Re: My BF Story

[Guest guest]

I am so glad you stuck with breast feeding, I am sorry to hear about your

hard start!! I to had mastitis, and it is hard. I really enjoyed your

sucsess story.

I am first time mom to Skyler born feb. 4th 1999.

My BF Story

>From: BFbabyOS@...

>

>

>Hello Ladies !

>For those who haven't read my intro, my name is Maisa, mommy to Abdulrahman

>2-11-99, married to Emad. I am from Saudi Arabia. Both my dh and I are Grad

>students in US.

>I mentioned that I had a bumpy start with BF,so this is my story :

>Sorry if it's long !!

>Because I grew up in an environment where BF was so common, I did not doubt

>that I will BF my baby. But what I didn't prepare myself to , was the fact

>that sometimes it isn't all that natural and you might need help.

> During preg , I read anything I could lay my hands on about my preg and

what

>is happening to my body and my fetus. I knew month by month exactly, every

>single change or symptom. The only chapter I never read was the one about

BF

>. I thought, that is soo natural ! Its easy , baby is born, he is put to

the

>breast, he sucks away , he sleeps , then wakes up ( it could of been after

7

>hours for all I knew ! ) , cries , takes some more breast ! Viola ! Piece

of

>cake. My BF experience was so bumpy , it was one mistake after another.

> First, I had a C-section , so I was so tired and drowsy after the

operation

>, I slept before I could Bf the baby . The nurses encouraged me get a

couple

>of hours sleep before I stared BF. Now I know that babies latch on better

in

>the first hour after birth.

> Secondly, tiny AbdulRahman was soo sleepy , that when I attempted BF after

>that , he wouldn't wake up ! We tried everything , undressing him, blowing

on

>his face , trickling sugar water on his lips to try to fool him so he will

>latch on . Nothing seemed to work . I kept trying for the first 24 hours

with

>no luck ! At that point the hospital's Lac Consultant came to help me out,

>and only latched on for the time she was in the room with me , as soon as

she

>left, I couldn't get him to latch on again ! she had advised me to start

>pumping and feed him my cholustrum with a cup ( to avoid nipple confusion )

,

>a term very new to me. But he wasn't doing too well with a cup , he kept on

>spitting my precious cholustrum .

>It has been almost 48 hours and he hasn't had one good feeding!! I was

>devastated! I was stressed, tired , in tremendous pain . By that time the

>nurses -especially those at the night shift where the LC is not around-

>pushed me to feed him , or else " he will starve " . I refused their

generous

>offer to take him to the nursery and feed him , while I get some sleep.

>Believe me , by that time I was so washed out , I needed to sleep badly ,

but

>I was so worried that he was not getting adequate nutrition. So I refused

and

>told them I will keep trying to get him latched on . At that point I was

>dying to BF, I wanted it sooooo bad , I started to cry and cry violently.

>well it helped, but I wasn't getting anywhere) . When I mentioned nipple

>confusion, one of the nurses said , " it won't happen from just a couple of

>feedings , and he will be getting your milk. "

>Because the LC was so busy , it would take her almost a day to see all the

>in-patients . I finally gave in. I fed him using a bottle and a NUK nipple

..

>Guess what ? He took it immediately and sucked away ! You could only

imagine

>how I felt! My emotions got the best of me, and combined with a bad case

of

>the pp blues , I thought my tiny baby boy is spiting me or just doesn't

want

>me to nurse him !! He hates me !!

>The following scene occurred a couple of times a day for almost two days ,

>until I left the hospital ( a total of five days) :

>He would start the rooting reflex , I would try to get him latched on , try

>and try for almost hour , no luck . He would start fussing , then crying ,

>so I reach for the pumped milk bottle and feed him! LC in the hospital was

no

>help , She told me to feed him from a cup and get a good pump. She also

gave

>me an exercise to train him to suck my nipple properly. " Give it time "

she

>said !!

>To complicate matters, the nurses and LC taught me the football position to

>avoid any pressure on my abdomen ( C-sec). It s not easy supporting a 7

lb.

>baby with one hand , eventually I sprained my right wrist!!

>I went home , things did not improve , I kept trying and trying , but he

was

>so comfortable with the bottle nipple , it was not working. At that point

,

>nothing was going right for me . I was depressed , overwhelmed, sleep

>deprived, and oh , the PAIN !!!! Every inch of my body ached!! I even tried

>putting honey on my nipple to get him interested. Well, he is a smart

little

>one ! He licked the honey and did not latch on!

>So , then I had the breakdown. A mixture of anguish , pain , tears and

anger

>exploded!! I was in physical and emotional torment.My mother who was

staying

>with me for some time to help with the baby, asked me to go to bed and

>sleep.I had no energy to argue .I couldn't think straight. I didn't even

ask

>her what she was going to do with AbdulRahman . Apparently she fed him with

>pumped milk, but it wasn't enough ( my milk had just come in ), so she gave

>him formula (obviously a special gift from the hospital ).

>After sleeping for 9 hours , I felt much better. I thought in a

constructive

>way. My instincts told me that it didn't need time , time is my enemy . I

>need help ! My greatest fear was that my milk would dry-out. Was it too

late

>? What if I never got to Bf him ? I didn't even want to consider that.

>I made two important phone calls : Medela to rent a pump and a LC. The

first

>question I asked her was : Is it too late ?? She said absolutely not and

was

>in my house within an hour. With in half an hour of her visit, he was

>correctly positioned and properly latched on! He has finally latched on!!

I

>was engorged ( hadn't pumped for almost 24 hours ) , my nipples were pretty

>sore , but I didn't fell the pain , nothing at all ! I was so happy , I

>didn't care if he stayed on for hours and hours non-stop! It was the most

>beautiful experience . Of course for the first 48 hours he would fuss a

>little before latching on , but he got better at it , and within 3 days

>became a pro ! Since then my ds and I have enjoyed a great BF relation. My

>experience has made me more persistent on wanting to continue BF for as

long

>as AbdulRahman wants . Before having him ,I knew I wanted to BF but I

wasn't

>sure for how long . Those first 5 days , made me a stubborn BF only mommy

!!

>But it hasn't been that smooth ! It is one challenge after the other !

>5 weeks pp , I developed mastitis of the Right breast. Has anyone tried to

BF

>while having mastitis ? I cannot describe how painful it is , but you have

to

>continue, or else it worsens. So there I am BF and screaming!! The day

after

>it almost subsided , I developed a yeast infection ( THRUSH ) in my

breasts

>. It took three weeks to decrease but it hasn't subsided completely! What

>next ?

>I hope my story wasn't too long .

>This is my message to Mothers who plan to BF ;

>Read all you can about BF before giving birth, do not listen to the nurses

>(sorry ), and it is never too late! Oh yeah, and get a good pump or rent

one!

>

>Maisa

>Mommy to AbdulRahman 2-11-99

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>

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