. WE WERE IN THE HOSPITAL FOR 5 LONG DAYS AND WHEN WE WENT HOME THINGS WERE NOT GOING WELL FOR BREASTFEEDING. I COULD NOT GET HER TO LATCH ON CORRECTLY WHICH CAUSED VERY PAINFUL CHAPPED AND CRACKED NIPPLES. LUCKILY WE WENT TO THE BREASTFEEDING CLINIC QUICKLY WHERE WE LEARNED THAT SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO LATCH CORRECTLY BECAUSE SHE HAD BEEN BORN SO EARLY AND WAS TOO SMALL. IT TOOK A COUPLE OF WEEKS OF PUMPING AND FEEDING HER IN A BOTTLE UNTIL SHE HAD FINALLY GROWN ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO LATCH ON CORRECTLY. AFTER A ROCKY START IT WAS GREAT TO BE ABLE TO BREASTFEED HER EXCLUSIVELY. I KNOW THAT WITHOUT THE HELP, SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT FROM MY HUSBAND AND BREASTFEEDING CLINIC I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE IT THROUGH THOSE TOUGH WEEKS. I THINK HE LIKED GOING TO OUR BREASTFEEDING CLINIC APPOINTMENTS JUST AS MUCH AS I DID.
HAILEY AND I DID GREAT BREASTFEEDING UNTIL AROUND HER 6 MONTH MARK. I FOUND OUT I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY THYROID AND THE TESTS THAT I WOULD NEED TO GO THROUGH WOULD AFFECT MY BREASTFEEDING. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WAS CRUSHED. I MADE MANY CALLS TO THE BREASTFEEDING CLINIC TO SEE IF THE MEDICATIONS WOULD BE ABLE TO PASS THROUGH MY MILK. I PUMPED AND FROZE AS MUCH MILK AS I COULD BEFORE HAVING THE TEST SO I COULD KEEP HER ON BREAST MILK EVEN IF I COULDN’T BREASTFEED. I SAVED ENOUGH MILK FOR ABOUT 2 MONTHS WHEN WE FOUND OUT THAT I WOULD HAVE TO HAVE MY THYROID “KILLED” WITH RADIOACTIVE IODINE. AFTER TAKING THIS MEDICATION, BREASTFEEDING WOULD HAVE TO END SO THE RADIOACTIVITY WOULDN’T PASS ON TO HER THROUGH MY MILK. AT 8 MONTHS SHE WAS WEANED ONTO FORMULA AND WE HAD A HORRIBLE TIME WITH IT. FOR 4 EXCRUCIATING WEEKS I COULDN’T HOLD HER AT ALL BECAUSE I WAS TOO RADIOACTIVE FOR HER TO BE NEAR ME. IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT TIME FOR ALL OF US.
FAST-FORWARD THREE YEARS TO THE BIRTH OF OUR SON, CADE. HIS BIRTH WAS A PLANNED C-SECTION AT FEW DAYS SHY OF 39 WEEKS (HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, AGAIN). LUCKILY, AFTER HIS BIRTH MY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE STABILIZED AND DID NOT CAUSE ANY MORE PROBLEMS. BEING THAT I HAD ALREADY DONE THIS ONCE, I WAS MUCH MORE CALM AND DETERMINED TO BREASTFEED. HE LATCHED ON GREAT FROM DAY ONE AND I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED OUR TIME BREASTFEEDING. WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 8 MONTHS HE STARTED BITING ME WHILE NURSING. I DID EVERYTHING THE NURSING BOOKS SAID TO DO TO DISCOURAGE THIS, BUT ONE TIME HE BIT DOWN SO HARD MY NIPPLE STARTED TO BLEED. I WAS HOPING I WASN’T GOING TO GET MASTITIS BUT NO SUCH LUCK. OF COURSE, I HAD TO COME DOWN WITH IT ON A SUNDAY. THE ONLY DOCTOR OPEN WAS A WALK IN CLINIC. I HAD DONE MY RESEARCH AND BROUGHT MY NURSING BOOK WITH ME. AFTER BEING TESTED FOR STREP AND THE FLU, THEY FINALLY CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS INDEED MASTITIS. I ASKED THE DOCTOR WHAT ANTIBIOTIC SHE WAS GOING TO PRESCRIBE AND WHEN SHE TOLD ME WHAT IT WAS, IT HAPPENED TO BE THE EXACT ANTIBIOTIC THAT MY NURSING BOOK TOLD ME WOULDN’T WORK FOR MASTITIS. UPON TELLING HER THAT MEDICINE WOULDN’T WORK, SHE ASKED TO SEE THE BOOK AND THANKFULLY I LEFT WITH THE CORRECT MEDICATION. AFTER THIS LITTLE INCIDENT, CADE AND I ENJOYED BREASTFEEDING UNTIL HE WEANED HIMSELF AT 18 MONTHS.
EVEN THROUGH ALL OF THE UPS AND DOWN THAT COME WITH BREASTFEEDING, I AM SO GLAD THAT I WAS ABLE TO PERSEVERE AND ENJOY THIS TIME. WHILE BREASTFEEDING IS A NATURAL PROCESS IN CHILD REARING, IT IS NOT ALWAYS EASY!!
