Monday, January 28, 2013

Breastfeeding...Round 2

I had high hopes that the breastfeeding issue would go well with Jackson. Before he arrived I had figured it would go one of two ways...(A) I'd produce enough to make him full and happy and we'd go about our marry breastfeeding ways or (B) it would be painstakingly annoying like it was with Ethan where I'd spend 20 minutes attached to a pump to get out a measly half an ounce and I'd happily and wholeheartedly switch over to formula with no regrets. Either way...I was NOT going to stress about it like I did last time. No way, no how. What I didn't plan for was option (C). 

I never was good with multiple choice questions. 

I was very scheduled and by the book with Ethan. Honestly, it was the only way that I thought I could get him through babyhood without killing him. I knew nothing about babies. I needed the book and the clock to tell me how. Instinct? No. I had none. 

With Jackson...I've thrown the books to the curb. I don't know what milestones we are suppose to be meeting week to week. I hardly ever have time to look at the clock much less document every pee, poop and feeding we have. The itzbeen timer? Yeah, that thing is still sitting in the basement with its corroded batteries.

At first...breastfeeding was an absolute dream. I thought I had that shiz in the bag. He cried, I fed him. He was full, happy and content. My freezer was filling up like we were preparing for the apocalypse. 

Fast forward 3-ish weeks later. I had a screaming, gassy baby who was constantly spitting up and that constantly wanted to be on the boob. I put out a call for help and many of you thankfully offered very helpful suggestions. Between you and Dr. Google I figured out that I probably needed to try and cut out dairy. Unfortunately...it takes dairy 2-3 weeks to completely get out of your system so jury is still out on whether it's the culprit. I will say things are looking up, but this issue is still by no means solved. 

I'm a week and a half in on the dairy free diet and let me tell you it has not been easy. I've never been one to succeed at diets that revolved around cutting out things because guess what happens? When you tell me I can't have something it is all that I can think about. I literally feel the saliva building up in my mouth when I see pictures of cheese now. All I want is a freaking piece of cheese!!! 

I do think that the dairy free thing is helping. It's either that or just the fact that Jackson's digestive system is getting a little more mature. That's the frustrating thing with breastfeeding and babies. There is no definitive diagnosis. In fact, doctors prove to be very unhelpful in these issues (more on that later)

I'm not sure where this road is going to lead us. A month ago I was blissfully contemplating on breastfeeding a whole year. Could I really do it?! Today, I couldn't promise you I wouldn't pull out that can of formula by the end of this week. I have nothing against formula. Absolutely nothing. I just really wanted this to work this time around.

For now, I'm going to stick with being dairy free. I'll be dosing out the Gripe Water and Mylicon drops and changing me and the baby's outfits at least 3 times a day. At Jackson's 2 month appointment I'll talk to the doctor and see where we should go from there. I'm hoping that as the weeks go on, that Jack will continue to feel better and better. If not, I'll open up a whole new can of worms and switch to formula.

And yes, formula is can of worms. Did I mention it took several types of formula to figure out what worked for Ethan? Apparently my kids have sensitive tummies.


4 comments:

  1. Hang in there. I'm worried about this with #2 myself as I didn't produce a ton with Mia, but did manage to go 4 months on just breast milk.

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  2. I think that going dairy free is a great idea. Becca is a very gassy baby too, and it seems to help a ton. With her, a bit of cheese here and there doesn't seem to bother her like milk or yogurt do (though eating a plate of nachos might not be the best idea)...so you might try experimenting with that a bit and see if there's a happy medium in there!

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  3. I was dairy free for 6 months. Some people will tell you that you have to do it the whole time you are bfing, but I found with both boys that I was able to reintroduce at 6 months and they did fine. I have a dairy free chocolate oatmeal granola bar pinned that is SO good. Enjoy Life chocolate chips work in them and I literally ate one every single day while dairy free. Oreos are also dairy free!! I did lots of veggies, pita and hummus for lunch (luckily Spence loves hummus too, so it was easy for both of us). Both boys tolerated goat cheese and feta (as long as it was goat milk feta) just fine, so I did that a lot when I needed cheese. We made a grilled chicken pasta with asparagus and then mixed in goat cheese until creamy (mixed with a little water). So good and really helps with that needed creaminess that you lack when you are dairy free. Little Ceasars pizza has a dairy free crust, so you can always order that without cheese (not exactly the same but satisfies the craving)! Please let me know if you have any questions- I'd love to help if I can.

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  4. Try probiotics!
    C-section babies are missing some of the gut bacteria that babies are supposed to get from the birth canal. Probiotics help with digestion and cut down on baby's gas.

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