24 Hours with a New Mom

by Katie Black

I spent 24 hours with a new mom and her newborn who she’s hoping to exclusively breastfeed. This is what I learned…

Expect the unexpected.

Zara* wasn’t expecting Joel* to make an appearance for another three weeks, but he clearly had other plans.

Thankfully, the birth went well and Joel was born happy and healthy. Zara had planned to exclusively breastfeed and chose a Baby-Friendly Hospital for the birth. At her prenatal appointments her doctor was supportive and informative about that decision.

Right after Joel was born, the hospital staff laid him on Zara’s stomach and he stayed there until breastfeeding was initiated within an hour. Both of these practices are linked to long-term successful breastfeeding.

Lactation Consultants are your friends.

The hospital provided a Lactation Consultant (LC) to help with starting breastfeeding. Joel was able to latch on one breast, but struggled with the other. The LC guided Zara on how to hold Joel in a way where Zara’s anatomy was closer to the breast he preferred and voila! He was able to latch.

Back at home the problem didn’t magically go away. It took some patience and practice to get the positioning just right for each feeding.

It’s OK to accept help.

There were still several things on Zara’s to do and to buy lists in preparation for the baby’s arrival. I picked up nipple butter, nursing pads, liquid IVs, snacks, and veggies that are great for healing and breastfeeding.

But Zara said what was most helpful was having people around so she could stay awake for regular nursing sessions.

Setbacks are not failures.

A little bit later Joel started having diarrhea and the nurse hotline recommended bringing him in to get checked out and make sure he wasn’t dehydrated.

At the hospital the staff gave Joel a pacifier that wasn’t labeled “breastfeeding safe” and they also had to give him some formula because he needed to eat and wasn’t able to latch at all. They determined he had a mild case of jaundice and recommended sunlight through a window for 15 minutes a day. They also gave Zara formula to go home with just in case.

On the way back from the hospital they bought bottles and a pump.

Joel was still unable to latch so Zara started pumping and bottle feeding breast milk instead. She worried that the pacifier and bottles ruined her chances of direct breastfeeding.

It’s a LOT of work.

It seemed like as soon as a pumping session was over it was time for a feeding session and then it was time to change a diaper and then straight back to another feeding session. I felt tired just watching.

Joel was actually feeding about every two hours, and drank an average of one ounce per session but it sure felt like more!

Things can change.

When I left he was still only drinking breast milk from the bottle. Zara hated pumping but she still really wanted him to exclusively have breast milk and wasn’t ready to give up on direct breastfeeding.

Four days later Zara met with a breastfeeding counselor who was able to help Joel reestablish a latch. He can now switch back and forth between the breast and bottle!

Be kind to yourself.

Above all I learned that you can do all the research and do all the right things and still struggle with breastfeeding.

Looking back, Zara thinks it was the stress of the hospital that made it hard for him to latch, and not the pacifier or nibs, but at the time she blamed herself.

Zara and Joel are still figuring it out together and are taking it one day and one feed at a time. Things haven’t become “second nature” and there’s still ups and downs, but overall they’re doing well…minus the lack of sleep of course.

*Names changed for privacy

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