79 days?! Until my due date?!
That number makes me a little bit nervous...I have been so busy being pregnant that I forgot that this part does end and a whole new world begins for our family. It seems like just a few weeks ago I was still experiencing morning sickness and trying to determine when I could no longer make regular pants fit.
Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to welcome this new child into our lives. I am excited that for at least 3 months, I will be WITH my children. I know that I will be exhausted and overwhelmed at first...and that we will be making adjustments. I also know that our family is so supportive and that we will get through the tough spots just fine.
These next couple of months are going to fly by and I am trying to savor every moment with the boys while also getting some things in order to smooth out our transition.
One thing I am hoping to be successful with this time around: breastfeeding. I never attempted it with Michael...ended up mostly pumping for about 6 weeks for Liam...I am hopeful that this baby and I will finally get the hang of it.
For anyone reading who struggled with that process, can you tell me what book, resource, technique, etc. was most helpful to you? Or if you were just instantly good at the whole nursing thing, what do you think made it easy?
Any advice is appreciated! Thanks friends...time for me to go to sleep.
I have a 7am glucose screening tomorrow...wish me low blood sugar :)
3 comments:
Lactation consultant, lactation consultant, lactation consultant. And not those lame-o ones in the hospital...your milk hasn't even come in, and a 5 minute consultation just doesn't cut it. Find a place that has lactation consultants, either that come to your house or have a facility for you to visit. The day the baby is born, have your husband make an appointment for the day you get home or the next day.
I SUUUUUUU-cked at it. Did not come naturally for me (the first time, of course...it's kind of like riding a bike once you know what to expect and how it works). But so completely and totally worth the hard work...for me, of course.
I had a truly easy time w/ Harper and a terribly long struggle to a nursing middle ground w/ Michael. So I would say the biggest thing is to give yourself grace to be okay with whatever happens.
I agree w/ Giselle's advice and totally support you giving it all you can. Something that helped me when I was having trouble w/ Michael (OMG, NOT that you're going to have trouble!) was a comment someone left about having an end point. Like you're going to attempt nursing for x amount of weeks or even months, but then let yourself off the hook if something isn't working. That was a sanity-saver for me, and I did end up being able to nurse Michael some - which I was happy about.
I had an awful awful time with Katy, spent hours with the lactation consultant in the hospital (who was awesome). She didn't latch on at all for 24 hours, then we went home from the hospital with a pump and her only nursing using a nipple shield. She didn't get off the nipple shield until 5 weeks. It was a lot of work, but finally we got the hang of it and it was easy, but not for the first couple of months. Then David was easy, as far as him and I learning to do it, but it was still a ton of work and still hurt a lot at first.
But all of this to say that I'm glad I persisted, because once we got over the hurdle it was really good. I had a friend tell me to just take nursing one day at a time - say to yourself, "I'm going to keep nursing for today. Then I'll reconsider tomorrow." This helped me not to get overwhelmed by a goal of 6 months or longer...
Good luck! My pediatrician says that if either the mom or baby isn't happy, then formula it is. Give it a go but don't beat yourself up about it!
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