So, I wanted to things more than anything before I gave birth; 1 was to have my baby put on my chest right after I gave birth and then 2 was to bf. Well, I didn't get 1 because I had a c-section and meconium but I was able to bf shortly after I was stitched up - yay! Everything seemed to be going really well, I was able to bf the whole time I was in the hospital and all the nurses were like, wow, I can't believe this is your first kid type of thing. So I was feeling really good. Ava lost the maximum amount of weight while she was in the hospital that she could loose without having to be kept in the hospital. She was born at 6 lbs and 5.6 oz and we brought her home weighing 5lbs 11oz. We had a Dr.'s appt the next day and then one 2 days later to make sure she was on the right track as far as gaining weight.
Shortly after I got home I was having HORRIBLE latch pains and bleeding, cracked nipples - it was the worst! I had a lactation consultant come out and help me which worked great, now my nipples are back to normal (thank God).
For Ava's 2 week check-up (when she should have been back to her birth weight) she was only 6lbs, she had 6 oz to gain before being up to her birth weight. I started to taking Fenugreek which made Ava wail in pain (I am off it now), it can cause bad, painful gas in some babies and started pumping, or trying to pump as often as I could to get my milk supply up. It was almost impossible to do because I would feed during a lot of the day every hour so I needed to give my breasts some rest before she got hungry again. Long story short she ended up getting back to her birth weight by 4 weeks of age. At that point my Dr. said that I needed to start supplementing with formula. So I have been bfing and then offering a bottle as soon as I am done. Ava is thriving now and I am so happy that I am doing the formula watching her gain weight and become more active. It was something that I spent weeks crying over though about having to give formula b/c I wanted to exclusively bf so bad!
Of course, all of this seems so funny to me b/c my boobs are HUGE I feel like I should be able to feed a small country!
Shortly after I got home I was having HORRIBLE latch pains and bleeding, cracked nipples - it was the worst! I had a lactation consultant come out and help me which worked great, now my nipples are back to normal (thank God).
For Ava's 2 week check-up (when she should have been back to her birth weight) she was only 6lbs, she had 6 oz to gain before being up to her birth weight. I started to taking Fenugreek which made Ava wail in pain (I am off it now), it can cause bad, painful gas in some babies and started pumping, or trying to pump as often as I could to get my milk supply up. It was almost impossible to do because I would feed during a lot of the day every hour so I needed to give my breasts some rest before she got hungry again. Long story short she ended up getting back to her birth weight by 4 weeks of age. At that point my Dr. said that I needed to start supplementing with formula. So I have been bfing and then offering a bottle as soon as I am done. Ava is thriving now and I am so happy that I am doing the formula watching her gain weight and become more active. It was something that I spent weeks crying over though about having to give formula b/c I wanted to exclusively bf so bad!
Of course, all of this seems so funny to me b/c my boobs are HUGE I feel like I should be able to feed a small country!
