Hi! I’m Paige and my blog is New Momma Notes.
My son, Carter was born in May 2012 and it was not easy.
He screamed all day and night- talk about a rude awakening to motherhood.
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| don’t let this picture fool you- about 2 minutes later he started screaming and didn’t stop for 6 months- ha! |
I read a bunch of mommy blogs and it seemed like I was the only one struggling to survive so I decided to write my blog and tell about the rough times. I felt so alone and thought if even one person has a similar experience it could make her feel not so alone.
If you are having a tough time as a new mom my first few months of posts (June 2012) may resonate with you.
But what’s kind of ironic was that although it was so difficult with Carter, the one part of new mommy life that surprisingly went well was nursing.
I went into the hospital with the thought that if breastfeeding works, great. If not, formula will be fine. Then just a few minutes after his (traumatic) birth he latched right on.
It felt natural. There were no sore nipples or refusal to latch or bleeding or any other terrible thing you read about. So then I gave myself the goal to breastfeed for 6 months.
In the beginning, nothing was easy. I would bounce and rock him all day long and the only time he wouldn’t be screaming was when he was nursing but then as soon as he was finished- back to screaming. I talked to the lactation consultants at my hospital many times in the first few months.
We figured out that I have an over supply and a forceful let-down that would make him choke and then scream after the feedings. I tried many different things like leaning back, burping throughout the feedings and nursing on just one side. I thought all the screaming was just part of having a baby, but it was absolutely exhausting and not normal. Eventually we went to the pediatrician and started him on reflux meds.
I nursed Carter for almost 16 months, stopping then because I went back to work. I wrote this post that gives a little outline of those 16 months of nursing and weaning. And this post shows some of my nursing must haves.
Everyone (my doctor and pediatrician included) assured me that my next child would be much different and easier- so in November 2014 Reid was born. His birth was very different from Carter’s. But just like Carter he latched right away. And so began breastfeeding story #2.
Just like the first time, I have lots of milk and a forceful let-down so after just a few days I started nursing only one side per feeding, leaning back while nursing, burping him frequently, and limiting the amount of time per feeding.
He’s about 3 months old now and he is now on reflux meds too. Because of all of the spitting up and my oversupply I limit his nursing time to 5-10 minutes. But he still nurses every 2- 2.5 hours. (At night he sleeps about 6-8 hours before waking.)
When I started breastfeeding Reid these were some of things I forgot, but was quickly reminded of:
- OMG-when your milk comes in- holy crap it feels like your boobs are going to explode- like 2 ticking time bombs- so big and hard and uncomfortable!
- You definitely need nursing pads for leakage.
- Finding a nursing bra is ridiculously hard when you are DDD or bigger- I ordered 7 and returned 7 (thanks to free shipping and returns) and I finally settled on #8 not because it was perfect, but it was ok. And what a difference that makes- some support makes you look and feel so much better!
- The never ending thirst- I can down a huge mason jar of water in no time and crave drinks.
- Watching dairy intake and being careful about other foods is so limiting and no fun. However a happy baby is so much better than a few onions or a milkshake.
***Now here’s where I get all shmoozy or as my husband and I call it- “the meaningful talk”
I feel so fortunate to have this time to nurse- a time to sit quietly while he drinks and gazes up at me and holds onto my shirt or pulls my hair or wraps his fingers around mine. We always joked that Carter was my “swimfan” because he always had his eye on me- he knew where the milk was at all times (and never took a bottle.) Reid is the same way. He’s always watching me (and won’t take a bottle.) Breastfeeding has created a wonderful bond between my boys and me.
However, this bottle problem…this is real. Just recently I’ve decided we’ve GOT to change that. Momma needs a break sometimes (and a drink or a manicure or highlights or time to wander around Target!) We are working on it. I told myself after having that problem with Carter that I’d change that for #2. I’ve failed.
Any advice on getting a baby to take a bottle??? PLEASE! HELP!
My biggest piece of advice for a new nursing mommy is to ask for help. Call a lactation consultant or pediatrician or another nursing mommy. That’s what is so great about this blogging community- we’re here to support each other.
Thank you, Julie for having me today to share my story!
Be sure to catch up with the rest of the Breastfeeding Diaries at the top of my navigation bar.
I am nursing baby #2 and my first was a breeze (though didnt take a bottle at all either) and my second was a screamer for 6 long months and then the smiliest baby in the world (though still on reflux meds and also refuses all bottles and FOOD). The dr told me that babies with severe reflux often refuse bottles and any other objects going into the mouth just an fyi. Neither of my girls took a bottle or a pacifier – just me. I tandem nursed as well and finally weaned my eldest at 28 months. My second is 11 months and luckily our nursing is still going strong.
My first baby (who is 3 now) was very similar to your first. Cried ALL THE TIME for 6 months straight. People who have angel babies just never understood. I know exactly what your talking about it every post (I wandered over to your blog). When we had our 2nd (she's 8 months now) I knew it couldn't be any worse than our first and thankfully she was soooo different. She rarely cries and I love every stage not wishing she would get bigger. I saw you had your second so I hope the same for you! For the bottle, I went back to work at 3 months so if she didn't take a bottle she didn't eat so eventually she took the bottle and now breast and bottle feeds.
I've had similar nursing experiences to yours. I found that using a faster flow bottle nipple made baby less frustrated with the process (since my let down was also fast and strong) and, initially, I had to be out of the house. If baby knew mama was even an option, the bottle wasn't happening.
I love this series! I could have written the exact same post, I have the exact same breastfeeding issues with oversupply and forceful let down. I thankfully discovered them early on with my first son so I knew only to feed from one side and was able to do that right away with my second. Saving me some issues. Both my boys took bottles well but would only take Dr. Browns original ones. Someone told me that bottle and the way they have to suck closely mimics breastfeeding. I don't know if that's true but they're the only ones that worked for us. I also found it better if I did the bottles first, I know most people say have someone else do it but for me I found it worked better if I introduced it. Good luck!
Way to go for the 16 months…that's great! I nursed my first one for 14 months, and now I have another baby who is six months. I hope I can make it to the one year mark. I'm always so happy to read other breastfeeding stories! 🙂
Great post and really love the beautiful pics. I'm about ready to have #2 in May and after pumping exclusively for #1 for about 5 months (NICU, never latched well etc), I would REALLY prefer to breastfeed vs. all the pumping.
Thanks for your thoughts and ideas about bottle feeding. I have a Dr. Brown's and will try that one next! And I'll try giving a bottle too- I'll try anything! Thanks again Julie for hosting!
Thank you for sharing your stories Paige. I'm sorry you had such a traumatic start to motherhood, but love to read your perspective. That last photo makes me ache for another baby!!! xx
Thank you! Luckily it's much easier with Reid! I just checked out your blog and look forward to reading more!
Neither of my daughters would take a bottle. I spent over $100 on random bottles for my first daughter before eventually calling it quits. We haven't tried that hard with the new baby and since she didn't take to it, we aren't going to try again. We had a lot more success with a small cup (like a shot glass, haha) with my first daughter and we will try that once the baby is 4-5 months old. My oldest was able to drink from real cups way earlier than her peers, and I think it was because she had done it since she was a very young baby.