Breastfeeding, the bane of my existence

A recap of our breastfeeding journey...it's been a long, wild ride, but it's so worth it in the end!

11/24:

Not sure exactly where to start, but here's the run-down, as short as I can make it. Elise had trouble latching on from the beginning, because of my wonderfully-shaped nipples (yes, I am sharing this piece of personal info with the entire world - modesty went out the window a while ago!) The lactatation consultant (LC) gave me nipple shields, and Elise would latch pretty well, but she got frustrated QUICKLY when she didn't get something immediately.

The LC (or a nurse) worked with us nearly every feeding while in the hospital. On the second day, the LC recommended the SNS (a small tube that goes over your nipple and gives them formula) because Elise got so frustrated so quickly. It worked OK, but she is a very lazy latcher. She latches, sucks 5-6 times, then falls asleep. She'll do this for about 10 min, and then she is completely done.

We were sent home with the SNS, which I faithfully used until my milk came in. It was in for 14 hours, but Elise never sucked hard enough for it start flowing, so the LC recommended a hospital pump to relieve the engorgement. She also recommended bottle-feeding her every other feed, since she was getting more jaundiced. We have been doing that since, although now she doesn't like the SNS either. I've still been trying it or just latching her on every other feed. She's soooooo lazy, though, and I don't know if it's just her (she's lazy, even with a bottle) or if she's gotten to used to the bottle.

We met with the LC last Monday to see if we could get her to latch, and based on her swallow, the LC thinks that the suctioning that was done on Elise after birth irritated her throat, which is making her not want to swallow, and excaberting the whole situation. She recommended letting her get past that, continuing to alternate bottle/breast or SNS, and meeting with her again on this upcoming Thursday. She seems very confident that we can still make this work, but to be honest, I'm getting discouraged. DD is just soooo lazy...even with the bottle, she's so lazy with her latch and suck.

11/26:

We had a ped appt today and I was discussing it with him, and he gave me several tips, including his #1 tip, that I just needed to relax. What do you know? I came home from that appt 48 hours ago, and she's had 2 bottles since then! That's it...she's been nursing!!!!!

We still have a few hurdles to get over, but I see a giant light at the end of the tunnel. She doesn't like my left breast nor is she patient enough to get the milk flowing on her own, so I pump for about 60 seconds before latching her on. But those both seem like workable hurdles at this point.

11/29:

OMG!!! By golly, I think we have it down!!!!! I can hardly believe it!!!!!

My appt was at noon, so I fed her at about 8:30 AM and made her wait, since they wanted a hungry baby. The LC had the time wrong, and didn't get there until after 1 PM. She was super-duper apologetic, but Elise was starving, and I was near tears, as I didn't sleep but 2 hours last night.

HOWEVER, it was well worth the wait...and get this...it's been MY fault all along. I feel so guilty...my first new mom guilt trip. LOL

I wasn't supporting my breast properly, so she couldn't get her poor little chin/jaw under my nipple properly. That's why she was so fussy about latching on.

The LC helped me position my hand, and she latched on immediately. She swallows with nearly every suck, which explains her world-record efficiency. She also latched right onto the left side, which was a FIRST! She nursed for about 12 minutes total (both sides) and was done. The LC estimated that she got 3 oz in that time.

I feel soooooo great! The LC said that we should be good to go, as long as I remember how to support my breast and position my fingers. My milk lets down immediately, and Elise has a perfect latch and suck/swallow. And the best part? It really doesn't hurt when they are latched on properly...no more shooting fire out my nipples!

She ate again when we got home, and it went great. I'm knocking on wood, but I think we just turned the last major corner that we needed to turn!

Oh, and I have a bunch of frozen breast milk that I am going to donate to a milk bank. I'm going to pump until this rental is due so I can get as much as possible for them, since I have production out the wazooooo....

11/30:

The last 24 hours have been amazing. We've had no real issues with bfing, other than it sometimes takes us a few shots to get her latched right, but that's minor at this point.

A few great things about bfing from the last day:

-She's a more relaxed baby...probably partly because I'm more relaxed and partly because she is so much more relaxed when she bf vs. bottle feeds. She lays there with her eyes closed...it's so sweet.

-Last night was awesome. She got up twice to eat...I got her out of the bassinette, into bed with me, she ate, I changed her, and I was back asleep within 30 minutes. I got nearly 8 hours of sleep!!!!

-The two of us were just upstairs working, and she got fussy, even though she had eaten about an hour earlier. I sat down on the bed, fed her, she fell asleep, and I kept right on working. How easy was that!?!?!?!?!

All the struggles the past two weeks were so worth it now!!!!