The early days

When Sam was just born, the nurses handed him over to me and encouraged me to nurse him then and there, in the delivery room. I was waiting for this bonding moment for so long, and now it was finally happening! I would provide liquid gold for Sam to enable him to grow and thrive. But Sam had other plans. He was licking my nipples like they were lollipops, but not sucking at all. Aren't babies supposed to be born already knowing how to suck? That's what I had read, but that's not what was happening here. The nurses then whisked him out of my arms and went to measure him, weigh him, and all that.

They brought Sam to me a few hours later and still, he wouldn't suck at all. I held him and we did lots of skin to skin contact, and no go. A few hours after that, a really persistent, pushy and stubborn nurse tried to force Sam's mouth over my nipples and squished my breast into his mouth. He just cried. What a moron of a nurse. You can't force a baby to nurse, and even Sam knew that. Then the nurse tells me that since he hadn't eaten a thing since he was born (about 9 hours), they have to give him formula. Nobody mentioned the concept of hand expressing. Why not? I did know enough to tell the nurse to finger-feed him, rather than using a bottle. This would encourage Sam to suck properly and learn the texture of a finger, rather than a silicone nipple.

So Sam had formula for a day in the hospital. The second night we got an amazing nurse who happened to be training as a lactation consultant (she just wasn't a certified one yet) and she showed us both how to nurse. It was so great to have an educated and patient person showing you what to do, and working along with you, till you got it. By the end of that training experience, Sam was sucking. Not perfectly yet, but definitely doable.

I could have stopped then and just continued with formula. It was definitely easier than getting him to latch on and have him stay interested for long enough to get an entire feed. But I'm pleased and proud to say that we stuck it out. By the time we left the hospital, Sam could breastfeed!