Being a Mom

Being a Mom is one of the greatest things I have ever experienced. For real. It brings me SUCH joy..to where even waking up in the middle of the night does not bother me one bit. I love feeding Audie and giving her lots of cuddles and snuggles. She is such a sweetheart. Feedings are going really well. Formula seems to be working out for Audie, as well as breastmilk. I pump 3 times a day to keep building my milk supply with Audie's growing nutritional needs. For all other feedings I use formula. The greatest thing about switching to formula is that God has totally provided for the financial expense of it and I know He will continue to provide. I have been able to use couponing to our advantage in stocking up on formula when it's on sale, as well as buying really cheap from other Moms who aren't using the formula they have. It has worked out perfectly and we have a big stock of formula now, 5 tubs, 8 cans, and 2 quart bottles to be exact. I also have tons of coupons for future formula purchases. So...life with a baby is pretty much perfect. No worries here. Well, I gotta get back to baby care. That's the update for now.

Why I switched (well, kind of)...

I have not updated in a LONG time! I have so much to say. Let me first update on the breast feeding. Audrey and I were having problems and we didn't even realize it. I came home for a visit while Paul was on long work shifts and my Mom discovered that Audrey was just not getting chubby like normal babies do. After watching me nurse, she saw that Audrey was not really eating, just pacifying. I had already been to one lactation consultant, so my Mom got me an appointment with another one. At the appointment, we found that it was true that she wasn't really eating or working to get the hindmilk from my breast. Therefore, she wasn't getting everything she needed. The LC gave us a syringe to feed Audie formula through while she was on the breast so that she could know that's where her food comes from and to get her sucking. We also had to log everything on paper...how long she nursed, how much we supplemented, wet diapers, dirty diapers, how much I pumped, how long I pumped...everything! We used the syringe and kept trying that for 5 days. We saw another LC and she put me on medicine to increase my milk production. After 5 days of trying everything we were supposed to, Audrey got frustrated whenever we weren't using the syringe. Her food wasn't flowing freely and she was angry. She stopped latching on and trying. I was in tears because I was upset and stressed and overwhelmed thinking that these problems would never end. So...my Mom and I decided (with the support of my husband!!) that we just needed to switch to formula and pump as much as possible. Since doing that, things have been SO much less stressful and much much easier. I feed her formula for most feedings, but I give her atleast 3 bottles a day of pumped breastmilk. That way she is still getting immunities and antibodies from me. Audrey is putting on weight and starting to look chubby again. It's great and both mom and baby are VERY happy. I have no doubt that this is what's best for both of us, especially for Audrey. There was no way we could keep up using the syringe in hopes that she would eventually nurse. Paul can't be there to put the tube in her mouth and hold it there to put formula in every time I nurse. It wasn't feasible to keep that up. So...now things are much better and Audie is great! She's having more awake time and loves to look around. She wakes up frequently to eat, which is a wonderful thing! We really tried breastfeeding and gave it our all, but Audrey just didn't know what to do. All is well now. I plan on trying again with the next baby, because all babies are different.