Feeding

Raindrops dot the screen with nothing in the forecast but it's still a beautiful night.

Feeding, nursing, whatever the term people go by, it's difficult. Knowledge I've gleaned from others is that it is different for each child and as I said in a previous post - it's a wonder we have survived thus far. It amazes me how a newborn has the instinct to nurse right out of the womb, akin to kittens knowing to use a litter box (and somehow they figure out how to nurse without a lactation consultant).

Liam seemed to figure it out well enough from the start and so did Mom. Albeit slow and painful, taking much of Mom's time throughout the day, it all seemed to go well and we though we were well on our way to having a healthy naturally-fed babe. Meagan's been a trooper from day one but the hourly feeding schedule that Liam seemed to prefer was wearing on both of us (mostly Mom though). Liam likes to camp out in the comfort of Mom's arms, acting like he's eating but mostly succumbing to the sandman while there so close to where he'd spent the last 9 months.

An alarming report on his lack of weight gain in week 3 from a lactation consultant hopefully got us on the right track of getting a fat baby. We are now supplementing the nursing with a combination of a super slim surgical tube attached to a bottle that can 'go alongside' with the nursing procedure so that he doesn't know the difference, feeding with a bottle after nursing, and the action of a mechanical pump to store up supply. Now our kitchen counter tops are occupied by breastfeeding paraphernalia. To think, the counters used to be cluttered by various tools related to home improvements before but I think a set of breast pump cups is a little more embarrassing to newcomers than some wrenches and screwdrivers - Welcome to parenthood and forgetting about embarrassment...

Liam's been eating all that we give him but it's become a two person job of holding the supplement bottle, tickling is feet and ears to keep him awake, etc. The good thing about it is that he sleeps, and sleeps and sleeps after eating now. The best thing is that now Mom gets to sleep longer than an hour at a time. Eat well young Liam, eat well.