My Breastfeeding Experience

Since day one I have been breastfeeding Emma. Before she was born I knew that is what I wanted to do until she was at least 12 months old. But my two concerns were her not being able to latch on and not producing enough milk!

I remember the night she was born, I was lying on the hospital bed waiting for her after she was all checked up. When the nurse brought her in, she put Emma on my chest guiding her to my breast so she can latch on. I was worried she would not latch on correctly, but to my surprise, she latched on immediately and started to feed.

That night was really one of the most special moments we had together. Now every time she nurses, it just gives me another chance to gaze at her and caress every single part of her cute self. I can probably do it all day!

But ofcourse along with the good there is the bad. Because my milk did not come in until the 5th day or so, Emma was very very fussy. I knew I wasn't providing enough so I ended up supplementing with formula. It made me pretty sad but I knew it was the best for her.

After my milk started to come in, my breasts went through painful engorgement, nipple soreness, so I began pumping until I felt my milk supply started to stabilize. This took about 2 weeks.

When Emma went for her two week checkup she weighed in at 7lbs 5oz. Her birth weight was 6lbs 8oz. The doctor said she was growing ok but he would like her to gain a bit more weight. He wanted her to be about 9lbs for her one month checkup. He mentioned it is ok to feed her some formula too if she takes it after nursing. I didn't like the idea, so I kind of pushed the thought out of my mind. I felt she was pooing and peeing at a healthy range so I didn't worry.

When we went in for her one month checkup, she fell short by 2 ozs, weighing in at 8lbs 14oz. My doctor mentioned again about feeding her formula, so this time I decided to take some action. I started giving her formula at least once a day after a nursing session. Even though I knew she was growing at a steady rate, she was still below average weight in percentile. Of course as a first time mom I don't want her to fall behind if I can somewhat control it. I felt a bit disappointed at myself, but I know in the end its all about her health.

Many of the days I feel like I'm still not producing enough or fast enough, but i guess thats aways a concern for newly breastfeeding moms. Ive been eating a lot of oatmeal and drinking a cup of water after every feeding, so hopefully it will help!

Also this is not related to breastfeeding, but I just have to share this cute minnie mouse outfit her uncle got her!