Succeeding
My Second Time Around
Succeeding My Second Time Around
by Alida Justiniano  When I had my first son, William, I didn't have much knowledge of nursing and didn't know how important it was
for my child's health.
Living in someone else's home didn't help either so I stopped when he was three months old.Five years later I bought a house, got pregnant and promised myself that I wouldn't give up and continue nursing longer. I read more books and gave myself more knowledge than I ever thought I could. The day came when my little Nathaniel (Noonoo) was born. He latched on great and fed from me numerous times until it was time to go home. Unfortunately my Noonoo couldn't come home because he developed jaundice and needed additional treatment from the nurses. I felt so empty and depressed. The nurses didn't even give the suggestion for me to pump out my milk and I thought nothing of it so I gave them permission to give him a bottle of formula. The next day we finally went home together and luckily he still knew how to nurse. About a week later I was experiencing excruciating pain while nursing him. I spoke to a breast-feeding counselor at the hospital where I gave birth and she said I had developed thrush and also gave it to my baby. I was cured and so was my baby but for some reason things got worse. I wound up getting bad cracks on both of my nipples that just absolutely killed me when I nursed him. I was walking around the house with nothing on just to let them "air out" as they say. That didn't help. It hurt so bad I would cringe and cry every time it was time to feed him.  I went to my GYN clinic and they told me the cracks were really bad and that I had to stop nursing. I felt so heartbroken that I cried all day. I
had educated myself so much and tried so hard because I wanted to give my baby only the best.I though so many times that maybe it just wasn't meant for me to nurse. I didn't know what to do and thought this is just too much to bear. I should just quit!! But I didn't. With the support of my husband pushing me on I took matters into my own hands. In between nursing I would use ointment and wipe it clean when he was ready to nurse. I also pumped once in a while to give myself even more time to heal while he was being fed by his father with a bottle. I was home for a week doing this and airing out until I finally got healed. My Noonoo is now 19 months old and weighs a good 23 lbs and 9 oz. I feel so proud of myself for not giving up. We've come a long way and who knows when I'll stop but for now we're enjoying every minute of it!!! |
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