Breastfeeding vs formula

We had five blissful days of sleeping through the night, then last night he woke after only four hours. I'm not going to lie, I was a little bitter. He ate then I put him in the crib where he put himself to sleep bit it still upset me. One step forward and ten steps back.

So Bloomburg (or whatever the mayor of New York's name is) has gotten a lot of talk going about formula vs. breastfeeding. As a first time mom I have to say, I feel like both sides of the issue are bullies. On one hand, formula companies are highly aggressive with their free samples and swag. On the other hand the "boob nazis" as I've heard La Leche League and lactation consultants referred to make me feel like a failure for even considering formula for my son. I'm not saying either side is wrong. In fact I don't think there is a right answer. What I do no is no one has the right to tell a mother what she should do. Let a woman choose to do what she wants for her child. For me the choice was breastfeeding, but that's not the choice for everyone.

Given the difficulties I've had with the lactose overliad and my dairy free diet you might not think it's worth it. And believe me, so do I. But when I'm doubting myself I remember why I chose breastfeeding in the first place.
        *It's cheaper
                 It doesn't get much cheaper than free and I never have to rush to the store because I'm out.
*It's better for the environment Yes, I pump and store milk, but I do so in reusable plastic containers that will produce less waste for the local landfill. While I'm no eco-freak picketing companies that don't have recycling programs, it never hurts to be a little conscious of the only planet capable of sustaining life. *Bonding time The time I spend nursing makes me feel that much closer to my son. And the look on his face makes me smile every time. *Always have it with me Since my boobs seem to be permanently affixed to my chest, I will never be without them, and therefore Little Man's food supply. *It's better for him A baby's body is quite literally made to process his mother's milk. Who am I to argue with that? So yes, there are reasons to breastfeed, but there are also reasons not to. Sore nipples, sore back, watching your diet for the sake of your supply are all tedious and valid reasons to decide to use formula. IN the end, as with everything it comes down to one thing for me. My body, my decision.

Adventures in Breastfeeding

Like many moms, I nursed Anthony soon after he was born. But once he went into the nursery, it was doctor's orders that we couldn't nurse until my milk came in. Once my milk came in I was allowed to nurse him once a day. The nurses would weigh him, let him eat, then weigh him again. And it didn't take long for us to figure out that his transfers were very low. Because of this and his feeding issues,  Little Man was fed from a bottle. I used a breast pump to get my milk in and carried bottles of milk into the nursery everyday when I visited him.

By the time he came home, he had nipple confusion. He would not latch onto my breast very often, though I tried to offer him a breast at every feeding. I was pumping about eight times a day while taking care of a premature newborn. I was so exhausted, I was considering switching to formula. So I called a lactation consultant. She gave us a nipple shield and there was light at the end of the tunnel. From that point on Little Man latched on every time. His transfers still weren't high enough to be done with the bottle (preemies have trouble organizing their jaws and suckling effectively) but I was able to stop the overnight pumpings at least. Within a week he had upped his transfers enough that he didn't always need a bottle to supplement.

But sadly that wasn't the only issue. He had diarrhea, gas, and the associated fussiness frequently. After discussing it with his doctor, we figured he was sensitive to enzymes from the dairy products I ate so I cut all dairy out of my diet. Do you have any idea how hard it is to avoid all dairy? It's in everything I love. But I was willing to put up with a special diet if he helped. The problem is it didn't. He still had diarrhea, though not as frequently. He also had times when he kept eating even though I knew he wasn't hungry. So one night I Googled 'Will a baby eat when he isn't hungry' and found an article on lactose overload. It's basically when a baby eats too much foremilk (the frothier milk that comes out of the boob first) and not enough hindmilk (which has more fat so stays in his intestines longer). It was because I switched sides frequently because my son didn't like the slower flow. So we reorganized and called lactation again. Now I keep relatching him to.the same breast as long as he'll stay on it. It's too soon to tell if it's working, but he seems to be more content. I have hope. I'm sure we'll have other issues down the road, but for we got this.