Part Two of Breastfeeding...
Sorry I've been gone from the online symposium for the past couple days. It was Valentine's Day and then the next day I got super sick and then yesterday I was recovering and now it is today and I am back! :-) So I am continuing my little break from the pregnancy chronicles since people seem more interested in the baby stuff anyhow. :-)
So, breastfeeding. Well, clearly I understood the benefits and superiority of breastmilk for the baby, so I knew I wanted to do that if possible. At the same time, I had a lot of friends (and relatives) who didn't introduce the bottle soon enough and as a result, their baby refused to take it. I was determined that would not be our story, as I wanted the freedom to have other people feed the babe (so Nathanael and I could go on dates and so I could return to work).
When Layla turned 3 weeks old, we introduced the bottle (with expressed breastmilk, not forumla). At first she cried a bit, but all in all she took it rather well and was well adjusted to it and switching back and forth between breast and bottle without much fuss. What I did NOT realize is that you have to be consistent with giving them bottle or else they forget how to suck (because breast and bottle employ different sucking techniques). Apparently (what I now know) you should give them the bottle once a day, at least 5 days a week, to ensure that they maintain their skill.
Well, we weren't consistent with it because we got over confident in her ability (and we didn't realize we needed to be consistent with it). And then she got a cold (around 7 weeks of age) and was unable to breathe while sucking from the bottle so we didn't force the issue. We tried to get her to take it intermittently but without much success.
Fast forward to this week. On Monday I got sick. Really sick. I have no idea what I got (food poisoning maybe?), but I was vomitting all day and couldn't keep anything down. Layla refused to drink from the bottle, but since I keeping any fluids (or solids) down, my body stopped producing as much milk. I breastfed her as much as I could but I was quite miserable. And she was too, since she was so hungry. Alas.
So lesson learned: next baby, be consistent about the bottle so that in emergency type situations, she can still eat. And, take tylenol sooner to get over the fever/sickness so you can get healthy again!
Thank God that by Tuesday I was better again and back up to normal supply. Layla didn't get whatever I had (also praise God for that!) and we are doing well. But she still won't take the bottle. Sigh. Suggestions are welcome, but I can assure you I've tried almost every nipple head that exists.
