PART 1: My
Breastfeeding Journey: The Greatest Gift of My Birth Experience  I’ve been breastfeeding my daughter,
Scarlett, for a little over a year now, and it continues to be a very important
part of our lives. I know many women in the United States choose to discontinue
breastfeeding at a year, or sooner, for a variety of reasons. I have no
judgment towards them. I can say I know that I won’t be one of them. I’m not
sure how long we will continue to nurse, but I don’t see us stopping any time
soon. I didn’t go into motherhood thinking I would be an “extended
breastfeeder.” For those of you who have seen the HBO show Game of Thrones
and saw the scene of Robin Arryn nursing well into childhood… that’s kind of
what I thought of as “extended breastfeeding.” I initially figured I’d
give it a year and see how and where it went. Now that we’ve made it to 13
months and it’s going so well, it seems silly to even consider stopping. It is
still a large part of her nourishment, an effective way to soothe and comfort
her, and our special bonding time, among many other benefits. Also, there is
this huge emotional component for me: I think of our breastfeeding relationship
as the greatest gift of my birth experience. I had a traumatic birth in July
2016. I planned a homebirth and ended up transferring to a hospital for an
excruciating 52-hour induction that ended in a Cesarean birth. My daughter was
10 days past her anticipated due date and didn’t move enough on an ultrasound,
which is what caused us to need the induction. After 2 more days of every
horrible step of the induction process, and trying to hold out for an
un-medicated birth, I became a statistic in the chain of interventions and one
of the 1 in 3 American women whose babies are surgically delivered. To
make matters worse, Scarlett aspirated meconium at some point in our labor, and
was whisked away to the NICU as soon as she was out. I didn’t get to hold her
for 18 hours. I didn’t get to attempt to breastfeed until her third day of
life. After having everything on my birth
plan derail to the horrific experience I endured, I was determined to feed my
child the way that I had planned to; determined not to have breastfeeding taken
from me as well. I couldn’t see her during those first 18 hours, but I pumped
every 2 hours like a fiend. I was told not to try to get her to latch initially
because of her difficulties breathing, but I brought her all of my colostrum,
requested donor milk instead of formula until my milk came in, and continued to
pump and pump and pump. Finally, on the third day of her life, I made milk, and
her breathing improved, and I got to learn how to nurse my baby. We needed help at first. We met with
a lactation consultant, we used a nipple shield, and we used the football hold…
I drank my weight in water and ate everything in sight for a while. On day 3
when I finally got to start nursing, the hospital had rules for me: I could
only nurse her for 15 minutes, then I had to go and pump and she was given a
bottle of expressed milk to finish her feed so they could determine exactly how
much she ate. They had their reasons I’m sure, but the effect to me was
oversupply. I was nursing a hungry baby, and then pumping directly after. When
we were finally released on day 5, I was sent home with about 7 bottles of
extra milk I had made. I didn’t know then that wasn’t typical. When we got home, my husband soon
grew tired of hearing, “Babe, I need my water bottle!” However, he and Scarlett
were troopers. He kept me fed and hydrated, propped up, etc. She had a good
latch and was always hungry. Within a few days we stopped using the nipple
shield. Within a few weeks I could move a little better after the surgery and
stopped doing the football hold. Things were going more smoothly, until I began
to put together the effects my oversupply was having on Scarlett. My milk came
spraying out with such force that she would sometimes gag and sputter. She
would occasionally throw up all over us during or directly after eating. It was
frustrating to feed her when she seemed overwhelmed by my milk. It was not fun
to get vomited on. Repeatedly. And feel like I was smothering my baby with my
giant, milk-tastic boobs. I asked the doctor about it. He said
spit up is normal. I said it’s a lot more than spit up… he said all kids throw
up and not to worry about it. He was useless. I asked my Bradley teacher and La
Leche League ladies and they gave me actual things to try: laid-back nursing,
let gravity work for you, put baby on top of you, side-lying nursing, block
nursing, burp her more frequently, stop pumping so much… all of which helped
immensely. After a few months we finally got the hang of it. I’m glad I was
able to make some adaptations to help us, and had the willpower and resources
not to give up when it was hard. I honestly think my awful birth was
instrumental in my steadfastness when it came to breastfeeding. Click HERE for PART II of Erica and Scarlett’s story: Making It Work Disclaimer: The material
included in this video is for informational purposes only. It is not intended
nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader
should always consult her or his healthcare provider to determine the
appropriateness of the information for their own situation. Krystyna and
Bruss Bowman and Bowman House, LLC accept no liability for the content of this
site, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the
information provided. This blog and related videos contain information
about our classes available in Chandler, AZ and Payson, AZ and is not the
official website of The Bradley Method®. The views contained on our blog and
videos do not necessarily reflect those of The Bradley Method® or the American
Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth®. Birthing From
Within and Bradley Method® natural childbirth classes offered in Arizona:
convenient to Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale |
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