I just wanted to take the time and THANK all of my readers who were so supportive of my last blog. I was surprised by the response and also by the confessions. Thank you for being so honest and sharing your own experience. I think the time has finally come for all us Mommies to be honest with ourselves and each other. I'm hoping that one day being honest is the norm and being perfect is no longer mandatory.
Some questions that were asked after the last post.
Does my 2nd baby sleep? Well yes and no. Much better than my first. She was sleeping through the night almost 8 hours, until I returned to work. Figures right? She still wakes between 2 and 4 but will go back to sleep with a bottle. I get much better sleep, but I'm still co sleeping with her. So it is what it is. I'm not shy, because it's the only way I get sleep. If I don't sleep, I'm not happy, and if I'm not happy... Well you get the picture.
How did breastfeeding go the second time around? Well good and bad. Good, because I started pumping the first night. I was up to 2oz by day 2 and had filled a shoe box by the end of the first week. Mackenzie didn't latch, but then again I didn't try too hard. I had decided way before she was born that I would pump exclusively and give her a bottle. I didn't want another failure at latching to foil my efforts. The bad? Well because of a post pardum hemorrhage, where I in fact lost almost 2 pints of blood, I had to take a massive amount of iron. If you have ever taken iron supplements you know what they do to the body. Well it was having an effect on my milk. I know, every article, lactation specialist, and many other breastfeeding moms swore to me that my meds were not being passed in my milk. However my milk had an orange tint, Mac's poops were now black, and she screamed with gas for at least 4 hours a night. Both my pediatrician and my OB said it was possible that I was sharing my iron supplements with her.
Here was my conclusion on the situation. If the "books" tell you not to eat spicy or dairy if your baby is having gas or is fussy, then why wouldn't my iron pills be a problem too? I mean I wasn't supposed to drink alcohol or caffeine either. Also, after one memorable pumping session of being hooked up and having my baby scream at me, I then found my toddler Swiffering the floor with an entire bottle of Swiffer. I guess it was her way of telling me the floor was dirty. It was also my clue that I wasn't paying enough attention to her either. Two weeks in, I put the pump away.
Formula is not an F word. It worked for Mackenzie and she started sleeping better and didn't scream during the "witching hour". Plus she cut teeth at 3 months, so there you go. She has gotten almost expressly formula and has almost 11 teeth. I can't say it's the formula, but maybe I can.
I'm not anti breast milk or breastfeeding, I'm glad it nourishes most of the babies that are born. I just wish someone had told be it's not the end all be all to being a mother.
Thanks again to everyone who takes the time to read this blog and give me the indulgence of having readers. I enjoy your comments as much as I enjoy writing. This has been a great gift to myself, and I hope that you'll continue on your end and keep posting comments. Much love to my other "Absolute Mommies".
Happy Blogging,
Megan
