Nursing!

To be honest I knew I wanted to nurse Aspen, but I was so nervous. You hear horror stories about nursing. How it can be painful, awkward and really time consuming. I knew that there are lots of GREAT moms out there they can't or don't want to nurse, but I knew I still wanted to try it.

Well I am happy to say that I love it. It is not awkward at all and is actually very natural. I would do anything for my little girl. I love spending that one-on-one time with her. I love when she looks up at me. I love knowing she is getting the best food for her. But I was also lucky. Because of all the stress I went through I never got engorged. If I did I guess I was on morphine so I never felt any pain. I also have not gotten any infections or sore or cracked nipples. I am so lucky in that department. But there were other struggles.

When Aspen was underneath the bili lights she needed to eat every 2 hours. Since my milk was not in yet I had to try and feed nurse her, then feed her a bottle and then pump try and get my milk in. It was so stressful and took up so much time. Then when I was in the hospital I couldn't nurse Aspen because of the medications I was on so she had to take a bottle for all her feedings. I had to continually pump in the hospital and then dump the milk. I was so worried that Aspen would take to the bottle and not nurse anymore. As soon as I could nurse again I tried it and luckily she took to it again. But since I never got engorged I wasn't sure if my milk was in. So she would nurse for about 20 mins and still be hungry. So we went back to nursing, feeding her a bottle and pumping. Luckily within a few days I could tell my milk was in. So now Aspen pretty much just nurses. She still has about 3 oz of formula a day, but I am thankful for that. I am so happy she will take a bottle and nurse. It gives me more freedom!

Thanks to Tamara and Brooke who mentioned the nipple shield. Aspen would not latch on very well and I was starting to get sore. I remembered their advice to try the nipple shield and so I immediately sent Tyler to get me one. It works get! I suggest that anyone with problems with their babies latching on should get it. It helps the baby catch on to nursing and it makes it so mom doesn't get sore at all. I think I will use it with every child for the first few weeks!

I am still having trouble getting enough milk though. I pump for 5 mins after each time I feed her and that helps a little. Do you nursing moms have any other suggestions for getting more milk???