The Nursing Baby - Your Breastfeeding Stories

When I was expecting my second child, I had no qualms with the idea of breastfeeding her. I had breastfed my son into his 13th month with few problems, and knew I could do the same for my second child as well.

Like my son, my daughter, Brynn, emerged into the world ready to nurse. Like Alex, she nursed in the labor and delivery room like she was born to it. And, like Alex, she spent the next two days in the hospital preferring sleep to food. Since Alex had done the same thing, and had turned out to be a spectacular nurser, I didn't worry that she didn't seem to be eating much.

The worries started when we got home. While I remembered there was pain associated with the first few weeks of nursing, I did not remember being in as much pain as I was when Brynn latched on. By the end of her first week, my nipples were sore, and each nursing session left them bleeding. When Brynn was a week old, we rushed her to our doctor because she'd spit up blood. It was mine. I was desperate. Looking for answers, I bought The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, and found help. My daughter's problem was her latch. She was sucking her lower lip in. Once I learned how to solve that problem, things improved drastically--at least as far as the pain went.

But we had other problems. Unlike her older brother, Brynn was not a heavy nurser. While he had nursed for 20 minutes at a session, Brynn nursed for 5, 8 at the most. My breasts, prepared for another happy eater, produced far more milk than my daughter was prepared to eat. Since the only pump I had was far from adequate, I became engorged. Brynn went on a nursing strike, refusing to take anything from my left breast, although she continued to dine, if briefly, from my right. One evening, in desperation, I managed to express some milk from my swollen left breast, then forced my daughter to accept her next nursing from that breast. Again, our situation improved, and I began to feel that we were finally on track.

At six months, we tried to introduce Brynn to solids. She wasn't interested, but, thinking it was time, we forced the issue. Her weight began to drop, and her head circumfrence along with it. While Brynn continued to nurse, lightly, as she always had, she gave us many problems in terms of accepting other forms of nourishment. Her doctor began to worried, and told me to supplement with formula, which Brynn also refused (to my intense relief). Brynn's weight and head circumfrence continued to drop on the percentile charts. At one time, her weight was below the 5th percentile. Brynn's doctor worried, but I couldn't find it within myself to fret. Skinny as my daughter was, her development and demeanor did not resemble those of a malnourished child. She was happy, otherwise healthy, and developing right on track.

Brynn continued to nurse into her 17th month of life, when, due to my impending return to work, I weaned her. Her weight continued on the low scale, but improved as we explored new ways of feeding her. At her recent 4 year check up, she was in the 40th percentile for weight.

I know now that I should probably didn't need to force the solid foods issue as early as I did, but could have continued to exclusively breastfeed her for her first twelve months of life. I wish I had not weaned her as early as I did, but for the seventeen months she did nurse, I was glad we'd overcome our initial problems and established a good nursing relationship.