My "nursing journey"

Before I was even pregnant I knew that I wanted to breastfeed. To me it was the only option of nourishment for my future babies.  While I was pregnant I made sure that Joshua knew that I did not want to give our baby any bottles of formula. Thankfully he agreed with me and is 100% supportive of my decision.  I’m three months into my “nursing journey” and wouldn’t change my decision to do it for anything!

I did have concerns while pregnant that I might not be able to nurse. I wondered if I would produce enough milk for the baby. I have heard of women who want to nurse but for some reason beyond their control can’t.

James was born on a Wednesday and the nurses weighed him at 2am Thursday and he had dropped from 8lbs 3oz to 7lbs 11oz. The nurse made sure to tell me that if he lost 10% of his body weight I would have to supplement with formula. Again Friday morning about 2am the nurse came in to weigh him and this time he was down to 7lbs 6.2oz. The nurse immediately said that I was going to have to supplement and I told her that I wanted a pump; again she said I would still have to give formula. I started to cry instantly because I wasn’t going to give him formula, that wasn’t an option to me. The nurse realized I was crying and said that she would check on the computer and hopefully it wasn’t 10% of his weight lost so far. I got lucky that it 9% (I think). I told her that if a doctor said he wasn’t getting enough to eat and needed formula that I would give it to him, but not before then. 

The pediatrician came in on Friday morning and checked James out and said that he looked great. He wasn’t overly concerned about his weight loss. He did want his weight checked the next day so we scheduled for a nurse to come to the house and check it.

My milk came in on Saturday morning and James started gaining weight after that. By James’ two week appointment he was above his birth weight, and has been gaining steadily since. He normally nurses around 10 minutes a side. He will take bottles of breast milk every now and then.  I have been pumping since a few days after my milk came in, and sometimes will pump before a feeding so that Joshua can feed him.

I do not plan on going back to work anytime soon, but I still pump at least once a day and put it in the freezer so that I have a supply built up. Right now I have over a day’s worth of milk frozen!

I enjoy feeding James, and love that I am his source of food. Early on when I was very tired in the middle of the night there were times I wished that I was just giving him formula and that Joshua could just get up with him. But I know I have made the best decision for James in not giving him formula. I plan on nursing him until he is a year old. I’m not gonna be one of those crazy people who nurse the kid until they are 3.

I know that breastfeeding isn’t for everyone, but it has definitely been the right decision for me and my baby. I plan on breastfeeding any future babies that we have.