Oh, Baby! : Pacifiers and Bottles

Hello, Folks! Baby and Blogging are proving to be a difficult combination! Haddie takes top priority, so bear with me while I get my blogging-feet back. As usual, I like to share my experiences. I want to be a source for others with new little ones, those expecting a little one, or those who just want to read about my trial and errors. Also, for those veterans out there, feel free to share your knowledge! It is definitely a learning process. The best thing to do is to trust your Mommy Instincts! As you can see from the title of this blog, I will be discussing our experience with bottles and the paci...

First of all, I had planned on Hadley taking a paci. I liked the idea of having something that would quiet her down and "pacify" her in most situations. I assumed that she would take to a paci pretty easily. Just in case she was picky, I had chosen a few different brands. The first time I tried it she was only three days old, and she hung on to it for hours. I thought that was it. The next day she wasn't having any of it. I tried the other brands, and rotated them out a few times. I finally decided she just wasn't going to be a "paci baby." Well, as you know, we had our troubles with breastfeeding. Hadley would cry and show signs of hunger, so I would try to nurse her. She would latch on and almost instantly fall asleep. I was her paci of choice.

I knew we couldn't continue this way, so I kept trying the paci. I laugh because I was trying so hard to get her to take this thing that I would be trying to take away in just a few years. But, she obviously needed something. Nursing proved to be a struggle, so I have resorted to exclusively pumping (more on that later). Since she has switched to bottles, the paci is becoming more and more of a favorite. Her brand of choice seems to be Avent, but she does take the Soothie, as well. She does not want anything to do with it if she is the least bit hungry. She sucks and when nothing comes out, she isn't happy! However, she does definitely approve when she is sleepy.



Secondly, nursing just wasn't working out for us. My forceful letdown was a complete disaster. She was getting frustrated and so was I. I will be going to back to work in just a couple weeks, so bottles were already in the near future. I decided pumping would probably be more work, but much less stressful. I was right about both. She had no problems switching to the bottle. It is a great peace of mind for me to actually know how much she is taking in. I hated not knowing how much she was getting while nursing.

Since she has made the switch, we have settled in to a decent schedule. She takes about four ounces every two to three hours. Bath or lotion rub down, bedtime bottle and swaddle is around 9 or 10, and she wakes around 2am for a bottle. Then it is up at 6am. I could probably put her back in the bassinet for a few more hours, but we are going to be getting up early for school soon, so no sense in changing the routine for just a few days. In order to keep up my supply, I am having to pump quite a bit. I am doing a few extra sessions to boost the supply. I need to get the freezer reserve built up a little more. During the day, I feel like all I do is feed Hadley, pump, wash parts, and repeat. It is a lot of work, but it is totally worth it!

Breastfeeding is hard work. I am still getting support and encouragement to keep nursing. I appreciate it, but I just don't think it was working out best for Haddie. I actually tried nurse her a few days ago. She seemed like she was still a little hungry, so instead of digging in to my pumped supply, I thought I would just let her nurse. But once we started, I remembered why we stopped. Even though she isn't getting it "straight from the tap," I know she is getting the best. Next on the blog agenda is Hadley's One Month post and then a post about Breastmilk Storage and Tummy Troubles. Thanks for stopping by!

Since we skipped out on a Halloween post, here is a picture of our little punkin. Her onesie was a DIY by me!