Nursing Group

I have mentioned the nursing group I attend in a prior post...but wanted to elaborate a bit on why we go and what we do there. Our first time at this group was when Briggs was 3 weeks old. I was having some nursing issues (I won't go into too many details b/c not everybody wants to hear about breasts, nipples, and latching...but if you have questions about it, email me).

These groups are sponsored by Brookwood Hospital at different locations in the community. The one Briggs and I attend most often is on Tuesdays at First Baptist Trussville. I'm not gonna lie...my first time I was pretty nervous b/c I didn't know what to expect...but that fear quickly went away. At every group there is a lactation nurse from Brookwood hospital present to provide any assistance and advice you may need. You start out by coming in, stripping your baby down to their diaper and weigh them on the scale the lactation nurse provides....as seen below (which my baby wasn't too happy in this picture...but he usually lays there all cute and sweet):


Then you feed your baby. If you nurse on both sides, you feed one side and weigh them...the difference from your initial weight is how much milk they took in. Then you feed them on the other side and weigh...you do the math and get their total intake at a feeding. If you're nursing, you don't know how much your baby is taking in, so it helps you keep a check on their weight and how much to give them in a bottle if you need to give them one. Below is our second weigh in...much calmer :) At our group yesterday, Briggs started out at 12 pounds 14 ounces and ended up at 13-3...grand total..5 ounces of intake.


I mentioned earlier that we were having some nursing issues which is why Briggs and I initially started attending. Connie, the lady in the picture below (far right) discovered on our first visit that Briggs had a short frenulum (aka tongue-tied). It's apparently a lot more common than I realized. I vaguely remember learning about it in grad school and that it can cause speech problems if it's severe. Well I have also learned first hand, that it can cause nursing problems.

Anyway, it was frustrating to me that we discovered it at week three when we had already seen lactation multiple times at St. Vincent's Hospital, even a private consultation, and two different pediatricians. It wasn't a severe case, but it was causing some pretty significant nursing issues. Now don't hear me saying we don't LOVE LOVE LOVE St. Vincent's hospital. Because we absolutely do and I can't say enough good things about their facility and nursing staff, but I was disappointed in my experience with lactation and getting Briggs' problem resolved. Brookwood Lactation has been our saving grace though. They have helped to change mine and Briggs whole nursing experience through the FREE support groups they offer in the community.

For Briggs, we had to get his frenulum clipped at Pediatrics ENT. It wasn't pleasant but a circumcision is 100x worse and from the research I did, if it's not addressed early (like in the first 6 months) then they have to sedate your baby....no thank you! I'm one of those moms who really wanted to nurse my baby if possible...so in the interum of getting Briggs nursing issue corrected...I was nursing him with a few different devices (again..email me if you have questions), pumping, and then feeding him a bottle of breastmilk after he nursed for 40 minutes! Yeah, I know...it was pretty hideous, but I have had a great milk supply the whole time, so if there was a chance we could work it all out, I was determined to do it. I kept setting goals for myself..if we could make it to 1 month with seeing progress, we would try to make it 6 weeks, then 8 weeks...finally at 9 weeks, everything just clicked and I was finally able to just nurse my baby. We have cut our feeding time from 1.5 hrs to 20 minutes!!!! Heck yeah!

The only problem now...nursing is going so good...and even though the kid was on a bottle for over half his life...now he doesn't want to take one. We have tried all the tricks...different nipples, different positions, different everything and he won't do it. I'm not looking forward to his two days a week at Mother's Day Out, which starts in two weeks. I've been up there lots to talk to his teachers about it...they seem to think it will all be fine...I'll report back on that one :)

Below you will see a picture of me and Briggs with all our new friends. Leslie and Elijah (left), Noel and Bradleigh (right) and Connie (far right). This has been such a great experience....we highly recommend going to these groups. Also, it's not just a place for moms who are having nursing issues. There are lots of moms who just come to chat with other moms and get a weight check on their babies. It's just nice to meet new people, learn tips on being a mommy and what works for other babies and mommies...it's been fun and I'm going to miss them when Briggs starts MDO.