I'll try to remember as much as I can from yesterday- everything's blending together because it's moving so fast!! Again, a lot to write so I'm not proofing the below- good luck! Hope it makes sense...
WEDNESDAY
Today was the big day- trying breastfeeding!! He did the 8:30am bottle feed as normal because we wanted to make sure he had ramped up enough in amount to handle a feed from me (where we can't really tell how much he's getting). I got a great report from the pediatrician- Liam has done well tolerating his feeds increasing, he's not spitting up any unusual amounts or colors, he's pooping regularly, and his belly has remained soft (a hard belly would indicate back up from an obstruction). He will have his TPN (nutrition that he's been getting through the IV in his head that feeds directly into his bloodstream via a tiny line that runs down a blood vessel to just above his heart) discontinued later that night so we can see if he'll gain weight with just the milk on his own (which he has to do to be discharged). He had a little swelling in his legs, but they think it's the extra fluids so yet another reason to discontinue the TPN.
Liam and I had a lunch date scheduled for 11am with the lactation consultant (and my mom who was back visiting before heading home). The lactation consultant was a HUGE help. Even though I breastfed Riley with ease, it was also over 6 years ago and he breastfed as soon as he was pulled out. Liam was just learning how to feed period and now we were working backwards from bottle to breast. He also has the leads and the IV line to work around too which can make things cumbersome. There was so much to remember- I was working hard!
There are many ways to get him to latch on, but we started with a belly-to-belly approach where he lays across my lap on the Boppy (a C-shaped pillow awesome for breastfeeding) with his tummy against mine and one of my arms going up his back so my hand is on the back of his head. This way I can control his head position and provide him support from the back so he feels secure. The other hand was guiding "lunch" into his mouth until he got a good hold on what he should be doing. Once he got latched on well, the consultant pointed out things to look for to make sure he was getting a good feed (head, ear, and shoulder alignment, checking his bottom lip for a good seal, making sure his nose, cheeks, and chin were right up against me so he was getting a good position, and finally listening and looking for a swallow to make sure he was getting food in him and not just treating me like a pacifier). I told you it was a lot of information!! Liam was a champ- he had no "nipple confusion" as they call it, I think he was just happy he was still getting fed he didn't care what packaging it came in!
The feed was a success and I was elated! Breastfeeding was so important to accomplish, especially for him, because my body will produce more milk if I breastfeed vs pumping (weird how it can tell a difference). It definitely saves me time because I don't spend my free moments pumping- I can do other things! Either way, I need to try to produce for him as long as I can for the first year (even if we do bottle after teething starts) because my body will specially formulate the milk to help aid his intestine repair (crazy how the body just KNOWS). You might recall the statistic the GI surgeon gave us during the consult- gastro babies that aren't fed with breast milk have a 50% higher chance of their intestines becoming necrotic (dying) and needing them cut out. Talk about pressure to keep the meals coming! Let's not forget the bonding between mother and baby when they're sharing that time nursing either. I still recall how much I loved nursing Riley, even those middle of the night feeds. Nothing better then seeing a fat baby with a milk drool all happy and sleepy after a good feed. You don't get those moments for long so I try to enjoy them while I can.
Off I went to celebrate our success with lunch with my mom, aunt, and Steve's parents. Everyone got a full update on the morning and Liam's hard work. Liam's afternoon feed was just as good so I was thrilled it wasn't a fluke. Then Shez and Mal drove me back to Daphne so I could take Riley to his basketball practice. Riley's needed some extra attention this week as he's quickly growing tired of the new arrangement. He was so psyched about going to practice so I just had to go home! It was good to be home for the second day in a row, even if it was for just a few hours. It was a gorgeous nearly-spring day and I was feeling good so Riley and I played around in the backyard for a while enjoying the fresh air and each other. He had a great night at practice and has really learned a lot in the short season. You can tell he's really trying to master the new skills- his coach is pretty great with the kids.
Again, the day ended all too soon and Steve and I were back on the road to Pensacola to see Liam for the evening. Riley didn't lose it when we left, but he was also nonchalant. It was probably better to not make a big production of us going. I still get sad when we start driving back to Florida. I'm ready to be living in my house again and not just visiting. I'm ready for all of my family to be under one roof. I'm ready for Riley to meet his brother.
The report Steve and I got when we made it up to NICU was that Liam had a great dinner-time feed from a bottle. Switching back and forth has been ok so far! Liam and I got to show off to daddy what we had worked so hard on that day- our night time feeding. Steve was impressed with how great Liam did breastfeeding. Another milestone passed! Now we just need to make sure this is a consistent thing- go Liam, go!
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