Milk From Another Mother - Reflections on Wet Nursing

I nursed another baby today. I never thought I would do that. My sister-in-law left for her sister's wedding in New York. The original plan was to take the baby -- a two-month old (or three? Three.) with her but for various reasons she ended up leaving her behind. She'd had bottles before; many times, in fact. She also regularly takes a pacifier. But for some reason, she was refusing to take it this morning, and that's when I walked in the door. I found the ladies of the house fretting and fussing and the baby howling and covered in formula. I tried my hand at feeding her with the bottle but to no avail. The kids wouldn't suck. So I did what I guess is instinctive. I lifted up my shirt. And the house fell silent. She ate. And ate. She must have been hungry. My own baby was sleeping in her bassinet, and anyway she's old enough for solids. So when she woke up it was solids for her. Powdered barley cereal followed by an avocado.

I didn't really like nursing another child. It has nothing to do with this particular kid. I'm just attached, I guess you could say, to my own suckling. It wasn't a nice feeling for me during or after. I realize I'm doing a nice thing and actually it would have been kind of cruel of me to refuse but I don't have to like it. I feel bad for the kid. Part of nursing is about bonding and being held and feeling close and warm. I do like the kid. After all, she's my niece and she's a pretty cute kid-- what's not to like? She smiles. She smiles at me. She's nice. But she's not mine and I was rather uncomfortable nursing her and so I felt bad that the baby should be nursed by someone whose heart was not completely into it. I also am very possessive, even about my breast milk and I was silently apologizing to DD in my head for sharing it.

I was still there when my niece woke up a few hours later. Ioffered to go out and get another formula for her to try out. Maybe that was the problem. I suggested that we try feeing her while she was still calm and before she got really hungry and frantic. Neither of these plans worked. As soon as we put the bottle to her, she opened up her mouth and howled. She refused the bottle in any way shape or form and so I fed her again. My baby had formula.

Later on in the evening my niece was looking at me from her baby chair. Flirting, my mother in law called it. Seducing me.

When by brother-in-law came home he managed to give her a bottle, thankfully. Apparently she's used to taking it from him.

We're home now and my mother in law just called to so say that DH forgot his cell phone there and, by the way, the baby was howling....

My baby is now asleep. Probably not for the night. But what choice do I have? I'm going to have to go back and feed the other.

Training Bra

I'm back to training bras, I realized today. I was standing in my bathrobe and selecting undergarments this morning when my sister walked in and fingered the bra I'd set aside. "It's a sleeping bra. A nursing sleeping bra." I told her. She wrinkled her nose. "THIS is what you wear during the day?" Sometimes. They were cheap-- a great big sale at Sears. Buy one get the second for $3. Looking back, I should have just splurged on a real nursing bra for forty-five bucks and then added an extra three to get second one. But yes, I can nurse and wear sleeping bras during the day. I am that small. They're not all that comfortable for me, actually. You can't adjust how tight you want them around your body. But the nursing mechanism is easy and effective. Also they don't do much to prevent leakage. But for the most part they're ok.

The Big Leak

I had a big leak today while teaching. I had to run to the classroom next door and borrow the teaching assistant's scarf to cover up the to huge wet spots on my bosom. My nipples were busting through my bra, t-shirt and thin sweater I was wearing. It got pretty uncomfortable for me. My boobs haven't been this rock hard in a long time. I don't think any of the students noticed or if they would even recognize it for what it was if they saw it. I don't even wear nursing pads that often anymore. Goes to show... you never can tell. Worst thing is that I had to hang around after work for an extra hour because of a staff meeting. BOY, was I glad to see DD when I got home. She was sleeping but she managed to make me feel a lot more comfortable even in her dream state.

The Big Grab

Baby is at that point in breastfeeding where she knows where the boob is hiding and how to get to it. She's a very grabby kid-- her hands are always busy. And when she wants a munch she grabs my shirt at the collar or at the bottom and gives a yank while burying her face in my bosom.

There are also new pre-eating anticipatory noises. Heh heh heh heavy breathing says "you're really not getting it to me fast enough, mum." Some things don't need interpretation.

Bottle, Baby!

She's had bottles from day 1 but rarely. Now that she's started solids, we haven't increased the bottles but she did have a bottle with water for the first time the other day. It's one of those tiny newborn ones. She took it and fed herself! We didn't hold it at all! Well, at least not until her brother decided to help her out and took over the feeding. She didn't mind. As long as she can suck on something, she's happy.

Spit-Up Again

For about a month or so she stopped spitting up entirely. Now she started again. Could it be because she's so full from the solids she's eating. Maybe. Maybe it's because she's more stable now in sitting and such and so I bounce her around more than I used to? Maybe.

Solid Baby

Goodbye nice, caramel-smelling poops that just wipe or rinse away. Hello solid poops that are more like poop poop and much less pleasant to change. When baby starts eating solids, it's time to get the clothespins ready.

The pace towards solids with her is much slower than it was with her brother. As I remember it, he took to solids on his first try. With her, it's still two steps forward and one step back. Some gets swallowed, most gets drooled. She loves the spoon, though. She loves to hang onto it and chew on the end.

Most of her intake is still through solids. She eats about one meal per day right now of solid food and that seems to be enough. As she starts to get better at eating I'll add more solid meals per day.