Monday, May 29, 2006

The "F-Word" Strikes Again

Well today is yet another day on which I have to come to terms with the fact that my body is completely fucked and wont do what its supposed to with regards to babies.

Spudly only put on 50g over the last week, despite the fact that I had done everything the same as the previous two weeks when he gained 100g per week. The Child Health Nurse said that since I was being worn down from the constant feeding and he wasnt gaining enough we had no choice but to introduce complimentary formula feeds inbetween 3 hourly breastfeeds. The theory is that if I can get him to go 3 hours between breastfeeds then he'll take more from me, stimulate me better than he does while snacking and I'll get enough rest to increase the fat content of my milk too.

I know this isnt the end of the world and formula-fed babies do just as well blah blah blah, but it would be nice if SOMETHING would go the way its "supposed to". So far, everything that I've been totally against I've ended up having to accept: drugs during labour, intervention during delivery and now the formula that I've been so vocally against for so many reasons. Truly, the thought of giving Spudly anything but breast milk makes me feel sick, and like I've failed him.

8 comments:

  1. Jesus H Christ woman, if you don't calm down you are going to throw yourself into even more of a tizzy. It's NOT the end of the WORLD, and it's NOT that you are FAILING him. I mean really take a minute to think. you are just being ridikkeruss.

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  2. Anonymous9:27 pm

    Sweetie, don't beat yourself up over this! Life is too short and just now too wonderful. Yes there are strategies to increase milk production (personally Gina Ford's Contented little baby book does it for me), but you know what - it's really not the end of the world if he has a bit of formula.

    Take a deep breath and imagine if a friend of yours couldn't breast feed her baby for some reason - and then think of what you would say to her. Now say it to yourself!

    Alchemilla

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  3. Anonymous1:12 am

    welcome to my world! now go by some and lets get on with it.

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  4. Anonymous5:43 am

    Oh man, I totally understand! I too thought I was giving my son the devil's own juice by giving him formula, but for the first month of his life, breastfeeding was that challenging that I had to say 'screw it'. I stopped paying attention to the scales and simply paid attention to his nappies: there was enough output so therefore there was plenty of input.

    Here we have a strong culture of breastfeeding and support and so I stopped with the formula supplementation after Dude was about 4 weeks. When he turned 9 months old [this month] he lost interest in my boobs and so I had to start him on formula again [and I was NOT happy about that!]

    Ignore the scales and trust your gut. You do not have to give up breastfeeding, or thinking of your baby as breastfed just because he has a bit of formula now and again. :)

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  5. You are FINE. The kid is GORGEOUS. You aren't letting him down, nor any of us. We're proud of you.

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  6. Anonymous5:21 am

    Please don't take this as me criticizing. You're right...formula is fine. My kids have had it along with breast milk. I'm just wondering about the logic behind what you've been told.

    From what I've been told here in the US, the more you feed, the more you make, so wouldn't adding formula make you produce LESS milk sense Spudly isn't telling your body to make more? (I mean, isn't that how supply and demand work? Less nursing = less demand = less supply?)

    Have you tried taking fenugreek? It's an herbal supplement many swear by to increase milk production.

    Oh, and I have to second what jaqueline said...trust your gut and pay attention to nappies.

    And you ARE doing a wonderful job with that gorgeous baby of yours!

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  7. Anonymous9:28 am

    first - you are a fabulous mother. all is well in that department! now I have absolutely no expertise but have been reading loads on breastfeeding including the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by the founders of La Leche League. Adding formula feedings will decrease milk production from everything I've seen. Have you heard of the supplementer tools? There is a supplementer syringe and another device that is even more sophisticated so you can breast feed AND formula feed simultaneously. That way, you are not missing any feedings which are important to stimulating more milk production and also can provide additional nutrition to the Spud. I had never even imagined such things existed but a friend here just went through what you seem to be going through (and around the same timeframe as well) and she did this for a while. Now baby feeds like a champ and her milk production was able to build up and not diminish. If you need more info, I can find out more from her, but maybe an Internet search will lead you to these helpful items. I'm keeping them in mind in case I have some trouble with these brown boobs of mine.

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  8. Anonymous4:49 am

    No assvice.

    No suggestions. (unless, of course, you asked me for them)

    No breastfeeding vs. formula feeding manifesto.

    You know my whole story, and you know that I am travelling down this road too.

    It's hard.

    It's also completely normal to feel the way you do.

    Just know that I love you and you can email me any time!

    aradialuminista@yahoo.com

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