Lauren Eberspacher

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The Business of Breastfeeding

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Please, don’t be alarmed by the title! Some people are comfortable openly talking about this, some are not. This post is pretty open, so if you don’t want to hear about my boobs, please pass this one over, I won’t judge you πŸ™‚ Breastfeeding isn’t always for everyone, but I am a big advocate of it’s benefits. In my case, I had to become comfortable being open about my breastfeeding journey. With Nora, I was unable to nurse due to latching issues. I was completely devastated, embarrassed and so let down that I wasn’t able to nurse, even though I did the unpopular choice and exclusively pumped for 9 months (something I’m incredibly proud of). Although I wouldn’t go back and change EPing with Nora, I so wish that I would have been able to nurse her for so many reasons. And I truly think that I would have been able to if I would have had the help that I did this time around with Andersyn.

The very day that we found out that we were pregnant, Eric and I started praying for a baby who would breastfeed with out any problems. Being tied down to my pump with Nora for so long was so draining and debilitating and I just didn’t want that this time around. I can joyfully say that our prayers have been more than answered in the way that little Andersyn nurses.

Right after Andi was born, we tried nursing with no luck. However, after being moved into our post partum room, we tried again about 3 hours after she was born and she latched right on and started nursing. Eric and I looked at each other in total disbelief. Andi continued to nurse, irregularly but well, while we were in the hospital, but I was nervous when my milk wasn’t coming in right away (it took almost a whole week for my milk to come in with Nora) and her weight dropped by 7% by her second day of life. So in the middle of the night at the hospital, I asked for a pump to help bring my milk in more quickly. Although my milk didn’t come in until 5 days post partum, I did start to feel it coming in and was producing more colostrum with in 24 hours of using the pump. I then fed her the pumped colostrum off of my finger through a little tube right after I pumped it. Andersyn continued to nurse well as far as I could tell, and the lactation consultants at the hospital agreed. They were so helpful and encouraging, something I had not received from the LCs when I had Nora.

Fortunately for me, my pediatrician knew my strong desires to breastfeed and was extremely proactive. He set me up with Dr. Anderson, a lactation consultant at his office, the day after we were discharged from the hospital and I was able to meet with her a few times the first week we were at home. Right away when I met her, I knew I loved her. She was so patient in explaining everything, gentle to correct me when I was doing something wrong and extremely knowledgable. She made me feel confident and empowered as a nursing mother and proud of my body and what it was capable of doing for my baby. Surprisingly, most of what she told me was new information to me about breastfeeding. Here are a few of the things she educated me on:
1. Proper alignment of the baby’s body while nursing.
2. How to keep Andi awake while nursing-simply expressing breast milk so that it squirts the back of her throat while she is still latched on. No stripping her clothes off, tickling her feet, rubbing her back. This was a huge, and simple, lifesaver for me!
3. “Sandwiching” my breast the right way. Google it. You’ll find out πŸ™‚
4. Prescribing me “Triple Nipple Ointment” for my poor nipples. Holy cow, this stuff was a lifesaver, especially when cluster feeding hit us hard! I would recommend it to anyone!
5. Reinforcing good pumping and bottle habits. Even though I consider myself a pro at this, it was nice to hear a refresher course! I use an Ameda Purely Yours double electric pump and have the Dr. Brown’s even flow bottles. A lot of parts to wash, but I really love them!
With in one week, Andersyn was already back up to her birth weight and nursing beautifully. Now at almost 5 weeks old, she nurses every 2-3 hours during the day and is now going longer stretches at night, anywhere from 3-5 hours at a time. At her 1 month check up she weighed almost 10 pounds already! I pump about once or twice a week, always after Andi’s morning feeding (that’s when your milk production is at its height) and she takes a bottle of breast milk about once a week as well, just so that she knows how to do so if I’m not available. Each week, I produce a little more milk, and I’m up to about 5 ounces on each side now. It’s nice to see my freezer stash slowly building πŸ™‚
Here are some of the helpful products that I recommend purchasing if you are planning on breastfeeding:
*A few GOOD QUALITY nursing bras (everyday and sleeper bras) and camis. I splurged and got mine at Motherhood Maternity. I am using the same ones I had with Nora, so they have lasted great!
*Boppy Pillow-I really only use this now at night, just to help support Andi while I’m sleepy πŸ™‚
*A pump-I am STILL using my Ameda Purly Yours double electric pump that I used for Nora (every 4 hours for 9 months and it still works perfectly!) I did purchase a new pump accessory kit for this baby. I love my pump!
*A couple of nursing covers.
*Breast pads. Trust me, you will leak and they will save your life (and your pride so you don’t leak through your shirt).
*Soothie gel pads-these were so nice the first couple of weeks at home, especially when they were kept in the fridge!
*Burp clothes to have on hand to help with clean up when you spray everywhere like a fire hose when you have your let down πŸ˜‰
*A huge water bottle-the one from the hospital works great. Seriously, chugging at least 8 ounces of water at each feeding will increase your supply dramatically! Keep it with you all the time.
 

I wrote this post to hopefully be an encouragement to other moms out there who want to breastfeed or have questions as to what we did that helped us. I am also writing this because I am SO proud that we are able to breastfeed this time around. I can’t say enough how happy it makes me and I’m excited to see where this journey leads.

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  2. Karli | September F A R M says

    girl. i'm in the trenches. can we talk about just how terrible engorgement is? my milk came in yesterday and gah. i can't wait for that magical two week mark when everything starts to feel so so much better. i'm beyond happy for you that you're able to nurse this go-round…and in AWE that you pumped for your nora for nine months. you. are. amazing. lots of love from our farm to yours! πŸ™‚

    • lmeberspacher@gmail.com says

      Um… Still ANXIOUSLY awaiting your officially baby announcement!! Ah!!! I'm sorry your in the engorgement stage. It's just so not fun. Just keep on nursing and pumping….and feeling like a total cow. I swear I'm gonna start mooing one of these days. Thinking of you this first week, girl. Hang in there!!

  3. Christina McGuire says

    Great post!! I pumped with my first too and now am expecting #2 baby girl and praying that I can breast feed her. It means the world to me to be able to accomplish this and to experience this bonding during feeding.