first day parents
Posted on January 22, 2007
Ramil and I are lucky parents. Mateo has been a well-behaved newborn. We think God gave us such a good little angel because Ramil and I sucked from day 1. Hehe!
I was dead-set on breastfeeding Mateo even before I gave birth. There were just so much more advantages of giving him breastmilk than formula. So right after giving birth, even when I was still groggy from the meds, I was picking a fight with the nurses because I kept on telling them that I plan to breastfeed and I don’t want any formula given to my baby. So just a few hours after delivery, I was up and walking in the nursery to breastfeed (or at least try to). I wasn’t very successful the first time, Mateo wasn’t able to suck well (both of us being beginners and all). The next day though, since I was able to get to the nursery right before feeding time, he sucked well and hard. The first time he latched on and sucked, I wanted to pull the little angel’s mouth right away. The whole thing was really painful; I was cringing the whole time. When I returned Mateo to his bassinet, the nurse gave him back to me and told me he wants more because he’s still crying. It seemed that I wasn’t producing that much milk yet. The remaining times I would visit Mateo in the nursery, they were already done with feeding time so I was left with nothing but a sleeping baby. I still spend minutes just holding him and looking at him. One of the nurses suggested rooming-in but I didn’t want to risk any kind of infection from the visitors.
He slept the whole time on the way to my parents’ house last Wednesday. Since Ramil and I live on our own, we decided to stay at my parents’ for a week or two until I feel better and until we get the hang of things. We got home at around 2 pm and by 5 pm, he was starting to wake up. It was obvious he was hungry because his mouth was opening wide, as if trying to look for something. So I tried to breastfeed him. He latched on easily but after almost an hour of trying to feed him, he would still cry whenever I would remove him from my breasts. I would rest for a few minutes and then try again. This went on for hours until I was crying every time he would latch on because it was getting really painful already. Ramil was very supportive; he was there with me the whole time inside our room, trying to sooth me with wisecracks and kisses. By 10 pm, I was telling Ramil to go out and buy some formula milk. When he got back we immediately fed Mateo and he was asleep in less than 5 minutes. Poor baby, we kind of like starved him the whole time I guess because my milk wasn’t enough.
The next day, Ramil and I went to SM Fairview and we bought an Avent breastpump. My milk was getting stronger yet I couldn’t feed Mateo from my breasts because I have sore and cracked nipples already. Our solution was to pump the milk so that it would continue to come. I got around 20 ml of milk the first time I pumped. I took malunggay capsules and drank a lot of fluids. I am now getting around 50-60 ml of milk every 2 hours! Plus, Mateo has been feeding from me from time to time. It seems though that my milk is not enough to keep up with him. We still find ourselves preparing an additional 40-50 ml of formula every feeding time to keep him satisfied.
Aside from being a very demanding milk consumer, Mateo hasn’t given us much of a hassle. We would only hear him cry when he wakes up because he’s hungry. We are lucky parents. I must say that Ramil and I are enjoying the challenges of being parents. It’s very demanding, we find ourselves attending to Mateo’s needs every 2 hours, but it has been very fulfilling.
» Filed Under Mateo, Motherhood Tags:
Oh Andrea CONGRATULATIONS to you and Ramil. I was not visiting blogs lately and I just got the urge to visit yours this morning and look what I got? Baby News from You!
So proud of you. Well, I guess breastfeeding is a sure challenge to us but the fulfillment is endless. Keep it up! Take care and enjoy the new chapter in your married life!