Patience and Persistence

I haven't written in a while due to both the holiday and the demands of mommyhood. But I wanted to take the time to write about my experience thus far with breastfeeding and colic and what each has taught me.
Breastfeeding definitely has its ups and downs and although its very natural, it has to be learned. While I was pregnant Jon and I attended a breastfeeding class at the hospital. We learned all about the benefits of breastfeeding your baby along with different latch techniques and much more. One of the fun facts that really stood out to me was that formula only has about 30 nutrients in it as opposed to breastmilk's over 200! I was really excited to breastfeed and as soon as Jareth was born I asked the nurse when I would be able to feed him. Within the hour I was nursing. The first time was great. Jareth seemed to know exactly what to do and did a full 15 minutes on each side. I thought it was going to be easy. Famous last words, right? Well, three hours later it was time to feed him again. This time Jareth completely forgot what he was doing and I ended up with a small blister. Three hours after that there were two blisters and after the next feeding I was raw and ready to give up. Then my lovely nurse introduced me to the "nipple shield" and God bless her! I love that thing! We figured out that there was a...well, anatomical issue. Lets just say there isn't a lot to latch onto and we had to figure out how to get the most out of what I have. So, I used some lanolin until I healed and used the shield to feed him. It was such a better experience. I still use it 7 weeks later, not everytime but a lot of the time. Some people think you shouldn't use it, but in my opinion its fine. He is still getting the benefits of a breast fed baby, skin to skin contact and of course breastmilk. It doesn't hurt anymore when I feed him without the shield but he seems to be able to get more milk when I use it. So, we still use it and I recommend it to any new breastfeeding mom!
The second thing I want to write about is the "C" word. Yep, COLIC. When a baby has colic he or she cries throughout the day without reason. Some colic babies only cry in the morning or afternoon and some cry on and off throughout the entire day but each crying for hours at a time. There isn't much you can do for a baby with colic. Swaddling, singing, rocking, and all the regular stuff can help sometimes but most of the time you just have to wait it out. Sometimes it's a lactose issue and breastfeeding moms are told not to eat/drink milk products and formula fed babies are switched to soy to see if that helps. Recently studies have shown that babies with colic who are given pro-biotics have less crying time. There is some controversy surrounding colic. Some people say its just a phase that has to be waited out while others press home remedies and medicine. I say there is a balance between the two. Jareth went to the doctor yesterday after a week of persistent crying. After a physical exam along with blood, urine, and stool tests the doctor said he was perfectly healthy but has all the symptoms of colic. To rule out a lactose problem I am staying away from milk products and also caffiene in case that is bothering him. Also we are puting him on biogaia which is a pro-biotic. (at $40 a bottle I sure hope it does something for him) For me on an emotional level its been a tough week. It's kind of bittersweet. After a week of worrying that he was sick or in pain I am glad to find out that he is healthy. But I am sad to find that there isn't much I can do for my baby during these long fits of crying. It breaks my heart not to be able to console him. I fearfully wonder what could be going on inside of him chemically to make him cry so much. I've barely put him down this week and nothing has gotten done around the house. But I realized that the chores can wait. As long as we have clean clothes and dishes everything else can wait. Both Thursday and Friday we just spent the day in bed and cuddled. What seems to help Jareth most is tight swaddling and warm baths. He also likes to lay chest to chest. Colic isn't supposed to last longer than three months of age. Hopefully it won't last that long but at least there is an end in sight.
Between breastfeeding him and his colicky behavior, Jareth has taught me a lot of patience and persistence.