Sage is home and doing GREAT!!!! He came home on November 16, 13 days after he was born. He was 4lbs 9oz. He is now over 6lbs....so yes, he is eating.
No, I am not nursing him. Yes, he gets some breast milk but it isnt exclusive. He is on a preemie formula with extra calories to help him put on weight and he has to be on that so even if I was having more luck with pumping, I wouldnt be able to feed just that.
I really wanted to nurse Sage. I didnt with Piper, I was young, she was stubborn, I was more stubborn...it wasnt a good combination. Courtesy of the flack I got (and the ensuing guilt) I really was dedicated to nursing Sage (plus formula is flippin' EXPENSIVE).
Of course I would have him 6 weeks early and he would be in the NICU for 2 weeks and I would lose those 2 weeks of attempting to nurse. The alternative was pumping.
Ah yes, the fabulous world of the breast pump. The machine with the suction cups that you attatch to your boobs to pull out the milk so that your baby can still reap the benefits from moms who are unable (or dont want) to nurse.
I absolutely HATE pumping. It hurts and its akward and it isnt the most attractive situation for my husband to walk in on (yes, I know he was just there while our son was born, that should give you an idea of how attractive pumping is) and frankly, I am self conscious about it. All of those reasons probably also contribute to the fact that I really am not getting much milk while I do pump.
Because of the issues I have been having with pumping, I mentioned them to my doctor at Sage's appointment last week. His solution was to "drink a Guinness, I dont know why, but it helps" (LOVE HIM!!!). Then he tracked down the lactation counselor and she gave me more trips (dont drink beer, it will just give you a drunk baby...of course they wouldnt agree...this is ME we are talking about). Most of them seemed like great ideas....but not the easiest to accomplish. Here are her suggestions:
#1 Hold your baby while you pump.....really....how do I hold the sleeping or hungry child and still relax enough to pump? But alas, I tried it....and only managed to drop the very small amount I was able to get. Hey, it was either that or drop him.
#2 Sit in a quiet room, dim the lights and put on some soft, relaxing music. My that sounds wonderful...I can visualize it now....quietly pumping while one or both of my children demands my attention, my husband needs me to find a tool that he has no idea where it is but is certain I can put my hands on, the phone will ring, the dogs will chase the mules that just jumped the fence again and are standing in my front yard with the cows that busted out as well. Yes, I can do relaxation in my house.
#3 Try pumping, then switching to nursing him. Well, I tried that one also.....and I can tell you that Sage is an instant gratification man. Why would he want to work at nursing when he has had a bottle for 3 weeks and gets food on demand from that. Also, please refer back to #1 and refresh on how well that worked out for us.......yep, we tried 1 time, for 5 minutes and it wasnt good.
#4 Pump every 2 hours. Ok, so I wont ever leave my house again...I will just pump, then do laundry, then the dishes, then feed Sage (formula), then pump again, stop in the middle to change Sage, answer the phone, start pumping, change over the laundry, do dishes, make lunch for Shawn, feed Sage, pump....you get the picture. I would never see my friends again because I could never leave my house.
Maybe its me....maybe I just have the wrong attitude but seriously...what is supposed to be fun about pumping? If I could nurse him, I really think it would be so much easier for me to pump occasionally but soley pumping, not so much.
I will keep you posted on how it goes...hopefully better then it has been, or else we make the decision to just give it up all together. Its obvious that Sage is thriving on the formula so it isnt like it would completely change his diet if I stopped. It would save me alot of stress and anxiety however the guilt of not being able to do it may prove to much.
Maybe Dr. Miller will just tell me to drink more beer :-)
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