This photo thrills me because after my unsuccessful nursing stint with Wesley (and I call it a stint since I only nursed him for 10 weeks and I think only the first 3 days were exclusive), I was determined that I would exclusively breast feed Baby #2 as long as I was able. And so far -- 6 months -- I have been and her rolls are the proof of success.
How have things changed?
Well, first off, I'm no longer a doe-eyed first time mom. I realized that caring for a newborn is a massive undertaking, that your baby will nurse every minute of the day, and that maternity leave is not a vacation. I also had a fairly easy delivery which made the world of difference (for example, I was able get up and sit on a chair to nurse without wincing in pain).
Secondly, we changed doctors and I think this was the biggest impact. As much as the lactation consultants at the hospital helped me, having a compassionate pediatrician made more of a difference. At our previous pediatrician, the first few visits after coming home were with a baby nurse, not a doctor, and she pushed me to give formula because Wesley was jaundiced and had lost weight. There was no feedback on how I was nursing. I was a new scared mom and I did what they said. We switched doctors at 2 months. Our new doctors saw Claire in the hospital and at her visits. She had also lost weight and was jaundiced but they weren't concerned ... as they aptly put it, "Only 5% of jaundiced babies actually need formula yet they push it on 95% of them." As for the weight loss, "Just nurse every minute. It may seem like that's all you're doing and it will be." And that's all I needed to hear -- her jaundice went away, at 3 weeks she was back to birth weight and by 2 months she was up 4lbs.
Her 6 month appointment is Friday ... she was 15+lbs at 4 months, what could she be now? 17lbs?
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