Thursday, August 14, 2008

It's official

I HATE THE SNS!!

This thing is so awkward and difficult to work with . . . or maybe it's really not and I'm just doing it all wrong. So in my latest desperate attempt to get this whole breastfeeding thing on track, I contacted Dr. Jack Newman (a renowned pediatrician and breastfeeding expert/advocate) for some advice, and he emailed me back some good information.

The more I'm reading (and it's amazing what I'm learning - I thought I had this all figured out after having nursed 5 other kids!), the more convinced I am that our whole problem (Finn and me, that is) is his latch. He does not have a good latch. So because of this, he's not taking in as much milk as he could, and because of that, my milk production has diminished, and it's turned into a vicious cycle, with the end result being that he is not gaining well by nursing alone.

I obviously need to work with Finn on getting a better latch. But until he starts latching on well and nursing more efficiently, we have to rely on the SNS and bottles of EBM several times a day to make sure he's getting what he needs. I am meeting with a LC tomorrow to help me figure out this SNS. I have to say that I was kind of irritated when I spoke to the nurse on the phone to make the appt. I briefly explained our situation to her and she said "Well, it depends on his latch. If he doesn't have a good latch, then the SNS may not be the way to go, you may have to just rely on bottles." What the hell?! Shouldn't she be trying to sell me on the idea of working to get a better latch? So I had to pay $45 up front over the phone just to get an appt. with an LC. That's for an hour-long consult. I hope I get some valuable help out of it.

5 comments:

Taryl said...

I hate to say it but you make me feel like less of a dunce over the SNS, it was a nightmare in this house too, and I always thought it was just me being an incompetent, bad mother who couldn't feed her own child. Yes, I am STILL bitter a year and a half later.

Latch is the issue, which is why Callie wasn't great on it, and of course her bad latch not only killed my nipples and didn't draw well from the supplemental system but it made that thing dig into my ALREADY sore nipple and made the whole thing worse.

I feel for you two, I really do :(

I'd tell the LC upon arriving that bottles, long term, are NOT an option short of a medical emergency so she's just going to have to help you fix this latch before bringing it up again, thanks.

But I'm a bitch with this sort of thing.


Seriously though, I hope this will do the trick. I known you will make the BEST decision for his health (and yours!) in the long run but I am sincerely praying that the 'best choice' continues to be your boobs!

Christie said...

Have them check his tongue. I have had friends have similar problems only to find out that their child was somewhat tongue-tied and it was a LC that found it not any doctors.

Laurie said...

I really hope that the LC is able to help you out! Please kup as I'll be curious to hear what she says.
Hang in there, Lisa! You are doing SO well!
~Laurie

Carla said...

I was going to mention the same thing about having the LC check Finn's tongue. I have way too many friends with Peds who didn't connect the dots between even partial tongue-tie and a breastfeeding latch. I look forward to hearing about how the LC appt. goes. Hugs.

Unknown said...

hi lisa,

we hated the sns too. we no longer use it. we use a bottle of ebm when we need to supplement (like at night). at first, i felt like a bad mom because i was using a bottle. that's a waste of time. don't go there.

i hope that your time with the lc is helpful.

heidi