keep the breastmilk coming
i am guilty. of impatience and not advocating breastfeeding till it hurts. i am also guilty of being overpaid. (but no, i’m not really complaining!)
E looked at me like i was from another planet, when i asked her if she wants me to just feed her baby with formula, from the bottle, so she can sleep and have some rest. i looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, making sure i didn’t grow a third eye or another nose. obviously, i commited the worst crime in the breastfeeding world; and that is assuming that the enthusiastic but totally exhausted and frustrated new mom is tired of trying.
okay. both her nipples are inverted. the lactation specialist made her use a nipple shield (which, honestly i have never seen in my whole life, so imagine my embarassment when E asked for it and i didn’t know what i was looking for!) to facilitate breastfeeding. thing is, the baby gets frustrated with the big plastic/silicone nipple without the milk. so the little guy would rather sleep, than suck till his tiny lungs collapse. i don’t blame him. his pediatrician is a little bit concerned that he is loosing a lot of weight, so it was suggested he needs formula supplement.
my only responsibilty is to hold the 20 ml syringe with formula, and give it a little push through the feeding tube inserted inside the nipple shield, so the baby gets something. now, to feed a sleeping 5 pound 3 day old baby with a little drop of milk at a time, while expecting him to work for it like his young life depends on it, is like asking an elephant to get inside the refrigerator, and get in there, quick. but E was determined , and i salute her!
how the nipple shield helps facilitate the whole process still escapes me. maybe, if i float there at mother-baby unit again, i’ll eventually find out.
i was paid for 12 hours, but when i thought of what i did in that unit where breastmilk overflows, i would be lying if i say i worked a total of at least 2 hours. if you want to know the truth, my butt hurt. it was on the chair for a very lonnnnng time.
the whole night, i was in the bahamas!
I do believe that breastmilk is superior to feeding formulas but sometimes I feel so much for babies who couldn’t get enough of their mother’s milk. you could imagine the starving little angels thrashing to get more flow.
Psychologically, it is more important for these babies to have sufficient fill because food and comfort are everything to them.
I just wish some pediatricians or mothers would loosen a little with their overzealousness in breastfeeding. The baby won’t die if it gets fed with milk formula for a time.
We can’t risk rearing little Ted Bundys and future members of AA just because we fail to recognize the baby’s basic need which is satiety.
Okay, I’m sounding like a disciple of some ancient shrink. However, we can’t take these things for granted. Psychology/Psychiatry was not founded for nothing.
As for being overpaid, May, Nah. You need the Bahamas stint. it’s nice to get a tan at night. Cheers!
Comment by Rebecca — June 30, 2005 @ 2:02 pm
You touched on a subject near and dear to my heart (and my mama-milk loving baby) … I have exclusively breastfed my baby for 14 1/2 months now. She has never had a drop of formula. Not because I set out with that as a goal. But because I said I would breastfeed “as long as it was working for both of us” and we were one of the lucky pairs to have it work well from the beginning - when she was small I used to joke “she could teach all the other babies how it is done” … but I do not judge others for their partial or total use of formula - what works for each mom and baby is different and what is right is what works for you! I do think, however, that sometimes breastfeeding is given up on too early by those who have trouble at the beginning out of frustration and a lack of support and help. I don’t know E or how she felt. But when I had my baby and the mother-baby nurses said “Why don’t we take her to the nursery for the night and feed her formula so you can sleep” I said no - I did not want this hours old new life of mine anywhere but by my side and I did not want to sabotage the breastfeeding relationship from the very beginning by offering formula and artificial nipples. I did not view lack of sleep/baby care as a burden but as a fact of new motherhood. To me, for someone to suggest otherwise was offensive. I went home after 24 hours so that the three of us could just cuddle and bond and nurse. I hope all works out for E and her new little one.
Comment by mamalife — June 30, 2005 @ 5:37 pm
more women would paint their toenails red than breast feeed their child
Comment by Pseudo-intellectual lunatic — June 30, 2005 @ 8:53 pm
i was never breast fed, my mom developed an infection shortly after birthing me and was unable to do so, my brother wasn’t breast fed, my mom figured since i was doing okay, then the boy would do fine. both my brother and i re college graduates, well-adjusted contributing members of society. and we talk to mom each and every day. i wish to god people would just get it in their thick skulls it doesn’t matter what you feed the baby (be it breast milk or similac) the most important thing is that you provide for your baby. oh by the way, i’ve been a nurse for ten years and you are never paid enough for the hell your body goes through in nursing (unless i guess, if you work with babies).
Comment by Anonymous — July 1, 2005 @ 1:50 pm
reb:i don’t really wanna go to the bahamas, there was just nothing to do, i had to use my imagination to stay awake
mamalife: i’m sure like you, E was offended. i didn’t mean to offend her though
pseudo: i know that is true. for some women
anon: i hope my kids will grow up to fine too, even though imy attempts at breastfeeding them were not successful. and about being overpaid, that’s why i was not really complaining, besides, i was there for 12 hours, it was not my fault that there was literally nothing to do.
Comment by may — July 1, 2005 @ 5:05 pm
My toenails are painted red. I don’t get it. Does no one else have red toenails? Is it bad? Is some other color better? Ack!!
lol
Comment by HypnoKitten — July 3, 2005 @ 10:38 pm