If there needs to be one thing to go well...

As you may have guessed from my last posting, Yeled is having some issues- and I will get more into those at another time. Essentially, we are running to doctors and trying to figure out how to best help him on a number of issues.

But there is one thing that seems to be right with him right now. I'm even afraid to say it out loud- B"H he nurses like a champ.

Believe me it didn't come easy.

Yalda wouldn't nurse. She couldn't latch, my anatomy wasn't ideal, the lactation consultants at the hospital gave me terrible advice, and I was pressured into giving her formula very early on.
In truth, almost 2 1/2 years later, I'm still BITTER about the whole thing. I ended up pumping milk for her for FOUR months, and only stopped when she reached the point of having more formula than breast milk. The whole thing was miserable. but I learned a lot from the situation- and I swore that I would apply what I learned to my next breast feeding attempt.

And boy did I apply it.

• I started wearing contraptions to elongate my nipples before Yeled was even born
• when Yeled was born, I pumped before and after every.single.time he nursed -- in essence, I made my body think I was having twins
• I had the nurses bring Yeled back from the nursery at set times every night (I hadn't done that with Yalda- I had just given the instruction to bring her if she woke up - which either she never did, or they fed her bottles in the nursery)
  
• I checked in at the lactation center very early- I didn't wait for a problem to hit its peak, I went the second I suspected any problem at all
• I recently went through a bout of clogged milk ducts- about one a week for six weeks. That sucked (for lack of a better term), and so did Yeled- as often as humanly possible. Along with lots of other "cures" - including antibiotics, we seem to have gotten through that very difficult time (during which I considered weaning).
  

The point is - we did it! And we're still going! (with the addition of solids- of course)

We're at 7 plus months, and, by the grace of G-d, and lots of work on my part, Yeled is still nursing. It seems, we've done better than almost 90% of moms and babies . I am proud. I am proud of me. I am proud of him. I am proud of us.