Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding started off ok in the hospital, however, once Diego had to be placed under the lights for his jaundice it got a little rocky. Pooping and Peeing are how the body gets rid of the bilirubin, so the doctors and nurses were really concerned with his eating and making sure he got enough to eat to rid his body of the substance. They had to supplement my feedings with formula, which we did not object to at all, but once he tried the bottle it was a little difficult to get him back to nurse. He was also given a pacifier while he was under the lights, to soothe him which may have played a part in my difficulty breastfeeding. We have no regrets or complaints about how things were handled in the hospital, not one. We wanted our son to have enough to eat to get rid of the bilirubin, and the last thing we wanted was for him to be upset under the ligths when we couldn't soothe him ourselves. I continued to try and breastfeed Diego while we were in the hospital and some feedings were better than others. The nurses were really helpful. When we left the hospital, this was my main concern. Our first night home we did some formula supplementing and the next day went to see the lactation specialist. They were very positive and helpful and our first goal was to get Diego off formula and within 1 day we were successful! But then the fighting began. Each time I tried to nurse he would fight me. Sometimes he would eventually latch on, but other times he would just get really upset and only take the milk from a bottle. After 3 more visits to the lactation specialist and a lot of fighting, I was done. I didn't think my sweet little boy should have to fight to get food, so I decided to pump and give him breastmilk in a bottle. Things have been much more peaceful around mealtime for him now, no more getting upset...unless he gets too hungry before the bottle reaches his mouth. :)