The Best Thing for My Baby
Rena Pearson
Woodstock GA USA
From NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 18 No. 6, November-December 2001, p. 216
When I became pregnant with
my first child, I was determined to breastfeed. My family and friends
were so encouraging, and my husband and I knew that it was the best
thing I could do for my baby. Emma was born big and healthy and latched
on with little assistance. When she began crying inconsolably at six
weeks, everyone blamed my milk. I persevered and discovered she was
intolerant to dairy products. She still cried a lot, but I continued
nursing knowing as long as I kept dairy products out of my diet, human
milk was still the best for her. As Emma approached her first birthday,
family and friends began asking how long I would breastfeed. I never
gave definite answers but said that it was still working for us and
when it stopped being enjoyable, I would quit.
When Emma was 18 months old,
I was happy to discover I was pregnant again. I had always heard that
when my milk changed to colostrum around five months into the pregnancy,
Emma would naturally wean. My doctor supported my decision to continue
breastfeeding while pregnant and that gave me ammunition against concerned
family and friends. The fifth month came and went and Emma continued
to nurse. At 30 weeks, I began spotting and it was discovered that I
had placenta previa with the placenta just barely over the edge of the
cervix. I was put on limited activity but continued to nurse.
Just after Emma's second
birthday, I decided that I needed her to wean because nursing was causing
painful contractions and they scared me. Emma seemed to have come to
the same conclusion because she would only breastfeed occasionally,
not every day. I was afraid that weaning would be an awful experience
and that she would cry, but to my surprise, she handled it very well
and was just as contented as always. I often explained to her that the
baby would breastfeed just as she had done. I also told her that babies
had to nurse because they do not have teeth and that she was a big girl
and could eat good things like chicken, broccoli, and ice cream. Her
sister could only nurse. One month after Emma was weaned, I suffered
a massive hemorrhage and Sarah came into the world six weeks premature.
I was given four pints of blood and sent to intensive care to recover.
I was really hoping to nurse Sarah just after birth, but as it turned
out, I had been given general anesthesia and she was hurried away to
the neonatal intensive care unit. She was born on Monday and my milk
came in on Tuesday. The lactation consultant had met with me Monday
afternoon and arranged for a breast pump. When she returned on Tuesday,
she was amazed to see the two ounces of colostrum I had just pumped.
She told me that when women lose so much blood, their milk is usually
slow to come in.
Sarah was tube-fed the milk
I expressed for several more days before I was able to attempt nursing.
I cannot say she latched right on or that nursing a premie was easy,
but I knew that it was the best thing I could do for such a little baby
and for myself, so I continued. A few days later she latched on and
nursed like a seasoned pro. Everyone was thrilled but my challenges
were far from over. In order for Sarah to come home, she had to be able
to nurse well and gain weight. She was still being tube fed when I could
not be there and her weight was still decreasing. The nurses tried to
give her a bottle because it would mean she might come home earlier,
but Sarah refused, so they continued tube feeding. I was discharged
from the hospital on Friday and spent the greater part of the weekend
in the neonatal unit trying to get Sarah to gain weight. The nurses
continually told me that she didn't need to eat more often than every
three hours. They felt that any more than that was doing more harm than
good because I could not possibly continue breastfeeding this often
once I got her home where I would be taking care of a two-year-old as
well. I ignored them and continued to feed her on cue.
In addition to recovering
from major surgery, I was so tired and frustrated but I kept my vigil
beside Sarah's bassinet during the day so that she could nurse. Finally,
10 days after her birth, she gained two grams and the doctor said that
we could take her home after we spent one more night in the neonatal
unit providing all of Sarah's care ourselves. The following day, we
finally all went home. The pediatrician was amazed that Sarah proceeded
to gain a half pound in a week. I was not surprised because I knew all
along, that breast is best for my baby.
I thought that Emma would
have a hard time with Sarah nursing, but to my surprise, she was fine.
She never once asked to nurse again and she has been such a wonderful
big sister and helper.
Last updated Friday, October 27, 2006 by njb.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:29:37 UTC 2007.
