Breastfeeding Rules Are Overrated

This post is part of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop hosted by Life With Levi and co-hosted by The Slacker Mom and Diary of a Devil Dog Wife. This week’s topic is “Breaking the Rules“ Scroll down to see more posts or even better, link up and join the fun!

When I was pregnant, I did my breastfeeding research. I knew that it was important not to give The Gnome a pacifier before breastfeeding was established. I knew that I shouldn’t give him a bottle until breastfeeding was well established. I believed that giving him formula from a bottle would mean the end of our breastfeeding relationship.

And then he was 3 weeks early. And jaundiced. And not having wet or dirty diapers. And then they gave him a bottle of formula in the hospital without my consent! And then they told us that we had to give him formula after every feeding until he had a dirty diaper. It was torture watching my husband having to give him a bottle (because there was no way I was going to) after I nursed him. When he barely took any of the bottle, it was a victory for me. When he gulped it down, I cried.

I never thought I would be so happy to see his first poopy diaper. 

When we were released with instructions to take him in for a weight check and to have his bilirubin levels checked the next day, I thought we were free of formula. We weren’t. After two more weight checks with no weight gain, we were advised by the nurse practitioner in our pediatrician’s office to start formula again. Same thing – after every feeding, but this time with a syringe so that he didn’t develop nipple confusion.

So, I started supplementing again after every feeding. I would pump while Hubby fed The Gnome from a syringe. We got to the point where I was able to supplement with a combo of my milk and formula. After a few weeks, it just wasn’t working. He wasn’t sleeping and he was crying all the time. I finally broke down and gave him formula in one of the Medela bottles that I had been pumping into. He gulped it down like he was starving and promptly fell asleep.

This is where I called my pediatrician’s office, convinced that I was going to exclusively pump (which no doubt would have led me to stop breastfeeding) and he talked me out of it. I’m so glad that he did because I was able to stop supplementing about a month later and here we are, still breastfeeding at 14 months.

I broke the rules. My baby had a bottle at just a day old. I supplemented with formula. Maybe, just maybe, rules are overrated. I know my stubbornness was what kept us going through all of the sweat and tears (luckily no blood!).

Have you broken any breastfeeding rules? Share in the comments! If you enjoy reading about The Gnome & his family, like us on Facebook and follow us on twitter! While you’re at it… check out our Networked Blogs box in the right sidebar and consider joining through Google Friend Connect, please?