I posted a status on Facebook about how much I hate breastfeeding and feel like I should
explain a little more...
Marlene took to nursing fairly quickly, which was a huge relief. Then when she was about 4 days old she started getting really tempermental. It seemed like every other feeding she would freak out and not nurse. This stressed me out a lot and caused me a lot of physical pain so I got a pump.
From that point on I decided that pumping was just "easier" because the stress of never knowing if Marlene would nurse or not was causing me some anxiety. I also figured that since I live in a house where there are 4 other people who can feed her a bottle,
that would just be easier.
Things had been going ok, other than the fact that I hated being chained to the pump, not being able to sleep/or go out for more than 3-4 hours at a time, and leaking all over the place as I was
trying to get on a schedule.
I decided that when I took Marlene to her 2 week check up that I was going to ask her doctor how long she recommended I nurse for, because I didn't think I could last much longer. I was relieved when she said that in her opinion, the mom's sanity comes first.
Then, I received all the confirmation I needed. At her check up yesterday we discovered that Marlene hadn't gained ANY weight over the past week. Apparently, my milk doesn't have enough calories in it, which the doctor said can happen to some women. She recommended we add a scoop of formula to each bottle, and then alternate that with one that is straight formula so that Marlene's little tummy
can get used to it gradually.
So, I've decided to stop nursing and use up all the milk I have in the freezer (which is quite a bit) and then stick to just formula when it runs out. I feel like I'm waisting my time pumping milk that is
apparently good for nothing.
The formula has apparently done the trick, because I took Marlene back for a weight check today and she gained 3 ounces. (The doctor said she should be gaining at least 1 ounce a day.) So I feel really good about making this change, and I can't wait for Marlene to become a little chunker. =)
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