Wow, this just makes me really glad I'm not living in the US and God, what stupid laws/proceedures! (And it's not like they're much good probably, I'll wager child abuse rates are the same as anywhere else in the world.)
I'm so glad breastfeeding has been so beneficial for you both during these trials. I had some difficulties with breastfeeding at the beginning, but I persisted and I'm so glad! I would cry every time my son latched because my nipples were so hurt, but I did it anyway and it's been absolutely amazing ever since he was 3 months old and really got the hang of it. So worth it! I just hope he doesn't wean himself before I'm ready, and I won't be ready anytime soon.
Jana
--
Tandem breastfeeding, co-sleeping, cloth diapering, baby wearing momma. :)
JESSW25
Posts: 82
12/11/10 10:49 P
This was such a great story. I don't come on here much anymore either, but still like to come and read the boards every once and a while- maybe help someone out.
My daughter is 13 months old and we are still nursing :) She's not in bad health at all (except for a stubborn ear infection right now! lol) but we have had quite a year and nursing has gotten us through a lot.
Maddi didn't want to latch at first. She was SOOO stubborn. Would clamp down, stick her tongue up and just wouldn't do it. I was determined to give her the best start possible though and I started pumping right away while trying many many times a day to get her to latch. My husband (who was amazing through all of this- and still is!) and I would feed her with a dropper and it became a full time job just feeding her all day. But I knew it wouldn't be that way forever. After about a week we did introduce a bottle because she was eating so much and the dropper was just not working anymore. I still tried to get her to nurse but with every passing day I was getting more and more discouraged.
It was at three months almost to the date, that she was just sitting in my lap and all of a sudden started pulling at my shirt. I took this as a good sign and put her down to try and nurse- without really expecting much. She went right at it! Like she had been doing it all along! And ever since then has been a pro. She had expressed milk sometimes at grandma's or other sitters, but for the most part since three months it's been all nursing. :)
I had almost been ready to give up when she did that and I'm soooooooo glad I didn't. When she was nine months old she had an accident- tried to help my husband fold up the stroller- reached too far and fell out of his arms. She hit her head and was taken to ER in an ambulance. They did x-rays and CT scan of her head and it came back clean (they never cleaned up her face which was scraped and bruised- or gave her any pain meds!) and sent us home with the instructions to give her Tylenol and watch for a concussion. Well this little girl was in soo much pain- it was breaking my heart. Every time we touched her she'd scream- and when we picked her up or moved her...tear. When we took her to pediatrician the next day for follow-up she was so mad that they did not do x-rays of the rest of her body. Her leg had swollen to twice it's size. She sent us back and told us to expect it to be broken.
Well it was- the femur bone! The biggest bone in the body and the stupid hospital had sent her home! And that's not all. She was put in a cast up to her waist- couldn't bend or sit upright. Had almost been able to walk, but now at 13 months, is still just crusin along furniture. And to top it all off- the hospital called protective services because there was a major bone broke.
Well to make and extremely long story (yeah- much longer than it already is!) shorter- they investigated and even though my pediatrition, the orthapedic surgen who placed her cast, and the x-ray tech that did the x-ray all said it had been an accident, there was no sign of abuse at all- because the ER doc who had sent us home said that he thought it was abuse- they had to send her x-rays to a "specialist". This specialist took three months to do her little report and came back and said that there was no way the bone could have broke from the impact a fall like we had said! (we never said the bone broke from the impact either- we figure it was my husband grabbing her as she was falling) Well because of that they had to file a petition for removal from our home. We fought and negotiated her staying in the home with me while my husband is living with his mother! It's been almost a month like this and we have to wait for our next hearing on Tuesday (if it doesn't get postponed). My lawyer has said it's going to just get thrown out but it's done enough damage to our family. My husband had a chance at a job as a police officer in January, and now he can't get it because we were placed on a central registry list that says we are child abusers and it will take us months to get our name off. Even the lady that is doing the required home visits with us right now says this is absolutely ridiculous that we go above and beyond with our parenting.
Anyway.... sorry to put this on your post- I just start to go off anytime I tell this story! Can't wait until Tuesday to get it over with!
But back to breastfeeding, it helped so much during all this because it comforted her when she was in pain and comforted me when I just wanted to be close to her. I can't imagine stopping anytime soon even though she has started to show signs of stopping. She even told me "no" the other morning. :( It's been amazing and I recommend it to any new mom.
NAYASMOM
Posts: 2011
11/29/10 7:21 A
Wonderful story, good job. thanx for sharing :)
Fad
DD Naya born June 30,2006 via C-section
DD Théa born April 27, 2009 via C-section
My 2 girls rule my world (and their daddy's)
Naya was BF till 15m,
Thea was BF till 20m :)
BABYLOVE8485
Posts: 704
11/27/10 1:19 P
Thanks gals! I am a mother of 2 but I certainly have things that I have never ran across. I love this messageboard and I never know who needs help but is afraid to ask or be the one who doesn't want to admit they don't have the solution. I'm just giving my story and hopefully it will help someone in the process.
T Jonic- Use Lanolin for sore nipples. It's a godsend! And with regards to pulling off an on during nursings...it could be several problems. Do you have a strong letdown? Is it not fast enough? Does your baby come off and choke or come off and cry? If choking, it's probably too strong, if crying, you are probably not letting out fast enough. If your letdown is too fast, whenever the baby starts to nurse, and you feel the letdown, unlatch the baby and drip into a towel until the tingling sensation is gone, then relatch and it should come out smoothly for the baby. You can get sore nipples by the baby latching and unlatching multiple times during the feeding so really try to get a good latch at the beginning!
I can say my baby was truly about 4 mths old before I LOVED nursing. Not that he was difficult but we lived at the hospital and I was always trying to hide my chest and going into a quiet room was difficult. It was soooo much work, and I always had my daughter at the hospital too! Believe me. I've had friends who nursed 4 kids and tell me they have no clue how I ever nursed him so long with all his problems. I don't even know how we did it. I just knew that I was not picking up bottles! We had long nights and fussy mornings, but in the end, it was memorable and amazing! I want to shoot whoever made up formula. My daughter was formula fed...but nursing is such a great bond between Momma and baby. I'm not against formula, but it surely is different nursing! I LOVE IT! Good luck and feel free to mommymail me anytime:)
Life is a journey no matter how hard it may be. Embrace it now because the hurt won't last forever!
TZGREY
Posts: 6371
11/20/10 5:29 P
Wow, what a great story. It was beautifully written and it just made me smile from ear to ear. :)
Are you wondering if you should breastfeed you baby? Here are 101 reasons to breastfeed.
www.notmilk.com/101.html
MOMMAJENN13
Posts: 4195
11/18/10 3:36 P
Thanks for sharing!!! And GREAT JOB! You have a great story and I'm glad your son is doing wonderfully (and you gave me hope that my drive may someday come back!).
And on the drying up, I don't really know. After my DD weaned I could still get milk out occasionally up to a year later!
DD- L
2/1/07 7lbs 2 oz 20 1/2 inches long!
DS- D
5/24/10 7lbs 15oz 21 1/2 inches long!
BABYLOVE8485
Posts: 704
11/18/10 3:23 P
Thanks babe!
Edited by: BABYLOVE8485 at: 11/18/2010 (15:24)
Life is a journey no matter how hard it may be. Embrace it now because the hurt won't last forever!
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