I think the biggest take-home message I have gotten from the past 8 days is that I can't ever really know what to expect, to take things one day or even hour at a time b/c they're constantly changing. Yesterday Donovan seemed to hardly sleep at all during the day, wanting to nurse often instead. Today it seems all he wants to do is sleep, leaving me with engorged boobs and worries that he's not getting enough to eat (or that my milk supply will be affected by his not eating as much on this one day).
And so I'm trying to take in this lesson and not worry, figuring that he'll wake up and eat when he's hungry and that his little body knows what it needs. To instead enjoy the 1.5 hr nap he just graced me with, knowing that this, too, very well may change and his behavior and demands could be completely different yet again tomorrow.
As a funny aside, it does seem like I'm having a 2nd engorgement period today, and when I went to nurse Donovan this morning I realized after a few minutes of feeding him from my right side, that my left side was leaking so profusely as to wet the entire left side of my shirt through my breast pad, and all onto his clothes. I freaked out a bit b/c some of it got on his umbilical cord stump which is supposed to stay dry to heal properly, but other than that... yeah it was a ridiculous and comical moment.
FWIW - BM is supposed to have some 'good' properties for the umbilical cord stump, so don't worry about it getting a bit wet with BM. As for leakage, I leaked so much at first breast pads were useless. I always put a cloth diaper over the non-nursing breast to catch it. That lasted probably 4 months.... And if you don't want to pump, when you get too engorged when he's not eating, hand express a bit (I've done that a lot, even recently when A went on a nursing marathon for a weekend and then slept 10 hours straight) to help relieve the pressure.
ReplyDeleteEventually it'll all even out. And yes, take it an hour at a time!
btw - I hope you don't mind all the unasked for BF advice. When I see a new nursing mom, I can't help myself. I remember all the challeneges (and joys!) and how desperate I was for info from others who'd been there.
Ha! I know that feeling (one minute he's [fill in the blank], the next he's [fill in the blank]). Your engorgement sounds like a good, if painful, sign too! (I remember leaking clear through my breastpad, bra, sweater, and leather jacket at the American Embassy one morning, but now I rarely leak except occassionally overnight.) Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeletePS: Glad to hear you are safely home and that Donovan is doing so well. His first pictures look gorgeous--and all that hair!
I used to get in the shower and just let the milk flow to relieve the pressure. Sometimes, I'd have to stand there for a while until I was able to pump because the pump wouldn't fit. Painful! Very painful.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what the experts say, but Ryan would nurse on one side and fill up, so I'd pump off the other and freeze it. That way, dad could have some time too. It will keep up to two months in the freezer, but I ended up throwing a bunch out because I didn't need it.
The more you pump, the more milk you will produce.
I only nursed one side at a time and Felix would always fall asleep at the boob so we were doing whatever we could to keep him awake! Like Cherise, I hope you don't mind all the advice as well. I am passionate about breastfeeding and love helping people out. I am resident expert with my friends! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is still really early on so it is normal that you haven't established a rhythm yet. You'll find it together in the next coming weeks...yes, weeks or even months. :) And you are totally right to trust your instincts and his. If latch-on feels ok, if you can hear milk going in his mouth, and he seems drunk with milk after feeding then you are doing great!
CONGRATS & HUGS!
ReplyDelete