First of all let me say that I'm a huge supporter of breastfeeding. I'm not one of those moms that looks down on women who choose to formula feed, I say to each his own, but I personally believe in breastfeeding. Before I had my daughter, I always said that come hell or high water, she would be breastfed. Every mom has to make that decision for themselves and I had made my mind up. That was how it was going to be. And that's how it was...I went through hell and high water getting her to breastfeed.
It was very rough at first. She would latch but not eat. Every feeding was an hour and a half of both me and my husband working together to get her fed. Trying to nurse, pumping, feeding her my milk, supplementing with formula...only to have to repeat the whole process an hour and a half later. We went to several lactation consultant visits, anything we could do to get help. I think it was difficult for my husband at first, to see the struggle we were both going through. But I've never been a quitter...and I was determined. I'd always heard that something magical happens at the two week mark and thankfully for us, it did. Two weeks of endlessly long feedings and she figured it out. Finally! Thank goodness!
My sweet baby girl will be 1 in August (which is difficult to believe) and we're still going strong on the breastfeeding train. It's probably very likely that we're still going as well as we are because of all the struggle we went through in the beginning. I figure, if I was going to go through all the pain (literally) to get her to breastfeed...I'm going to milk it for all it's worth (ha...pun intended).
About a month ago my daughter cut her top two teeth. She now has four total, two top and two bottom. If I had one fear about breastfeeding, this was it. Teeth. She'd gotten a little over zealous a time or two pre-teeth, so I knew what it felt like to get "bit". Considering how much that hurt, I had nightmares about how it would be when the choppers actually started coming in. I'd heard both sides of the stories from moms that had continued to breastfeed their children once they had teeth. On one hand were the moms that didn't notice any difference. After all, babies don't (technically) need their teeth to breastfeed. On the other hand were the moms who got bitten every time they tried to feed their teething baby...so it was bye bye breastfeeding or hello bloody nipples. Bet you can guess which path almost all those mommies took. Needless to say, I was on edge about which group I would soon be a part of.
I noticed no difference with her bottom teeth. They barely bothered her coming in and I noticed no difference come feeding time. Wonderful! I get to be in the lucky group. Sure enough, as soon as I started thinking we were home free, her top teeth started to make their appearance. Those two monsters gave her a rough time. They took every bit of a week to finally pop through, and she was miserable the whole time. Now that they are through, feeding time has become a real crap shoot on my end. It's not that she actually bites me. The act of biting, I've heard, can actually be corrected. But that's not what she does. She just, well, rests her top teeth while she eats. That's the only way I can think to describe it. It progressively gets worse the longer she eats or depending on how tired she is at the time. The longer we go, the more those little buggers dig into me. And they are sharp! It's not that it's unbearable, just very uncomfortable. Who knew that something so tiny as two little teeth could hurt so much. It's almost like she's packing baby razor blades in her mouth.
Still, I'm determined to go as long as I can and she wants to (which I know isn't much longer). I know there will be a time very soon that this magical experience will be over, and I know I will miss it. It's incredible to know that I can provide my baby with everything she needs to nourish her body with nothing but myself. So, for now, I can handle gritting my teeth through those tired feedings as those Jaws-like teeth sink deeper and deeper. After all, those two little "vampire" marks she leaves on me after a good feeding are only a reminder that she's getting a nice, healthy meal. For now, it's a small price to pay.
I'm just as big of a supporter as you. Unfortunately for us our train ended a little soon for medical reasons. But, I just wanted to say congrats to the both of you. Breastfeeding IS tough: VERY tough. But, it is beautiful and rewarding and such a special experience. I did miss it when it had to be over for us. And the first few doctors appointments that we went to after we had to stop were somewhat internally weepy for me because at every doctor's appointment you inevitably get asked, "Are you still breastfeeding." To say, "No," was tough. But, once it's over eventually you'll be able to let go and then take great pride and joy in cooking her healthy organic meals (and I know how much pride you put into your cooking.) She'll always be well nourished with you as her Mommy, and that is something to be proud of!
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