Progress!!!

Wow, I can't tell you how much Ava has accomplished since my last post. I am warning you now that this post may be a little too much information about breastfeeding, so if that makes you uncomfortable, stop reading now. :)

At Ava's last doctor's appointment, he agreed to let me start nursing Ava full time. I wrote all about this in my last post. It has been so nice to not sterilize and fix bottles every night!!! At that time, I was still pumping every other feeding until I could make sure Ava was getting enough milk. She is doing great, so now I only pump once every couple of days when I am feeling too full! I was so excited to get rid of that part. Now I can actually just sit and hold Ava after she eats instead of putting her down to pump. Ava had only one last obstacle to overcome.

When I started nursing Ava in the NICU, her mouth was too small to latch on properly, so I had to use nipple shields. I hated using them. It took all the convenience out of breastfeeding. I had to make sure I had one with me and water to seal it on properly. Once I got settled, attached the nipple shield, and was ready to feed Ava, she would reach up and pull it off. Of course, she would be screaming from hunger at this point. Finally, she reached the point where she was big enough for me to start weaning her off of them. This was more difficult that I had ever imagined. I had no idea where to start, so I started looking in my breastfeeding books. The only thing they wrote about them was to try not to start using them because it can be difficult to wean from them. Thanks a lot!! I did contact a lactation consultant, but they weren't much help either. Apparently, every child weans from these differently. I started weaning Ava from the shields over two weeks ago. At first she would scream if I didn't give her the shield because she didn't like the texture of the breast. Then, I would get excited if she would latch on and suck twice. This would only happen once a day or so. She finally got to where she would latch on for ten minutes a couple times a day. Both Ava and I were extremely frustrated during this time. Then, this weekend it seemed like it just clicked with her. She really wanted to take the breast, but I was still having a hard time getting her to latch on properly. We went to see a lactation consultant on Monday. She showed me a trick to get preemies to latch on and Ava has been doing it ever since. Since yesterday she has latched on the first time I offer her the breast and we have not used a nipple shield in over 24 hours!!! I know this does not seem like a big deal, but it is a huge accomplishment for Ava and I. I was beginning to worry that I would never be able to breastfeed her naturally. It only took us 7 weeks, but we finally got it!

I am so thankful to have a husband and family who are so supportive of my efforts to breastfeed Ava. It has definitely been a challenge, but we finally figured it out. My sister has been a huge help through all of this. It is so nice to have someone who was successful breastfeeding to talk to about all of this.

Ava went to the doctor today for a weight check and she is now 6 lbs. 9 oz. She gained a 1/2 oz. per day during the last two weeks. I am very happy with this since she was not only breastfeeding full time, but learning to nurse without the nipple shields. At our lactation appointment on Monday, they said Ava was very efficient at the breast. She nursed for about ten minutes on one side and got over 3 oz. They weighed her before and after she ate. Then, she latched on and ate some more.

We are so proud of our little girl. She has overcome so much in 7 weeks!!!

We had professional pictures of Ava taken last week. I will try to scan them in and post them here soon.