Nobody Respects the Buffet
When I was pregnant (which seems like a bajillion years ago) hubs and I decided that our baby was going to be a breastfed baby, if possible. There were a couple of reasons for this but the two important ones (to us) was 1. it is good for Baby K and 2. it is a hell of a lot cheaper than formula feeding. I mean have you SEEN the price of formula?!!? It is obscene... but I digress. Totally a personal decision for soon to be mamas. I was a formula fed baby. My sister was a breastfed baby. Whatever floats your boat at the time is exactly what every mama should do. We talked about it and decided that I should at least try breastfeeding. If it was possible and Baby K grew well, our thought process was I should stick with it as long as possible. Seven weeks in on this breastfeeding thing and I have come to the conclusion that nobody respects the buffet.
Me. I am the buffet, Breastfeeding is no joke, friends. Holy crap. You are always on call. Newborns pretty much eat, sleep and poop. I knew that going into this, but I don't think I REALLY knew. And I certainly had no concept of "cluster feeding". Let me tell y'all about that-- happens when your baby goes through a growth spurt-- for us that was weeks 3 and 6 so far. Baby K usually eats every couple of hours, then takes a little nap. During cluster feeding she eats every hour. Every hour, folks. Wow. It seems like she never gets full. She takes a 10, maybe 15, minute break and then wants to eat again. At our house this happens between the hours of 1 to 4 AM. She does sleep throughout the day. When that miracle happens, I pump bottles so I don't have to whip out my boobs when we visit folks or go to the doctor's office. That is a lot of work for my poor nipples, friends. A lot of work. So, yeah... it has been fun. She doesn't care that I'm tired. She surely doesn't care that my nipples are tender. All she cares about is comfort food from the buffet.
Nights like last night I really wish that she was a formula fed baby. All I wanted was some sleep. Uninterrupted sleep. Sleep like I had during the first trimester of my pregnancy. The kind where you wake up and wonder not only what time it is, but what day it is. The kind of sleep that causes you to drool rivers all over your pillow. Something that feels like more than just a blink. One day I want to NOT have to ice engorged boobs or have to put lanolin on super tender nipples. Breastfeeding is a job, y'all. Shit, a rough job. It isn't completely thankless, though. You get these super cute, toothless grins and that makes you forget the sore nipples and the hurt-y boobs. For a couple minutes.
Me. I am the buffet, Breastfeeding is no joke, friends. Holy crap. You are always on call. Newborns pretty much eat, sleep and poop. I knew that going into this, but I don't think I REALLY knew. And I certainly had no concept of "cluster feeding". Let me tell y'all about that-- happens when your baby goes through a growth spurt-- for us that was weeks 3 and 6 so far. Baby K usually eats every couple of hours, then takes a little nap. During cluster feeding she eats every hour. Every hour, folks. Wow. It seems like she never gets full. She takes a 10, maybe 15, minute break and then wants to eat again. At our house this happens between the hours of 1 to 4 AM. She does sleep throughout the day. When that miracle happens, I pump bottles so I don't have to whip out my boobs when we visit folks or go to the doctor's office. That is a lot of work for my poor nipples, friends. A lot of work. So, yeah... it has been fun. She doesn't care that I'm tired. She surely doesn't care that my nipples are tender. All she cares about is comfort food from the buffet.
Nights like last night I really wish that she was a formula fed baby. All I wanted was some sleep. Uninterrupted sleep. Sleep like I had during the first trimester of my pregnancy. The kind where you wake up and wonder not only what time it is, but what day it is. The kind of sleep that causes you to drool rivers all over your pillow. Something that feels like more than just a blink. One day I want to NOT have to ice engorged boobs or have to put lanolin on super tender nipples. Breastfeeding is a job, y'all. Shit, a rough job. It isn't completely thankless, though. You get these super cute, toothless grins and that makes you forget the sore nipples and the hurt-y boobs. For a couple minutes.
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