The Feedings

I had never really favored the idea of breast-feeding. The thought of it grossed me out. I know...I know...it's natural, well not to me. It took just about the whole nine months for me to warm up to the idea. When I started leaking the colostrum stuff during the seventh month of my pregnancy I just about gagged. The cost of formula (and that stuff is expensive!) didn't even push me towards breast-feeding. I had read all about it in my pregnancy books, but I was never really sold on the idea. It wasn't until the beginning of my ninth month of pregnancy, during our Lamaze classes, when I realized that breast was best, and any child of mine definitely deserved the best...right?

Our little Samuel came to us on a Monday at a whopping 8lbs 4oz, and latched on well or so I thought. I was sure I would have plenty of milk...especially since I had been leaking the pre-milk for so long, however that same Thursday, Sam had dropped down to 7lbs 11oz, we were somewhat alarmed, but were told that it was completely normal for newborns to lose their "mucus weight". The next day, on Friday morning he dropped weight again to 7lbs 7oz. My big baby was shrinking before my eyes...not cool...apparently newborns can lose up to 10% of their weight without cause for alarm, but since he was a July baby, our pediatrician was concerned with dehydration and my milk production so she suggested that we supplement his feeding with formula, and so as not to confuse Sam with other nipples, we were to cup feed him ( you know with one of those ounce cups... like cups that come with NyQuil).

I was heartbroken to say the least and discouraged against breastfeeding altogether. I mean hey it's tiring, feeding every two hours...sometimes every hour, watching what I eat was hard enough during pregnancy, now to keep track at how Sam might respond to any of my food choices, and never really knowing how much he was consuming, only looking at his diapers for some clues as to how he was eating. At the point I would have bought can of formula at any cost to help my baby Sam pack on the pounds. David, however, never waivered. He was calm and collected and ever so confident that I had all the milk Sam needed. He reluctantly took me to look at the different formulas to purchase, but once there, in front of all of our options, looked at me and said Sam would be fine and I was all he needed..to keep faith. We went home with a prayer and without formula (with David's promise to return if need be, of course, at a moments notice if I so desired)... sure enough that evening Sam's milk arrived and I was elated and my little Sam was somewhat confused at the change in his diet. David was like...well yeah what did you expect...we prayed right. On the following Monday, he had maintained his weight, our peditrician said Sam's weight had plateaued. Ten days after that his weight jumped up to 8lbs 13 oz and we all were amazed.

We knew we would have to get Samuel used to a bottle at some point, so that I could go back to work. It was a little tricky for me to pump out "extra" milk to keep on hand and we weren't sure how Sam would react to it. Two days ago, on Monday July 27th, Samuel turned three weeks old, and for the first time, his Daddy was able to cater to his every need. David was able to feed our son. They took to it like pros, both David and Sam. I am sure it helped that, David usually brings my Sam to feed and then burps him after and soothes him to sleep. Their bond during this feeding time was special for me; I was so happy for the both of them. It was at the point, that I cherished being able to provide for Sam and didn't take it for granted...I realized my blessing. We hope we are always able to provide the best for Samuel, no matter what the cost to us may be and with every confidence that the Lord will be with us and hear our prayers.