I can't believe that it's 2009 already, and in case anybody else is counting, Jeff has made it to the one year post-transplant mark without too much trouble. Yay for that!
Now, back to all of these great comments.
Rachael - It took my milk almost 3 full days to come in, but I was in the hospital and was able to get lots of advice from some excellent consultants. I believe that most babies can handle the time between birth and their mother's milk coming in with just the colostrum that they are getting, but JD's mouth got quite a bit dry. So, the lactation consultant suggested we give him an ounce or so of formula, and then had me pump after every feeding for the next 8 hours or so. The pumping, along with the regular feedings helped my milk to come a bit sooner, so thankfully, that was the last bit of formula he had to get.
As nursing becomes more and more commonplace, issues like you had will be much less likely to happen, because there will always be someone around to help who has already been through the nursing process. But you are right, nobody should make you feel ashamed for doing what you needed to do. I do hope that if you have any more babies that you will give it another try. For me, nursing has been one of the most wonderful things about being a mom, and when JD is done, I know I will miss it. I truly believe it's been the most worthwhile and rewarding thing I've ever done.
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That's one of my points -- that it's going to take time as people get back into nursing again and can help one another through the process. Almost everyone I know has tried breastfeeding, and about half failed with their first baby but succeeded with the second. As for my original experience, I was home the same day that I gave birth. We were good for the first 3 days or so but then, I don't know, I must of been blocked or something when my milk started to come in. Like I said, I tried pumping and nothing came out. I could manually express a little bit (and trust me, for about a week I played more with my boobs than Brian ever has), but not much was coming out and I really thought I was starving the boy. I felt like such a failure because he really latched on well and it just seemed to be all my fault. I cried for months about it.
I will try again for the next one, but I have to tell you that pumping at work is no picnic and I guarantee that I won't be able to do it often enough. So I'll nurse while I can, and I won't feel guilty when it's no longer really viable.
It's almost as though my choice to have a natural birth in a birth center, and our choice to have Brian stay home instead of daycare, somehow bites us in the ass anyway...
As for 2008:
GO JEFF! I am so happy for you guys. A harrowing experience to be sure, but with Jeff doing well and JD running around, it just warms my heart :)
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