why being a new mom is harder than i thought...

WARNING: This post is about breastfeeding. Read at your own risk. :)

Okay, so the first day home from the hospital (Friday), Garrett was inconsolable. I felt like the only time he was not crying or fussing was when he was at the breast. But even then, he didn't have a deep, nutritive suck. He also wasn't pooping or peeing, so I knew something was wrong. I had thought that my milk had come in at the hospital, but it turned out that I was still just producing colostrum. But I guess since he came out practically a toddler , he needed more sooner. 

I decided to call the lactation specialist on Saturday. She said that I needed to supplement with one ounce of formula and pump after each feeding. I could add formula to what I had pumped to make the one ounce. I had a big sobbing breakdown, especially when I spilled everything I had extracted with my hand pump on the floor of the kitchen. Angie (Dossey) Junge was over and helped pick up the pieces of my breakdown. Such a good friend, that one.

 Meanwhile, Mom went to the hospital to rent a pump until we could buy one.

 Finally, I had a plan! After that first bottle, Garrett was so happy and content. Other people could hold him! I was feeding him for as long as I could on both sides (10-15 minutes each) and then pumping at a medium level for 20 minutes. We added formula to whatever I pumped to equal one ounce. Eric gave him that bottle. Needless to say, I was getting EXHAUSTED! It took a LONG time to go through that entire routine at each feeding. I was becoming another emotional wreck.

 Fast forward to Monday. I was still a mess. I hadn't gotten hardly ANY sleep because of the rigorous schedule, and Eric couldn't go to the pediatrician with me because of a really important meeting. My friend Brianne offered to go, and she was a God-send! 

 After the weighing and measuring (I was shocked he had already gained back his birthweight and grown an inch!), the doctor came in.

 My pediatrician, Dr. McMillin, said, "First, let's get these hormones under control. Tell me how Garrett was born." She made me tell the whole story, and she wanted to hear every detail. It was so good for me to talk it out and for her to take so much time to listen! 

 I told her about our feeding routine, and she gave me a new plan. First, I wasn't feeding him enough still. "Feed him - 5 minutes on each side, then give two ounces, every three hours." Whew! Relief already!


"During the day, pump every two hours for 8 minutes at the maximum level. Grit your teeth and bear it. If that coincides with a feeding, feed first, then pump. Don't bother pumping at night. Get some rest! Feed Garrett 5 minutes, each side, then give Garrett just formula at night so you don't have to mess with mixing your pumped milk with formula. Save the concoction for daytime when you want to be up anyway."

I can't even describe how good this new routine sounded! 

So, we'll stick to this until our appointment next week. Garrett is doing SO WELL with it, too. I feel like I'm regaining my sanity. 


UPDATE: I had been pumping so much that the bottles we were giving Garrett during the day were all ME! So, today (Saturday), I decided to see if I could just let Garrett breastfeed for longer than 5 minutes on each side to see if he would be content. 


I pumped after each time to see if he got everything. I got between another 1/2 ounce to an ounce from that, so we supplemented with one ounce after he breastfed. However, it was a tough day. He was fussier than normal, and his diaper output had regressed a bit. So, that obviously didn't work.

Tomorrow, I am going to go back to the old plan and just call the doctor on Monday to see what to do. This is all so confusing! He is alive, though, and growing every day, so I know I'm not completely messing him up.