boob feeding.

So one of the most stressful things about having an infant is breastfeeding. I was pretty vocal before I gave birth that I was more worried about breastfeeding than labor. Unfortunately, it has been pretty much as I feared. Initially, it was stressful because it was so painful, and having to show your latch to every nurse you meet in the hospital, for me, was a little daunting. Then it was stressful because we couldn't wake/keep up Anya enough to eat. I would just get her to latch and she would be out like a light. Later on we found out that that was a result of her jaundice, but at the time it was so frustrating. We found out it was contributing to her jaundice as she wasn't pushing enough through her system. (Which did not decrease my stress level about her feedings.) During her day-long hospitalization at Children's it was stressful because she was so over stimulated that she wouldn't latch at all. I ended up having to pump to relieve the pressure in my giant boobs and get some food for her. She ate exclusively from a bottle the whole time she was there, which left me with giant worries when we left to go home. Nipple confusion can happen to infants all the time- due to pacifier or bottle use too early. Since she was only a week or so, it was way to soon for her to be using a bottle. So I got some advice from the lactation consultant and prepared myself for death when when we got home. Death meaning crying, syringes, and other cumbersome methods of tricking/forcing the child back into liking boobs more than bottles. However, when we got home Anyara seemed fine with the boob and latched on just fine. It was only after 10-15 minutes of feeding when she would unlatch for a break that she would have trouble relatching. Enter the breast shield. The breast shield is a silicon layer that overlaps the nipple and makes it feel more like a bottle so not only does she latch on, but she relatches like a champ! Now the shield is supposed to be used as a weaning tool back to the breast, but I am so happy that she is eating well, that I am going to take my sweet time letting it go. Being able to feed my child well is a HUGE stress reliever. Now if I could only figure out why my left boob gives much less milk than my right the world would be as it should!