Breastfeeding &c

misty  ·  Fri, Aug 21, 2015

Still trying really hard to reel in my emotions lately. Talked to Michelle; baby blues typically last about 2 weeks, so maybe soon there will be some relief from the hormones.

Milo continues to amaze. She eats regularly, and her latch is still solid. The engorgement is going down; now, when she nurses, she can pretty much empty one of my breasts enough that it feels almost normal. The pain comes when she goes too long between feedings. But Michelle says it’s not necessary to wake her to feed her if she sleeps a long time since she’s such a good eater and is gaining so well. As of today, she has exceeded her birth weight: 8lbs 11oz. Michelle was elated, and I was pretty proud to have been able to nourish her so well.

Sleep, for Chase and me, continues to be a challenge. Milo is gracious at night, though, and often sleeps for 2 hour stretches. Sometimes a bit longer. We’ve found that skin-to-skin contact helps her fall asleep without too much fussing, so that’s what we’ve been doing: laying her on our chest until she is fully sleeping, then cradling her next to us until she wakes up hungry again. She’s a little radiator (just like her father), so I often wake up drenched in sweat. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The really hard part at night is preparing to feed her. I have to heat my breast then self-express a bit to release enough milk for her to latch properly without hurting me or frustrating herself. It takes a while, and she screams a bit, but then the milk flows easily and she is satisfied.