And along came JEMA...
We wanted to start our family right away and were super excited to become parents. We were not prepared for the fact that not everyone gets pregnant the first try and this baffled us. We continued to try, and month after month I would be disappointed as that Oh so great reminder would arrive stating NO BABY THIS MONTH : / After a LONG year and a half of trying....we were finally pregnant!!!! And along came baby JEMA on August 31st 2010. We were so excited but scared to death of the responsibilty of raising this perfect being.
Challenges : Breastfeeding proved to be a pretty large challenge for me. I had read many books and did my fair share of Google research on the Do's & Don'ts of BF...boy I was not prepared for the work BF entails. After the first three weeks of working on latch and getting over the initial pain that goes along with BF, I encountered many more obstacles ranging from poor latch to blocked milk glands and resulting in me just wanting to give up. But I didn't, and with the help of weekly and sometimes daily calls to my Lactation consultant and many emails and phone calls to friends, I finally became a master of the art of BF at around 6 weeks!!!! I cannot explain how victorius I felt at this accomplishment and how proud of myself I was for not giving up when I wanted to.
Now with all that said I KNOW BF is not for everyone and some obstacles just can't be hurdled and that is understandable....Who knows if I will be able to BF my second child down the road, but I feel it's only fair to TRY.
Thank you to all of those who are showing me support in the journey of motherhood I am traveling, and for answering my dozens of questions at any given time of the day. I only hope through this blog that I can share and gain more knowledge to help us all along in this adventure called MOTHERHOOD.
Brie
A tale of two babies
Nursing did not come easily to us and after a lactation consultant told me he was never going to latch, I went to exclusive formula feeding.
Starting at 6 months, Kayden had frequent ear infections and therefore, constant courses of antibiotics. While recovering from the toll the antibiotics took, he would constantly pick up other bugs. I became a germaphobe, breaking out my antibacterial wipes every time he touched something outside our home. I got angry at any mom who dared let their coughing child come to play group or story time. I stopped going to the gym because every time I went, he would come home with a bug from the childcare room.
After a two years of constant ear infections I finally pushed for him to get tubes placed so we could stop the infection cycle. He successfully had surgery in December of 2009 and since then has been a healthy boy with only 2 colds in a year.
I always attributed his constant ear infections with the fact that I didn't nurse him. The guilt I had solidified my resolve to do everything in my power to nurse my second son born in August 2010. As fate would have it, Liam had his own set of issues. He was born with a high palate and a weak suck that would make getting him to latch a very long process.
I pumped every feeding for the first month of his life while we worked on a set of physical therapies prescribed by his oral motor therapist. After that first month, he could latch on with the aid of a nipple shield. We worked with the nipple shield until one day, when Liam was 3 months old, I felt the urge to try to get him to latch without the shield. To my surprise, he latched right away and has been a strong nurser since then.
I am so grateful for the support I received from my family, friends and medical providers the second time around. Having done both bottle and breast feeding I can say, even with all the work it took to get here, that breast feeding is by far easier .
With that said, every woman has a different experience with feeding their baby. What works for one, will not always work for another. Judging a mom for her chosen method will only divide breast and bottle feeders more. I believe that all moms need support, especially those who are struggling with breast feeding or a decision to bottle feed.
