Adventures in Learning to Breast Feed

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse"

Making blogging easy (no idea why this is underlined)

Gracie babysitting.

Tiny is starting to chunk out a little. We've noticed her little cheeks filling out, and a slight double chin when she yawns. Her wrists are getting cute little fat rolls. The kid makes the funniest faces, my favorite is big round eyes, eyebrows up, forehead wrinkled, and mouth in a perfect 'o'. Cracks me up every time.

We're still working on the breast feeding. A lactation consultant at La Leche League suggested a nipple shield, which I was unsure of, and still am. We went ahead and got one, just to check it out. She can breast feed with it, which is a nice change of pace from pumping and spoon feeding. But, her latch still isn't 'correct,' nor her sucking strong. I still pump after, because I'm not sure how much she's getting, and I don't want my milk supply to start decreasing. Also, the nipple shield is kind of a pain in the ass--it can be difficult to get on properly, and it has to follow us around. Also, nipple shields often involve weening them off it later.

The difference in her after breast feeding and after spoon feeding is amazing. With spoon feeding, she lets us know she's done by pursing her lips closed (adorable). It's kind of a "no more shall pass" face. And then she's awake and alert. With breast feeding she kind of falls off the boob and then acts drunk and sleepy, usually waking up slowly (since we feed right after she wakes up. She's on a "sleep, eat, diaper, hang out" schedule). Being able to breast feed has made it easier the past few days. Usually, she and I would practice breast feeding as she was waking up (calm Rory is better than frantic, hungry Rory), and then Ryan feeds her while I pump (so my boobs and her stomach could be on a similar schedule for when we get the breast feeding down).

There has been one benefit of the nipple shield (besides getting to nurse), and that is taking it off mid-feeding. By then she's calm and sleepy and had something to eat, so she usually latches for a little while without it, often longer than when we just practice. So we can make progress, and she's breast feeding, but it's still far from an ideal situation.

But who said everything was going to be ideal, right? And like I told Rory--it's going to be a long time till I consider not breast feeding her, so we have plenty of time to learn and try new things. In the meantime, she's eating and thriving, the three of us are all bonding, she seems to be a pretty happy little sack of bodily functions. It's really not so bad!