Milk Factory

Wow I thought breastfeeding would be a beautiful thing. I mean for the most part it is, don't get me wrong. I get to spend one on one time with my son. Connecting and bonding on a level that is special to one the two of us(not to mention the money we save on formula, accelerated weight loss for Mom and reaping the rewards of natural immunity for Nate). It's altogheter amazing and a cherished moment except for the hours of 12am, 3am and 6am. And all those hours in between them.

Overall, Nate has latched on and learned how to nurse very effectively. He's pretty much a 3 hour feeder but has a very good habit of nursing on one side then falling asleep. I've tried to wake him up and do the other but sometimes he's too much into a deep sleep. Barabara (the lactation consultant) says that that's okay so long that he feeds a min of 3 times during a 24 hour period. If Nate falls alseep then he'll be up in 1-2 hours hungry again.

The cries of hunger are very different from the cries of uncomfortableness from a dirty or a wet diaper. The hunger cry is short and sounds like a car engine trying to turn over. If you make Nate wait to long for food then the car engine turns into a desperate wailing like a fire truck trying to rush to get to a fire.

Nate has come a long way, and I guess I have too. In the early days of breastfeeding if Nate was already upset and crying then he'd have a heck of a time latching on and calming down to nurse. Now three weeks later he has no problem locking in and nursing even in the middle of a fit. He knows what to look for and how to get it.

The only time Nate didn't want my brest milk was during the first week he was home. I was being selfish and wanted sushi. I hadn't had it in 9 months so it was first on my list of must haves, right ahead of coffee, wine and beer. I remember that night was the worst feeding nights we ever had. Nate just hated the breast milk and got fussier and fussier everytime we tried to nurse. He would take a drink and then cry his eyes out and nothing would calm him down. It think finally he broke down and nursed but he wasn't a big fan.

Today at 23 days old, I decided to no have my morning cup of coffee. I had read that you could have one cup a day and it would have a mild effect on the baby. But lately I had been having a larger cup each day and Nate wasn't so easy to soothe. He'd fuse and cry if he was in your arms and then really wail if you tried to put him down. So I experimented and cut out the morning coffee and afernoon tea. Today was day one of the experiement and Nate was a lot easier to handle. He slept better and longer on his own and didn't mind as much being put down. We'll sse how tomorow goes. It's bitter sweet becuase I want a calm baby but I also want my coffee. Oh well, decaf here I may come again.. sigh.