Do you know how hard is it to blog with one hand? Yeah, it’s pretty difficult. Given that I seem to be nursing 30 hours a day, I haven’t been able to get a post up.
I finally decided that my supply had to be low. I have no idea how that could happen when I seriously nurse every single hour during the day, but it did. I started taking Fenugreek a little over 24 hours ago and I can already tell a difference. I cannot tell y’all how glad I am. I wanted a natural birth and I succeeded. I want to exclusively breastfeed and I am going to do everything I can to make sure that happens.
This exact same thing happened with Bryson, but I always assumed that it was my fault- I must have been doing something wrong. I was only able to nurse him for about 3 months and I supplemented the entire time. (I blame this on our nurse in the hospital who told my husband it would be fine to give our newborn a bottle when I had made it crystal clear I wanted to breastfeed.) So, this time around, I set out to do everything the “right” way. I have nursed on demand and because nursing is supply & demand- you’d think I would have been overflowing. That didn’t happen.
Thankfully, Bella has exclusively breastfed thus far. I have also been trying to incorporate a pumping session at least once a day, so that eventually, Justin will be able to take over for a few hours. She does sleep well at night- something that didn’t happen with Bryson until he was about 15 months old. I wonder if that is why she eats so much during the day- just so she can sleep for long stretches at night. She will only sleep with me though. As soon as I put her down, she wakes right up crying. That is the hardest part so far. She’ll sleep for an hour if she is in my arms with skin to skin contact.
I did manage to nurse her in our Ergo Baby Carrier
I have felt 100% since about 10 minutes after I gave birth. I have a ton of energy, so sitting on the couch and nursing all day is driving me insane. I want to be up and playing with Bryson and cleaning and cooking. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. I’m trying to remind myself this will not last long. My supply should be established sometime in the next few weeks and we’ll have a better routine. I’m constantly reminding myself how quickly this stage goes by and that I should breathe in every single moment that I get to snuggle up to my daughter’s head full of dark hair.
>Just so you know, babies will seem like they're starving at intervals when nursing. It's a growth spurt. I noticed it the most around 6 weeks. This is often when most mothers give up. They think that the baby cannot possibly be getting enough. They are. The constant nursing just naturally ensures you'll make more milk for them!
Fenugreek is great, isn't it? The only side effect that I couldn't stand was the maple syrup smell that I emitted after a few days! It took it in the summer, so I was especially fun trying to convince the bees that I was NOT filled with sickeningly sweet syrup. Keep taking those wonderful prenatals, too. They made a huge difference in my energy level.
Oh, and one-handed typing really sucks! I just told everyone I was nursing and didn't use my shift key for anything.
[…] In February, we settled in as a family of four. Bryson went from crib to toddler bed. My days were filled with nursing, and nursing, and nursing. […]