.11 lbs 12 oz of sweetness.

Breastfeeding... As women, most of us think that when we have a baby we will breastfeed. I mean naturally our bodies are built for it and it's best for our babies. Even as young girls, we understand the nursing is natural. Take Rylynn for example, she said to me "Auntie Leah, you can have another baby cause you have two milk jugs!". But no one really ever tells you how hard it can be.

Right from the moment Nyah was born I struggled with nursing. I felt so strongly that it was something I wanted to do but it just seemed like the odds were stacked against me. In the hospital, Nyah lost almost 10% of her body weight and had jaundice so they wouldn't let us go home. I remember the doctor saying to me that I was going to have to give her a bottle with formula because my milk just wasn't there yet and she was losing too much weight. Even though the doctor said it was normal for mom's who went into labour early and had c-sections to not have their milk come in right away, I felt so upset and discouraged. I cried and cried because I was so worried that if she took a bottle that she would never take the breast and I so desperately wanted that experience with my girl. Luckily, I had an amazing nurse and she gave me an option to try before resorting to the bottle. It's called s & s feed. I would put Nyah on the breast and feed a small tube into her mouth while she was sucking. She would be supplemented thru this tube with formula while still stimulating the breast to help bring in my milk. After breastfeeding her I would then try and pump with the breast pump. Although the s&s feeds and pumping was exhausting and a lot of work to do in the wee hours of the morning, it worked! After 5 days in the hospital Nyah's weight was up enough that we could go home.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of our breastfeeding challenges. The doctor's continued to monitor Nyah's weight and she just wasn't gaining at the rate they wanted. She had a lot of making up to do because of the drastic loss in the beginning. I was still trying to pump and would only get half an ounce to an ounce if I was lucky. Not to mention, it hurt so much! The doctor decided to put me on Domperidone, a medication that helps bring in breast milk. I started on a fairly low dose of 2 pills twice a day but it just wasn't enough. Eventually, I started taking 2 pills 4 times a day. At every doctor's visit they would weigh Nyah and she continued to be in the very low percentile.

After working with the doctor's for weeks it was suggested that I go see a lactation consultant. You can imagine how terrible it felt to constantly be worried if Nyah was hungry and if she was getting enough so I was happy to get the additional help. At our first visit we had to come in before a feeding so they could weigh Nyah with an empty stomach. After they weighed her, I feed her and then they took her weight again. She was only up 2 ounces. Although, that was only estimate it gave us the idea that maybe I just didn’t make a lot of milk. The nurse suggested that I top Nyah up with formula if she was displaying signs of hunger after nursing and that I increase my water intake. She told us to come back in 6 days and we would weigh Nyah again. The goal was an ounce day except on Sunday. After 6 days Nyah gained 10 ounces!! The nurse was very happy with the progress and said that what I was doing was working!

We have continued on this road of 2 pills four times a day, drinking tons of water and topping her up with formula if she still looks hungry for a couple weeks now. We make so many bottles and throw so much formula away because I always think she's still hungry but more often than not she fine. Today we had a doctor’s appointment and I'm so thrilled because Nyah is finally out of the low percentile for weight! She's now 11lbs 12ounces!! I'm so happy that things are working and my girl is growing! Breastfeeding can be soooooooo hard but the rewards are so great if you can stick with it.