Still Struggling, but Hanging in There

Today is day seven of Maya’s nipple confusion saga. Just to bring you up to date, Maya has started to show preference to the bottle and is giving me a very hard time when I am trying to nurse her. I am not ready to stop nursing and struggling to keep it going. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but I know that things will work themselves out. It’s just going to take some time. The second day was by far, the worst and so far we haven’t had a day that came close to it, thank goodness. I guess that can be considered a good sign.

I spoke with a lactation consultant and I have been doing all the right things out of instinct. I keep Maya moving from the left side to the right and vice versa. If that doesn’t work, I change positions. I have not broken down and given her a bottle at all. If she starts crying, I stop and calm her down and then try again. I guess the most important thing the consultant offered was hope. It can be done. She can learn to nurse and bottle feed. She also suggested taking Maya to a quiet room, maybe even a darker room to nurse and also swaddling Maya. These things have been working. Maya is super alert and is easily distracted. Whenever possible, I try to nurse her away from Jayden, TV off, curtains drawn etc. Maya has also been moving around quite a bit during nursing so the swaddling helps.

I have noticed that Maya nurses completely normal late in the evening and throughout the early morning hours. During the day, the struggles continue. The consultant urged me to pump after each nursing session to keep my milk up. If Maya is getting less milk out, it may signal the body to produce less milk. In doing so, I can see that Maya is getting out the majority of my milk, but leaves behind anywhere from ½ ounce to an ounce. Although I did have some struggles today, it was the easiest day so far and I hope it is a sign of relief. If you have any additional ideas, I’d love to hear them. Someone suggested I dip my nipples in sugar water. I haven’t tried that one yet!