Monday, December 29, 2008

Reflecting on Milkiness

Not a milk lover.
Never have been.
But I have become a cereal junkie.
And because of it, now consume at least 3 times the milk I used to.
I drink a lot of milk, I make a lot of milk...

And then there is the b00bs. After having been through miscarriage, the removal of my septum and a very difficult pregnancy, I feel as though I have earned the right to brag about the fact that my b00bs work. They make milk. And baby D. is generally a good nurser. He has his moments, where he gets pissed off and slams his baby fists on my chest. He also has moments where hunger becomes secondary to play - and in his antics, chokes on a gulpful of the milky stuff - sending me into panic mode.

And although breastfeeding is going well, it is far from perfect. Together we have our moments of frustration. I am too engorged and he can't latch. Or he is to wound up, or playful to stay latched properly - dripping liquid gold slowly down his cheek and onto his shoulder. I also feel like sometimes I just can not get us in the right position. It is kind of like stepping on your partners toes whilst dancing:)

Like for instance... I just returned to this here post after attempting to nurse a fussy Mr. D. I have been trying to nurse him more, for longer periods, since he is a nurse-napper. Today has been great. He ate well and slept well till this evening. He started doing this thing where no matter what position I put him in he can not latch properly or constantly breaks the latch. That is when he inhales milk and gages and coughs wildly. So I took him upstairs to bed so I could nurse him laying down. Oddly, this position is the one in which he is least likely to choke. He latched on good, started eating, then 2 minutes later went back to his "crazy" routine: loosing the latch, choking, swinging his head back and forth, acting as if the nipple is not right in front of him. I don't understand this behavior. So I decided he was not looking to nurse out of hunger, swaddled that bugger up and called DH. DH came up and rocked him till he dosed. Now he is laying in the sidecar, half-asleep, with a pacifier in his mouth. I am guessing he is just fighting sleep, but who knows??

So do these occassional feeding fits require the use of a professional (lactation consultant?) Is this just normal behavior? Most days he is such a champ with the nursing, that when he has a rough go at it, I am just baffled at what to do?

Anyhow... Here is a pic of us multi-tasking.
I nurse D.
DH gives D. a manicure:)

12 comments:

Paula71 said...

Very creative on the Multi-tasking. some playing at the breast was normal for my son. I did just what you did. Swaddle him up and pass on to daddy. daddy rocked and walked him to sleep. He got through it and if I was engorged and he was disinterested I would pump it and freeze for the rainy day(bottle attempt. Babies won't let them selves starve. If he tries it and cant get settled well, stop, wait 30min,and try again. before pumping.Hope this helps

Paula71 said...

Try, Try Again. He won't starve. I would take him off, swaddle him and place him in the arms of a relative. Take a 30 minute break and try again. Refocusing him should help. The 30 minute breather may help you both. I hope this helps.
Paula

Anonymous said...

Mister Finn definitely did the "crazy routine" sometimes, for the first few months. Though I don't know if it's "normal," as very little of what happened with us was normal. He also had reflux, which makes for crazy-acting eating/post-eating babies. I've seen other babies in our moms group do it, too. WHY the craziness? Beats the hell outta me! Glad this is a rare occurrence and that BFing is going well! xoxx s

jenn said...

Go wonder b00bs!!! Yay!

Sorry for any difficulties- I have no advice to give on it, but it seems like you could certainly make a couple phone calls to get some answers- even if it's just a 'yes- this is normal- give it time' kind of answer.

very cute multi-tasking! I can't wait- the more I see & hear, even the tough stuff, I just can't wait to meet her & experience it! (Except I can totally wait the 14 weeks she has until the baking's done!)

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous milky boy he is.

I struggled so much with positioning. Could never get him in the right spot, always felt awkward, didn't have enough hands. Still don't have enough hands and laying down is still our best bet.

Is D arching his back when he has his feeding fits?

G$ said...

2 things (you know what's coming)

What color did DH paint his nails?
and
OMG that boob takes up half the picture!

Yes, I am juvenile, but you love me.

He is so adorable. I want to snuggle him up. As long as he isn't going to spew your boob milk at me.

LD said...

Hi there,

I apologize for butting in on the conversation but I wanted to know if it would be ok if I added a link to you blog on mine. I found your blog through the Mullerian Anomalies blog and am pretty jazzed to hear that you had a successful pregnancy after having a resection. I either have an SU or BU. I find out more in a few weeks.

Congratulations on your little guy!

Cheers,
Lisa

admin said...

Of course! Link away!

Mel said...

I love it. :) Did D get a pedicure too?

Just stopping-in to wish your new little family all the best for 2009. Happy New Year!

sara said...

I wish I had some good assvice for you on the whole breastfeeding issue...but you know I'm more of a pumping feed in a bottle kind of girl since that's how things have kind of went down :-) But I do have to say that picture is absolutely awesome! First of all- congrats on those boobs! Yes I just said congrats on those boobs...but you know I mean it in the most sincere, unsick, non creepy way, LOL! And the multitasking is great...that is so cool! ((hugs))

Knitted_in_the_Womb said...

Congrats on your baby!

All of my babies did the "frantic head shaking" thing too, so I just kind of thought it was normal. I do have over supply/over-active let down, so that can kind of overwhelm my babies when they are little. Sometimes I will pump off a bit of milk if I am particularly engorged just so that I don't spray at them quite so hard.

Thankful Terri said...

Since my little one was a NICU baby -- I wasn't able to feed her all the time - so she wouldn't latch when needed. The lactation nurse (who was also a NICU nurse)told me to try a Contact Nipple shield. You can find them at any baby store that sells pumps. It really worked. She would learn to latch on very good with these. Also, if you are engorged they won't latch on -- the lactation nurse told me to let down only about a 1/2 oz. (once your milk is fully in). Also if you are producing too much milk it may be hard for the little one to keep up -- try laying on your back with him on top of you. That will slow the flow down and gravity will be against him (helping him not to choke).