A Trip Outdoors

On Tuesday morning we went to the Center for a breastfeeding consultation with Beverly. When I called they did not hesitate to tell us to come in anytime for help. There was no appointment, no payment, none of that. Such a wonderful place.

Once there, Beverly got straight to work showing me how to get my nipple back into his mouth so he could suckle. She got me all set up with pillows and water and stayed there for an entire feeding. What a relief to watch him feed for a good half hour! In between the feeding session, Jason changed Ian's diaper and we all got to witness Ian's first "spray." Urine everywhere. It was pretty cute.

After watching Ian feed for awhile, Beverly determined that my nipples were not long enough to reach his soft palate so she suggested a product called a nipple shield. She was so confident it would be the answer to our struggles, and we could not have been more pleased and relieved. We went to Babies R Us straight away and once we got home and opened the packaged we realized we'd gotten a size too big. Crikey! I was devastated.

Enter Grandma Pat (aka Mimi), our savior! She came to our rescue that night and brought over the correct size nipple shield and dinner - delicious roast chicken, fresh bread, and veggies. Sooooo yummy. The nipple shield was an instant hit and Ian's been feeding like a maniac ever since. My nipples are so very ouchie as they acclimate to the reshaping wonder of the shield, but it's a small price to pay to watch my little one get the nourishment he needs. I guess the "Martyr Mom" thing starts early!

Rewind a bit: Jason took Ian for his first Well Baby visit that afternoon while I stayed home and enjoyed a long, quiet nap. Ahhhh. Jason reported that the visit went really well. Dr. Curry was so pleased with Ian's color, reactions, alertness, strength, and um, large thingie-thing. In fact, he was surprised at how endowed our little man is! He did want to see Ian gain more weight and Jason explained how we've been having difficulty feeding him but that we'd gotten some help earlier that day and were hopeful he would begin eating well.

We were right! He began feeding anywhere from 30 minutes to one+ hour at a time with an average of two hours in between feedings. Incredible!