I am sooooooo proud of you all! That's wonderful news and has made my day. Seriously, I just did the happy dance for you. I hope you are finally able to sit back and breathe sighs of relief knowing how well you have all done. Pat yourselves on the back and give each other great big hugs for me. How lucky you are to have each other and what a testament to how important support from family is during hard times like these. And kiss that baby boy for me and thank him for all the hard work he's done, as well. He knows mommy has the good stuff and loves him ever so much.
Hi Liane, just want to let you know how things are going. I've only used the SNS a few times, I've found it to be more of a hindrance than a help. I seem to be getting about 5-6 ounces a day, 4 on a not so great one. I'm not doing the night pumping, if I could I would but I just find it too hard to do. I have managed to get him back on my breast a couple of times though. The other day, I breastfed him 3 times, yesterday he just wouldn't take my breast at all but this morning I breastfed him again. He was on for quite a while & it seemed like he was falling asleep so I tried to take him off but when I did, he started crying. How long should I keep him on for? Because I'm not really sure if he's even on right anymore (and frankly, I don't care right now). When I'm pumping, I have to really massage my breasts to get the milk to come out so I don't know if when he's on if he's getting my milk to come out or if he just likes the sucking feeling.
Hey! Sorry it took me so long to get back to you guys. I've been having an extra busy life lately.
I'm so glad you've been able to nurse more and that you're still hanging in there. ANY of your milk he gets is certainly worth the effort for him. So, remember that when you get discouraged. I know pumping is no fun.
As far as your question about how long you should nurse him when he does nurse -- I'd say as long as he stays there, since his nursing is serendipitious at this point. Whether he's nursing for sustenance or for the comfort and satisfaction of his sucking urge, it's not hurting anything. He may just be becoming aware of his preferences and is beginning to prefer mommy over a bottle. If he seems to fall asleep, try the breast compressions to spur him on. Also, if you take him off and he cries, switch him to the other side. To me, it's great that he didn't want to stop! Whoo-hoo! You've come a long way, baby!
So, sit back, relax and look down at him and marvel at how much he's grown and remind yourself that in no time he's gonna be mobile and it may be hard for you to get him to settle down for some snuggle time for even a minute.
About the SNS -- When you have time, tell me about your experiences with it. I'm still learning, too, and would like to know specifically how it was more of a hindrance than a help to you. Let me know which brand you used, as well, and whether you were able to access the videos I suggested as well as any other learning tools you used.
Question: I understand about the nighttime thing, given your health concerns. During the day, are you offering to nurse him when he gets fussy, before you give a bottle. If not, try this now. Don't wait for him to get too hungry because he won't be patient enough with nursing at that point. But, if you offer to nurse at the earliest signs that he's getting hungry, you might be surprised at how much he might nurse. What do you think about that? Let me know . . .
I'm proud to have you as a friend and will be thinking about you and sending good vibes your way.
Glad to hear things are improving, gals! Keep us posted! The more you understand about how things work, the better you'll do so read, read, read and nurse, nurse, nurse. Before long, he'll be running around and you'll be wishing back for the time he was just a little 3 month old nursey baby.
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