Baby Gotta Eat

As most people know I am attempting to nurse Jacy for the obvious financial and health benefits. I went in to this endeavor with what I thought was a lot of information under my belt. During our Bradley Method Classes we talked at length about breastfeeding for 2 of the 12 sessions. I attended 2 Le Leche League meeting before I delivered. I talked with anyone I could about nursing and how they had made it work. I checked out countless books from the library on the subject and even purchased a few to have on hand after Jacy came. With all that being said I had NO IDEA what it would actually be like to nurse a baby.

There are many things that no book or person makes totally clear in regards to nursing. The first being that it is a very messy procedure when you first start. I swear Jacy and I were both covered from head to toe in "people milk" as it is now called at our house. It got so bad that by the end of the day we would both smell like spoiled milk. This is not a joke, just ask Josh.

Also, Jacy and I had some troubles getting her to latch and stay awake. This was made much worse by the advice of some very well meaning nurses and lactation consultants at our hospital. When we first had trouble instead of saying "try again" or "try holding her a different way", they handed us a silicone sombrero that you put over your nipple called a nipple shield. I had only briefly read about these in some book. They were not discussed at our classes or at the Le Leche League meetings. I remembered that they were used for premature babies but I assumed that the people at the hospital knew better about such things. That was totally false. I ended up with bloody nipples and clogged milk ducts (ouch!!! and sorry for TMI) and a lazy baby. The only thing that got us over it was encouragement from my mom and friends and the outside lactation nurse at Kilgores Medical Pharmacy. Seriously, there was NO WAY I would breastfeeding right now if I had not gone to see Beth. It was amazing. She helped us loose the shield and get Jacy to eat with no trouble. We had to go see her quite a bit for weight checks and it was one of the most reassuring things I did during my first weeks home with Jacy. Not to mention it was free!? I love free.

Anyways, I really want to remember how tricky everything was and how the solution was so simple. I should have just followed my own new "mommy gut" and done what I thought was right for Jacy and I. The Good Lord would not give us a baby and leave us unequipped to care for her. I need to remember that.