Thursday, August 7, 2008

persistent

someone once told me i sure was persistent.
well he nailed that one. LOL
i spent a good portion of yesterday and the previous day pep-talking (RARA!) Angel into nursing the twin that's home. whenever i talk to her i really think i am getting through, and she thanks me for helping her..but then next time i talk to her she will have given her bottles again. but i really expanded on the idea of supply vs demand yesterday. i even went so far as to say Breastfeeding is simple, put baby to breast, nothing else!
the littler twin is coming home maybe this weekend, so if she truely wants to BF she needs to DO it now, before it becomes way daunting..
i should be spending all my free time up there when they are both home to help her out.

on another note, Sweetpea's lawyer (the one who hasn't shown up to any court dates!) is finally going to meet us. i called (three times) to demand a meeting. ummm persistant?...who me?

2 comments:

Birthblessed said...

One thing I told the moms at WIC was "you are telling me that you want to breastfeed and it's not working. The first step is to put the baby up to your breast." These women would literally be sitting in front of me with a bottle stuck in the baby's mouth as they told me they wanted to breastfeed.

You just have to respect and challenge. Remind the benefits, but acknowledge the drawbacks. It *is* a drawback if the supply is marginal and frustrating. However, it can be worked with into a benefit- even a small supply will keep mom in bed at night, instead of up fixing bottles. Any breastfeeding is better than no breastfeeding, so respect what breastfeeding IS happening. Praise for the amount of breastmilk already happening.

I ask open ended questions, "How is this working for you?" I address mom's needs, "How can I help make this better for you?" Always fix pain- a little motrin goes a long way.

Other than that, role model and encourage. And toss in just a little guilt motivator from time to time. In my WIC classes, I'd say "9 out of 10 of the clients at this clinic will be breastfeeding when they come in to certify. If you are the 1 who is not planning to even try, come on up and I'll sign your paper and you can just go get your vouchers now." No one EVER took me up on the offer to skip class. Who would? Peer pressure is great.

I had a mom once who was bottlefeeding a baby who appeared to be about 2 weeks old, looked tiny. I asked "How is that working for you?" She admitted she hated getting up at 2 and 4 a.m. and she said "And my boobs are leaking milk!" I suggested, "Wow, maybe your boobs are trying to tell you something." She said "But it's been 2 weeks and baby has never latched on, not once. Isn't it too late?" I assured it was not too late and walked her over to Mom's Place for an appointment with the LC to learn how to latch. Right then and there, they helped her latch her baby - baby took to it like a fish to water. That mom was still breastfeeding 6 months later.

Liz said...

that is very encouraging ,, thanks!
she isnt in any pain. she just dosnt seem to want to bring the baby to the breast. she has milk. baby latches fine...i am detaching from this situation because i feel i have done all i can. if she wants help i would love to give it, BUT i am at the point of stopping being her constant cheerleader.
i cant parent her into parenting. IYKWIM