Monday, December 8, 2008

Breastfeeding, Pumps and Shields...Oh my!




Lincoln is 1 week old!! Look at him! Couldn't you just eat him up! I can't take my eyes off of him (my red, tired, and puffy eyes, LOL - New moms, you understand). Lincoln spends the majority of his days and nights sleeping soundly. So soundly that I sometimes have to strip him naked in order to wake him up to get him to eat. His pediatrician said that food is the number one priority because of his size, and that I must feed him every 2-3 hours by any means necessary. My milk came in on Friday, at first when I came home on Wednesday I was barely pumping out a teaspoon, had to put my milk in a dropper to give him. Now?! I'm getting 4oz already, way more than he can consume in one sitting. My days consist of putting him on the breast for as long as I can see milk in the shield (any where from 5-20 minutes), then giving him a 10-20 cc chaser of formula, and then pumping out the rest. Which, if you do the math, doesn't leave me much time before I have to do it all over again. At this rate, I'll have a stock pile of breast milk in my freezer to last for quite a while. I must give a shout out to my cousin (What's Up?!), because I don't know what I would do without her double breast pump. When the milk rushes in, wow, sometimes I fear I may drown him!! Not to mention smother him, since my breasts are almost 3x the size of his little head. (OK, stop laughing...LOL). And thanks to Betty the lactation nurse at the hospital that suggested I get a nipple shield, because he will not latch on with it! Or should I say, he'll latch on but then when he realizes he has to work 10x harder to get his food out, he spits the nipple out. Silly boy. And the smiling!! I know all the doctors, books, and nurses say that babies don't really smile until they're much older, BUT the smiles this little boy gives could melt the heart of anyone! Seriously, I challenge the meanest heart to be in the presence of one of Lincoln's smiles and I guarantee they won't be able to contain the involuntary smile that occurs. I've been trying to catch one in a picture, but they last for mere seconds, so be patient.

4 comments:

Jen said...

Oh, how I miss the skinny little newborn legs! What a little sweetie! Before long he'll have the baby chub! :)

Radha said...

He's just gorgeous! Those dark brown eyes are too precious. ^_^

Steph and Dusty said...

Congratulations!!! How have you had time to post. :) Lincoln is a handsome baby and so cute. I love, love the name. Congratulations again and thank you for sharing your story.

Jen said...

Tag, Momma...you're it! Check my blog for details...between diaper changes and feedings! :) Hope you're doing well...and DH and Maddy and little Lincoln, too!