With my first baby, in the hospital, the housekeeping person was more helpful than the lactation nurse.
Third child was in a NICU with posters about breastfeeding but they did everything they could to get in the way. There was no place to sleep so I spent the night on a rocking chair and they found me a cot. They told me I needed to “learn to separate.” I did not leave the NICU but was discharged myself.
I told them no bottles, based on the advice of my midwife. I pumped one night and realized (I was tired) that that was for a bottle ! So I stopped.
On the third day they finally let me hold and nurse the baby. They had been telling me she would be too cold, but I said she would have a hat on, a blanket and be next to my skin. It was blissful for both of us.
Then the nurse grabbed her away, took all her clothes off including diaper, so she was naked in the cold air. So they could weigh her and document how much she took in.
Hospitals are obsessed with documentation. Thank God I didn’t go into nursing. The nurse herself was appalled and told me she would never do that again.
Most of the babies left the NICU on a bottle. One mother was doing all kinds of desperate things to try to get nursing going again. I am glad to hear that sometimes this works.
I have to say I do not understand pumping. What is the point? I see nursing as a relationship, a dynamic thing, not just putting it in a bottle. I would probably use formula if I worked. I was at home with a kid with a disability so I just nursed until they were eating.
Breast milk is thinner than formula so I think feeding on demand is healthy. Breast milk is fattier at first, when the baby first latches on, and gets thinner, like skim milk as a nursing session goes on, so they can continue to nurse as long as they like.
Of course many of us know that many cultures do that. Childrearing in general is different in various cultures. Methods to get kids to sleep are a related topic. Nursing on demand, family bed, baby-led weaning are all part of one approach, often after natural childbirth. It’s a stereotype, but true.
Of course, I know plenty of families that bottle fed from the start and have great kids. I am sure they had more freedom and ability to work than I did.
There are many reasons to establish schedules. It’s really a personal choice.
What is going on with childbirth by the way? It seems induction, epidurals and C-sections, including scheduled elective ones, are on the rise and in some ways breastfeeding trends may follow.
Sorry for all the tangents. I have wondered about this exact topic as well. It looks like pumping is a big part of breastfeeding now and I never did it.
