The Babe is Teething

So here I am, writing the fourth post in a row…do I really have this much to say about breastfeeding? Wow…I am sure my husband is glad I’ve started this blog so he doesn’t have to listen to me anymore…fyi-I’ll take Sundays off.

My little baby is teething now and the last few days have been—hmmmm—let’s just say I’ve been nursing so much that I have been able to catch up on a lot of Law & Order and Without A Trace episodes. All he wants to do is nurse. Par is already a high needs baby and nurses quite often (because of his CDH he will always breathe rapidly and expends calories much quicker, thus needing to refuel more often)—so picking up a few more nursing sessions basically holds me hostage to the sofa or the bed. I feel so bad for him—he looks at me with these pursed little lips almost to say, “Mama! Make me feel better” and then he’ll take a few sips and then pop up and start smacking his lips like it worked and he is ready to go play—then he’ll realize he still hurts and it starts all over. I noticed his tooth creeping in on Monday—and then I noticed another one yesterday—they seem to be taking their time—hovering at the edge as if they might change their mind retract back into his gum line.

I do wonder what is going to happen once he starts to feel better—do I have a few days of uncomfortable fullness ahead of me before I’m back to normal?

As I mentioned before, after pumping exclusively for so long, I did a dramatic switch to exclusive breastfeeding which Par handled beautifully. It wasn’t until this did I realize that being full when you are pumping and full when you are breastfeeding feel very different—even if you are “emptying” your breast the same amount of times each day. Since breastfeeding, I have only felt I was going to explode a few times—and those times were after marathon breastfeeding stints like the one I’m going through now. But with pumping, almost daily I had this feeling at some point—and thank goodness for breast pads or I would have been in big trouble. I rarely wear them anymore now.

While pumping I was engorged many times. It is so painful—but what I think intensified the pain was my inability to relieve the engorgement quickly. I tried everything—hot compress, cold compress, pumping for hours, showers, crying—you name it I tried it. Usually after attempting all of this I would finally find some relief (hours later)—but with so much stimulation, the next day I would be lopsided and fearful of another engorgement. Thankfully that doesn’t happen as much with breastfeeding.

Pumping is hard. Breastfeeding is hard too—but it has a more immediate reward and so psychologically I feel it is easier if your baby latches on well. Pumping doesn’t have this immediate reward and most often you are separated from your child while you are doing it which only makes it more difficult. I am in awe of those moms (working or not) who pump for their babes. I have a DF who pumped for a year while working full time—I don’t know how she did it (Way to go B!)

As I wrap this up, my little one is latched on soothing his sore gums again and I know I’m in for another day like yesterday (and the day before)—except there aren’t 5 showings of Law & Order on Saturday like during the week….oh, the woes of a WAHM!