Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Caedmon Update

Rather than reply to everyone individually, I thought I'd just post what's going on. For the past month, I've been working overtime trying to get Caedmon to gain weight with breastfeeding alone. We've been having problems with this from the beginning (thanks to the Naval Hospitals very liberal policy on supplementing and this anxious new mom's inability to tell them no), but it resurfaced at his 4 month well baby check. He was a whopping 10.5 pounds. So I went to a lactation consultant, where we fixed his position at the breast, started supplementing (myself, not Caedmon), and I started doing some pumping (but I hate pumping and I had a single pump, so I wasn't very vigilant about it). At four and a half months, we had a weight check where he lost an ounce and a half. I had ordered a better pump, so we give that two weeks. So I went to pumping after (almost) every feeding and giving him the pumped milk. So the big results day was yesterday. He gained half an ounce. So to sum it up, he actually lost an ounce over the last month. So now we're supplementing, and I'm slowly processing. I now it's not a huge deal, but when I started I wasn't even planning on giving Caedmon bottles...of anything. And while I don't plan to stop breastfeeding, I don't really see the point of continuing all these efforts to increase my milk supply when we haven't seen any real change. My plate is already full. I need a break. I need a glass of wine. I read in one of my breastfeeding books that there is nothing better than the feeling of watching your baby thrive on your own milk, but they never said anything about what happens when they don't.

Anyway, his next check is in two weeks. Everything else with him is well. He is getting longer, meeting his milestones, and continues to be a little bundle of energy and personality.

Note: Please, please don't let my story discourage you from breastfeeding. I am a rare case, and I'm pretty sure that my case is the result of some poor decisions made by a mediocre healthcare system during the first days of Caedmon's life. Breastfeeding is still the best; it's why I've worked so hard to continue. If you have any questions about breastfeeding, please email me or get in touch with your local La Leche League.