Baby Talk: Feeding Babies (part 2)

This is a new series called Baby Talk to share our experiences with Baby Girl. I know this could get us into some dicey territory because babies and child rearing bring up all sorts of hot button issues. But this non-confrontational mama is not trying to start an argument, just share our experiences and observations. Please join us for a discussion of alternatives.

Baby Girl the day she turned one month old

Feeding Babies (part 1)


Do you have a baby at home? If yes, congratulations! Were you able to breastfeed your baby for a few days? a few weeks? a few months? Congratulations! No matter how long you were able to breastfeed, your baby reaped some great rewards.

I had heard while I was pregnant that breastfeeding can be tough. I didn't listen to these gentle warnings. I thought it would be easy for me.  I guess I was pretty full of myself  because I felt like I was doing everything "right" and it would pay off. I walked for at least 40 minutes per day, I took prenatal yoga once per week, I ate well, and had natural child birth. That confidence came back to bite me. I had the hardest time breastfeeding! When I was struggling, I looked on the internet to find accounts of people with similar experiences and I couldn't find one. So I thought I would share my experiences with you. If you are having trouble breastfeeding, you are not alone. If you decided to give it up, I understand. No judgement.

When pregnant women tell me that they are nervous about labor, I jump right in to give them a pep talk. I tell them that I had 34 hours of labor, and delivered a 9.5 pound baby without any drugs. They can do it! It hurts, but the pain is manageable. I highly endorse staying active, taking a birthing class and prenatal yoga class. If you stay calm, work on breathing, and doing your pain coping techniques - you can do it!

If a pregnant woman tells me that she is nervous about breastfeeding (this is much more rare), I hem and haw and try to decide what to say. Usually I land on something like - it was really hard for me, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

Baby Girl had a strong personality from the start. When she was only 12 hours old, I could look ahead and see the battles we would have when she became a teenager. She woke up starving, screaming and upset, but she wouldn't open her mouth wide enough to latch on and she locked her arms to keep her distance from me. By the time I got home from the hospital, both of my nipples were infected and I dreaded each time I had to feed her. When she was four days old, we called in an expert. Freda Rosenfeld is famous in Brooklyn. (I discovered later that she had even been written up in the NY Times.) I told Freda that she was really strong willed and described all of our issues.  Freda didn't like the term strong willed, but she did admit that Baby Girl was stubborn. Freda said that she was one of the most stubborn babies she had ever seen, but reassured me that "stubborn people get things done." (that phrase has become a joke in our family) I was both reassured and disappointed by this. I was glad that it wasn't my imagination, but I was hoping Freda would be able to instantly make things better.

There was no quick fix (like so many things in life). My body took its mission of making food for Baby Girl very seriously - it seemed to think it needed to produce milk for a whole village. My nipples took a long time to heal, I developed mastitis, had blocked ducts, and was engorged from over milk production.  Luckily through  it all Baby Girl was healthy and growing like a weed.

The biggest problem of all for me was that it hurt each time she latched on. Really hurt! I had to do the breathing exercises I used in labor to help me work through the pain! I think it was partly due to the engorgement and partly due to me being very sensitive. I read that it would get better somewhere between 3 and 12 weeks. My pain and engorgement started to subside after 13 weeks. Right when things started getting better thrush set in (read about our saga with thrush here). By six months it was finally easy and problem free. Am I glad I stuck with it? Yes. I think it is best for her health. But it was hard! For me it was worse than 34 hours of labor.

What about you? Did you breastfeed your baby? How did it go? Did your baby latch right on? Was it smooth sailing right from the start? or was it worse than labor for you too?

This post is part of Fight Back Friday, Monday Mania., Gratituesday, and Real Food Wednesday.

Baby Talk: Feeding Babies (part 1)

We are going to start a new series called Baby Talk to share our experiences with Baby Girl.  I know this could get us into some dicey territory because babies and child rearing bring up all sorts of hot button issues. But this non-confrontational mama is not trying to start an argument, just share our experiences and observations. Please join us for a discussion of alternatives.

Baby Girl - one day old

Our daughter was jaundice after she was born, and had to spend a couple of days in the nursery under the lights to help normalize her bilirubin levels. Because of this, we spent a lot of time in the nursery. We saw family after family getting checked out and sent home with their new little bundle of joy. By the time it was our turn to be discharged we knew the routine well. The nurse checked the car seat, she showed the family how to give the baby a bath, she helped change the babies into their going home outfits and she gave the family a big care package to take home. Well our nurse went through the whole routine, and was ready to send us on our way, but she didn't even offer us a care package. I sheepishly mentioned that I had seen other families receive care packages when they were discharged. She said that she knew I wanted to breastfeed (and that I was struggling) and she didn't want to tempt me with formula. I said that I would take a care package without formula. She said that the formula companies pay for the care packages, so it wasn't possible to give them out without formula. I must have looked crushed (in my hormonal state I thought the care package would somehow fortify me for the challenge of taking our little one home).  The nurse said that she probably could give me something and rustled up a La Leche League brochure, a few samples of Lasinoh and the rest of the package of diapers that we had been using. She apologized and said that there just isn't as much money in nursing as there is in formula. The formula companies want to build brand loyalty, so they offer the care packages with the diapers, pacifiers, wipes, and all the other goodies plus formula. This was shocking to me!

I had never really considered until that moment how much money was involved in feeding babies. I had gotten multiple free boxes of formula while I was pregnant (which I stored away just in case - don't tell the nurse). But it wasn't until that day in the hospital that I really realized that feeding babies is big business.

Formula ads put on the hard sell. The ads are everywhere you turn as an expectant or new parent. They make it sound like formula might be a better choice than breastfeeding. They talk about how they have mimicked all of the great things about breast milk, but formula even has vitamin D and iron, so no additional supplementation is necessary. Unfortunately big business doesn't always have our best interest foremost in their minds (it's true - I'm cynical).

In the 7.5 months of baby girl's life, there has been more than one recall on formula because babies have gotten sick or worse. My heart goes out to those families. I can't even imagine their heartbreak. I have been lucky and been able to breast feed my baby all along (although it has been a rocky road and there will be more in a future post), but if it didn't work out I planned on making my own baby formula. I had read the Weston A Price website and thought that would be a good solution for our family.

If you are expecting or have a new baby, I would encourage you to go here to check out some alternatives to commercial formula. I still believe that breast milk is best (in spite of those formula ads trying to convince me otherwise), but homemade formula seems like a good back-up plan.

What did you feed your baby?

This post is part of Fight Back Friday, Monday Mania, Gratituesday and Real Food Wednesday.