...and now we're here!
This first month has been one of the most challenging & frustrating but rewarding and happy months that I've ever experienced. Taking care of a newborn truly makes you "flexible" with your schedule. I am such a planner by nature. Now I may try to plan out our day, but I'm lucky if the tiniest portion of that plan works out - frustrating. I've found that it's easier not to plan in these early weeks unless we have somewhere we MUST be at a certain time. It just isn't worth putting forth all that effort just to be defeated. Ha.
Grey has experienced several challenges since birth, which resulted in the need for Chad & I to be more flexible. (There's that word again...flexible. LOL.) Initially in the hospital, not unlike many mothers, I experienced challenges with nursing. It was just SOOOOO PAINFUL!!!! The hospital staff (nurses & lactation consultants) kept telling me that Grey was latching wonderfully, and that I shouldn't be experiencing "toe-curling" pain...but that's exactly what I was dealing with. Toe. Curling. Pain.
Grey seemed fine - similar to other newborns - except he was having his own challenge with nursing...
The night before we were discharged, the Newborn Nursery nurse identified that he had tongue-tie. I was thankful for her thorough assessment, as we now knew why his nursing was going so poorly. It appeared that he was nursing correctly from the outside, but we couldn't see his tongue movements on the inside. That is what was causing my pain. The nurses explained that the pediatrician should be able to clip the tongue tie the next morning (an easy and relatively painless procedure for Grey), which would quickly resolve his issues. Unfortunately, the pediatrician (hospitalist - not our pediatrician) refused to clip the tongue-tie citing insurance issues and the fact that the tongue-tie should "work itself out" as he ages. I was furious, as I am employed by an insurance company and know how these things work. Never mind that the poor boy couldn't eat! Thankfully we had a visit with Grey's pediatrician the next day, and I planned to discuss it with them at that point. The continued tongue-tie challenges made our first afternoon/night at home ridiculously exhausting & terribly frustrating. There were more than a few tears shed that night.
Grey seemed fine - similar to other newborns - except he was having his own challenge with nursing...
The night before we were discharged, the Newborn Nursery nurse identified that he had tongue-tie. I was thankful for her thorough assessment, as we now knew why his nursing was going so poorly. It appeared that he was nursing correctly from the outside, but we couldn't see his tongue movements on the inside. That is what was causing my pain. The nurses explained that the pediatrician should be able to clip the tongue tie the next morning (an easy and relatively painless procedure for Grey), which would quickly resolve his issues. Unfortunately, the pediatrician (hospitalist - not our pediatrician) refused to clip the tongue-tie citing insurance issues and the fact that the tongue-tie should "work itself out" as he ages. I was furious, as I am employed by an insurance company and know how these things work. Never mind that the poor boy couldn't eat! Thankfully we had a visit with Grey's pediatrician the next day, and I planned to discuss it with them at that point. The continued tongue-tie challenges made our first afternoon/night at home ridiculously exhausting & terribly frustrating. There were more than a few tears shed that night.
The next morning, we met with one of the nurses at Grey's pediatrician's office, who was also a lactation consultant (LC). She immediately examined his tongue-tie and commented on how severe it was. She grabbed one of the doctors on duty that morning, and they clipped it immediately. The whole procedure was so quick. Grey was back in my arms & tearless within a few minutes. The nurse/LC then watched him nurse - again commenting on how well he was latching. Unfortunately, by this time, Grey had lost 11.5% of his birth weight. (Anything more than 10% is concerning to medical professionals.) So it was recommended that we start supplementing with formula. I honestly felt a bit of relief when the LC told me this. I just knew he was uncomfortable (since we were unintentionally starving him), and this made me happy. It's odd how much better I felt when the LC gave us the "thumbs up" to start formula. I'm not sure if that is because all the attention & controversy around formula feeding/not breast feeding...or if I just needed someone else to tell me what I already was feeling in my gut. Anyway...in an effort not to cause nipple confusion, it was agreed upon to supplement the formula at the breast using a thin tube attached to a syringe. I'm going to spare you the details on this process, but let's just say it's a two person job for each feeding. (You can contact me if you want the specifics.) We continued this process for about 3 1/2 days...but it truly seemed like 3 1/2 MONTHS! This was a terribly complex & frustrating process for both myself, the "helper" AND Grey - not only with the process itself but also because we still had no idea exactly how much milk Grey was receiving.
It was after my third visit with the LC and the realization that my body just wasn't going o produce an adequate amount of breastmilk to sustain Grey that we knew that the supplementation of formula was here to stay. Due to the complexity of the process to supplement at the breast, I decided to start pumping & adding the breastmilk to the formula bottle. This would also allow me a break and others to bond with Grey during feeding. After a few feeds in this manner, Grey's temperament completely changed. He was much calmer...and he also began to gain weight in a consistent manner. Yahoo!!! I realized at this point that this was the best option for Grey and for our family as a whole.
Unfortunately due to further complications with pumping & breastmilk supply, we switched to full formula feeds just before 4 weeks.
Now for the last 2 weeks, we've been dealing with reflux & gas issues - more frustration for Grey...and us. *sigh* We've switched to different formulas and started Grey on Zantac. The Zantac seemed to improve his reflux symptoms some, but he seems to be more bothered by his gas lately. So we changed his formula again today to Enfamil Gentlease, which is know to assist with gas & spit up. We may still need to adjust his meds for the reflux but are attempting to only make one change at a time in an effort to really understand if the change is helpful.
All of these issues have been - of course - on top of all the normal newborn struggles. It's been tough, and has totally tested our family. The frustration stems mostly from the fact that we're not able to "fix" what is causing issues for Grey. You feel helpless. I just want him to talk to me and tell me what he needs. Ha. Wouldn't that be nice. Instead it's trial and error. He is such a dream when he's not bothered by these symptoms, which makes it all the more frustrating.
It was after my third visit with the LC and the realization that my body just wasn't going o produce an adequate amount of breastmilk to sustain Grey that we knew that the supplementation of formula was here to stay. Due to the complexity of the process to supplement at the breast, I decided to start pumping & adding the breastmilk to the formula bottle. This would also allow me a break and others to bond with Grey during feeding. After a few feeds in this manner, Grey's temperament completely changed. He was much calmer...and he also began to gain weight in a consistent manner. Yahoo!!! I realized at this point that this was the best option for Grey and for our family as a whole.
Unfortunately due to further complications with pumping & breastmilk supply, we switched to full formula feeds just before 4 weeks.
Now for the last 2 weeks, we've been dealing with reflux & gas issues - more frustration for Grey...and us. *sigh* We've switched to different formulas and started Grey on Zantac. The Zantac seemed to improve his reflux symptoms some, but he seems to be more bothered by his gas lately. So we changed his formula again today to Enfamil Gentlease, which is know to assist with gas & spit up. We may still need to adjust his meds for the reflux but are attempting to only make one change at a time in an effort to really understand if the change is helpful.
All of these issues have been - of course - on top of all the normal newborn struggles. It's been tough, and has totally tested our family. The frustration stems mostly from the fact that we're not able to "fix" what is causing issues for Grey. You feel helpless. I just want him to talk to me and tell me what he needs. Ha. Wouldn't that be nice. Instead it's trial and error. He is such a dream when he's not bothered by these symptoms, which makes it all the more frustrating.
I'll leave you with a few fun pics of Grey. Wish us luck on our reflux journey!
Cheers!
