Well, we finally reached that point about a month or so ago… A certain little someone was eating every hour an a half during the day and back to every 3-4 hours at night. And this mommy was tired. Not just sleepy tired, but physically drained. Let’s face it, we were all miserable in the Eberspacher household.
Let’s back up to when Nora was born. The following may be TMI for some, but I feel like I am at a point where I can share my story in hopes that it may encourage others out there who may be struggling in the same areas I did. So if your not wanting to hear all the fun details, you can just skip ahead to the cute pictures of Nora eating…it won’t hurt my feelings.
I had the most beautiful, magical labor and delivery imaginable. It lasted all of 5 hours, which is probably why I feel the way I do about it. Even though I had my fears of breastfeeding, after the labor and delivery had gone so well, I became much more optimistic about nursing. Sadly, my optimism was shattered. Nora started out not wanting to latch at all. She had a very difficult time gaining weight, even before we left the hospital and struggled for the next 3 or 4 weeks to do so. We supplemented with formula, moved to tube feedings at home, pumped what seemed like around the clock…very bluntly it was horrible and painful. And I felt like a complete failure. My poor baby would try to eat for over an hour and I couldn’t feed her. The one thing that I was created to do for her, and I wasn’t able to. Ugh. She would cry and gag from hunger and frustration and I would cry right along with her. I would sit in bed nursing her in the middle of the night pleading that God would allow her to eat and gain weight. I believe that the Lord heard all of those prayers and was there right with me through it all. Such a comfort to know that I serve such a wonderful God who hears those desperate first time mom prayers. And God answered many of those prayers through my husband. Eric was so helpful; getting up in the middle of the night, encouraging me, cleaning all of our supplies, filling my water jug, placing her tubes, etc. But after 2 months of misery, we finally decided that I would exclusively pump. Let me say, this is not ideal. This is not what I wanted. But this was what worked for us, and since I am a stay at home mom now, I am able to diligently keep up with my pumping schedule. And fortunately, the dear Lord has given me the patience to continue and I hope to do so for as long as I can. If anyone can put out a great recommendation for a pump, Ameda Purely Yours double electric pump is the bomb.com in my book and totally worth the price. There are definitely some perks to EPing. I have the ability to leave Nora with my folks so I can run errands, we can go on dates, etc. It also gives other people the opportunity to feed her. Other family members love this and think it’s pretty fun. There are pros and cons for sure, but this is the road we have gone down.  So there is my story of nursing…or lack there of, in our case. I hope that my sharing this can encourage even just one person. Just know that your not alone out there in the wide world of nursing and even though things might not work out like you planned, your still an awesome mom and your doing what you think is best for your baby 🙂
Back to a month or so ago…The journey of food began. Our pediatrician recommended that we start with the beloved rice cereal. It was interesting to say the least.

She maybe actually swallowed 10% of every bite those first few feedings. But it was adorable to watch her try, none the less.