Skipped a session

I was so tired last night and did not feel like getting up to pump. So I just popped Elaina onto the boob. She nursed well on one side and a little on the other. She was still restless and it was after 2am so I handed her off to Dad. I fell backdead asleep. Dad didn't have to give her a bottle till after 7am. At 7:30am I pumped 13 ounces.....

26 ounces

That is how much I have in my freezer stash. I may hold onto it for Elaina later or I may donate it. My supply is doing fine and I am pumping more than she needs. I need to slip Ben some when I get a bit more extra to play with. On average I am pumping between 6 and 8 ounces at a session. She takes about 3 ounces on demamd give or take. I am not feeding Elaina on a schedule. Even though her milk is in a bottle I want her to regulate her own feeds.

First pediatrician visit

Elaina weighed in at 8 pounds and 1 ounce today. She had a diaper on so I am sure that accounted for a little of that weight. She has had nothing to eat other than breastmilk. I am starting to get a bit of an oversupply. I put her to the breast yesterday ones and she latched OK and fell asleep. Well, that sure did jump start my production on that side. I have pumped at least an extra ounce on that side and had a lot of fullness all night last night and all day today. I could easily increase my supply by at least 6 ounces a day if I wanted to. I need to get some freezer bags. I have found a couple of families that could use some donor milk so I need to put my milk in something disposable. Right now I have 8 bottles made up in the fridge. And I am about to pump as I sit here and type.

I do plan on trying to get Elaina back onto the breast but I am trying not to stress about it. Having a newborn in my house with my responsibilities and obligations and all of the expectations of my culture and my personal beliefs can all be a bit daunting. I am hard on myself to practice what I preach when it comes to breastfeeding. I need to try and relax and just take everything one day at a time.

Two and a half weeks

My baby is growing. I am pumping and it has been abput two days since I tried Elaina at the breast. I am getting a bit gun shy. She is taking the new Platex nipples well. They simulate a latch bwtter than the tiny fast flow nipples I was using. We go to see our new pediatrician tomorrow. I can only guess what little girl weighs. She is fitting into the cloth diaper covers better so I know she is bigger. She still spits up a lot but I am not worried. I know I am pumping a lot more than she needs because there are 6 bottles in the fridge with 3 ounces or more in them. Sometimes she will take 3 ounces but usually she only has about 2. I almost want to get upset when there is milk left over in the bottles or she spits up a lot and wastes my milk. And yesterday while I was at work Dad forgot about the bottle I had ready for her so he gave her one amd a half new ones. Of course she spit that much milk up and the one I set out was wasted. I only pump 4 and sometimes 5 times a day and have extra milk. I pump about 20 to 40 minutes. I really need to limit it to 20 minutes so I don't go overboard and get an uncomfortable amount of oversupply. I haven't started to freeze any milk yet. I almost get sad to know I am killing some of the live properties in the milk when it is frozen and thawed. After her appointment tomorrow and after next week I am going to try really hard to get her back on the breast. I have to work everyday next week so it will be hard to focus on latching all day if I am not at home. I need to find a local mom who needs fresh milk...

Pumping and holding

When your baby needs to be held she needs to be held. Thanks to my hands free PumpEase band I can pump and hold Elaina on my chest in between my breasts. I just place a cloth diaper on top of the band to cover the clasps and tuck her in under my chin. If I were more well endowed with larger breasts I don't think I could pull this off. Elaina always goes straight to sleep when I hold her like this. I bet the swooshing of the pump sounds a lot like the rushing blood she heard in the womb.

To read more about Elaina's first days with her family and to see what the rest of the gang is up to check out my main family blog The Life and Times of Susan B.

Last night

Last night I was feeling pretty good and offered Elaina the breast several times. I thought she nursed OK. Her latch was halfway decent. I thought she was getting enough milk. She started to breathe funny. It almost sounded like she has aspirated some milk. She eventually fell back asleep and I offered her the breast when she started to show some feeding cues right before dawn. She fought me big time. I finally gave up and Dad gave her a  bottle of expressed milk. I did not pump in the middle of the night and when I did pump around 8am I pumped over 8 ounces. I am not in a good place emotionally. I am good at making milk and I am good at nursing older babies but I am not great at nursing my new babies.....  I am feeling a bit like a failure. I help moms through this as a CLC but I can't help myself.

Elaina's latch

The honeymoon is over... Elaina is still in her sleepy newborn stage. But, she is struggling with her latch. Her mouth is so small and her mother is so tired and frustrated. I have been pumping to give myself some relief from pain and to ensure my supply maintains up. I offer Elaina the breast but I am so anxious over the pain and her frustration that I can't relax. I am still having some bouts of afterpains too that are really intense when LO nurses. They aren't as bad when I pump. I am keeping up with Elaina just fine with the amount of milk I produce but using a manual pump has taken a toll on my wrists. I have arthritis and my right hand is just about frozen. My mother is so supportive. She knew all I needed to use my old electric pump was replacement tubing. She headed to the nearest store that sells them 10 miles away and bought them for me. I am getting ready to use them tonight. I hope my pump can hold up till I get a new one. I got this one when I had Evan nearly 6 years ago. The hospital he was born at provided them free to breastfeeding moms. Hospitals don't do that anymore.

First pumping session

Wow, I didn't think I would pump that much. The amount in the smaller bottle was just what leaked out while I pumped one side. I am pretty sore so I pumped to give my nipples a break. I am confident that Elaina will be able to latch fine even after taking some milk from a bottle.

And a new journey begins

Elaina is here....

Elaina is here

My baby is born!! I was able to have skin to skin with Elaina for abput 2 hours after birth. She latched on very well. She has nursed over 8 times in the past  8 hours. I have drops of colostrum and I can see that she is swallowing Her latch is pretty good even though she seems so small to me ay 6 pounds 13 ounces.