Call me Bessie!

It's seriously hard to find time to blog with a newborn baby. In fact, as I'm writing this post I am pumping breast milk for Olivia while she takes a nap. I have got to get on a more regular schedule with pumping b/c my breast are getting lumpy and kinda sore. Even with help here, it's hard to be on a schedule. Olivia's needs really sets the pace of how things will go, everything else happens when it happens.

The "plan" was to exclusively breastfeed her. But finding out that she was low-intermediate w/jaundice sent that plan packing. When we left the hospital 3 days after my c-section, my milk still had not come in completely. A few drops here and there but certainly not enough to nourish my hungry child. So upon the recommendation of the pediatrician at the hospital we started to supplement with formula. Enfamil Lipil has been working well. Slowly, but surely Olivia has weened herself off of her mother's nipple and now I'm pumping using the Medela Pump In Style so that she still gets the same nutrition she would if she were taking it straight from the breast. She's getting the best of both worlds with the breast milk and formula and it has certainly helped to rid her of the jaundice.

Pumping breast milk is truly a labor or love b/c its hella uncomfortable. Maybe my nipples haven't toughened up enough yet, but after having her gnaw on them for her first three days of life I figured they could withstand anything. I do like the Medela Pump In Style, it gets the job done and it comes in a cute little backpack which makes hauling it's accessories around much easier. I have a new appreciation for cows and what they go through to supply milk to the masses. Its still amazes me that my body even produces milk when 10+ months ago it did not. The female body is a mighty wonder!