"I was determined not to give him a bottle but we ended up having to supplement with a little formula when he was first born because his blood sugar was low, and he smelled different to me. By the time I left the hospital, we had figured it out, but it was so painful.”
- Rebecca Minkoff
I went to a breastfeeding class last night. It was 2 1/2 hours long...and initially I thought, how in the world can someone talk about breastfeeding for TWO and A HALF HOURS. But really I was scribbling notes the whole time and I feel like I could sit through it again and still learn more. Our bodies are truly amazing.
To be honest...it was all a little overwhelming, though and Mr. D was at a networking thing downtown and couldnt make it. So, in an auditorium swimming with couples, I was starting to feel like I was in over my head. Sitting there cradling my chosen stuffed animal (a blue rhino, of course) I felt my breathing quicken and started to really wish I had brought my water bottle in with me.
I called Rob during our second break. Staring at my reflection in the darkened hospital windows outside of the auditorium, I listened anxiously for his voice. When I asked where he was, he said... "Looking at you." I squinted through the glass into the night and sure enough there was my handsome husband walking straight toward me.
As we made our way back into the auditorium, I felt a renewed since of confidence. We can do this. [I think. I hope.]
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Here's a shout out to all of the dad's in that class last night...and especially to my man who even took a few notes and managed to stifle only a couple of chuckles : ) He's the best.
photograph of Rebecca Minkoff and her son from THE GLOW
10 comments:
this is what makes rob so damn great. congratulations! breastfeeding is the best feeding!
agreed! on both counts.
I've followed your blog for a few months now but I'm not sure if I've ever commented before. My husband went to the breastfeeding class with me too. I was so glad he did. I had the exact opposite happen though. In my class I felt totally confident that it would be the easiest thing in the world for me and it wasn't. I have a thyroid condition that made it near impossible for me to produce enough but for some reason my dr. didn't mention that it would be an issue until after I was already struggling. I actually wrote about it on my blog today...I hope it works out easily for you!
Thank you for your comment, Emily! I thought breastfeeding seemed so simple, but after hearing so many people struggle with it I knew I needed to educate myself a little better on it. Our bodies are so amazing and intricately made! I really hope it works out, but I know there are so many things that can happen that I might not be able to plan for. Your doctor should have told you before you struggled, though!! You are so strong to deal with everything you have to with hypothyroidism..I had no idea it caused so many side affects. You and your baby girl are both beautiful!
Ugh! Don't get me started on nursing. I hope it's easy for you! I gave up after too much pain and frustration. I exclusively pumped for the first 6 weeks and then couldn't handle it anymore! He's on formula and it's much less stressful. I felt guilty about it for a long time. Each baby is different. I hope my next one will be more cooperative. Good luck!
Try not to stress! Maybe I'm just naive because I got lucky and it was very easy for us, but there's not THAT much to nursing, despite all the interesting facts and tips and tricks you can learn. I don't think any of those facts can truly make or break the experience. It's all very natural, the baby is built for it and the nurses can help. And some bodies just don't produce enough milk, or it's very difficult for some other reason, and I think that's okay too. Formula is by no means the end of the world:) Just my two cents--I can't help chiming in on baby-related topics!
I had a lot of trouble with breastfeeding at first but I'm so glad it ended up working out. Especially with Evie's milk allergies. Remember to call me (day or night) if/when you need help with it!
And it's so great Rob could come to your class. Mike and I attended a childbirth class together and he about died of boredom, haha!
You guys are awesome!! Thank you for all of your comments and encouraging words.
girl ... now you've done it. You can't open yourself up to baby topics, it's so different for everyone. I'm going to chime in with whoever said that you were made for it. Sometimes there are issues and when there are you and baby are still okay! We are lucky to have formulas that are great and it brings in dad to help. I've done both and there are pluses to both, which, when I was breastfeeding I thought I would never say. No worries big girl, you got this!!!
Michel - pretty sure dad's not going to be around to help except on Sundays and we wont have enough money to buy formula...so lets do hope I've got this!! : )
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