Bottle Feeding

Yesterday was the first day Cupcake drank from bottles all day long.  Before this we had given her the bottle a couple of time to get her used to it.  Actually, if we are to be completely honest, it was to get us used to the idea and figure out how she would take it.

I've been pumping in the mornings for a rainy day.  The time I had an ARE to take, or needed to recuperate at night.  Yesterday we finally needed them.

I started to get a really bad headache Tuesday afternoon.  I took some ibuprofen and kept at it, because I get headaches all the time, and this is just par with the course.  However, by the evening it still hadn't gone away.  Nate encouraged me to take something stronger, and I took my prescription of Acetaminophen with codeine, which my OB had given me for my migraines when pregnant, and is still safe when breastfeeding.

All night long I waited for it to work its magic, while continuing to feed Cupcake on her night nursing sessions.  Not pleasant when you have a bad headache.  Finally, during her 6 am feed, I was overcome with nausea and it was all I can do to not throw up on the baby.  I didn't even make it to the bathroom and ended up relieving myself in the kitchen sink.  ewwwww.  At that point it was official, I had a full-blown migraine and for all of our sanity I should take my strong prescription, Sumatriptan.

Sumatriptan, which usually goes by the name of Imitrex, is a super strong migraine pill that is most definitely not safe to take while breastfeeding.  The official recommendation by the APA is to take it only if absolutely necessary, and my doctor told me to wait 12 hours before breastfeeding again.  I know my OB was very hesitant to write me a prescription, but last time I saw him I'd just had another terrible migraine and I knew I needed full on medication or I wouldn't be able to take care of my baby.  When push comes to shove, I'd rather give Cupcake formula for a day and be able to be there for her.  In the end we didn't need formula because I had pumped enough milk over the previous weeks to feed her all day, and even had an extra one left.

Nate stayed home from work so he could take care of the baby while I slept and recuperated.  She did pretty good with the bottle.  No issues from her.  Though it broke my heart a little to have her sucking form a rubber nipple, it wasn't so bad. After all, she was with her daddy, and he was delighted to be able to feed her all day.

Pumping and Dumping all day was one of the most demoralizing things I've had to do.  I don't like pumping, specially in lieu of a feeding.  I have a very cheap and simple pump because I am planning on feeding her in person, and I have no scheduling conflicts to interfere with that.  So the pumping would be for a once in a blue moon need, like yesterday.  So I have a cheap pump that gets about 1.5 oz a day and I just accumulate them.  Yesterday though, I had to pump to relieve the engorgement, and that was a much more painful process.  I was never sure if I was getting all the milk out, and my boobs still felt full at the end of the day...  agh, here hoping to not have to do this again any time soon.