Summary of previous chapters:
- Shahar, a perfect baby otherwise, wasn't successful in nursing.
- In parallel to feeding him expressed breast milk from bottles, we invested tremendous efforts in trying to teach him how to nurse. We employed the most professional lactation consultant one can find, and a lot of emotions, tears, stress, time, money and effort were put into achieving this goal.
- Despite fantastically gaining weight and getting bigger, Shahar hasn't been able to get sufficient milk directly, from his Mom's breast.
A few days ago we decided to let go. And what a transformation this has been for the entire family!
We decided to continue with intensive breast milk pumping, and we hope to avoid any substitutes as long as possible. Anat's body magically produces more-than-enough breast milk (approaching 1 liter a day! We're considering the possibility of no longer purchasing milk in the grocery store ;-)
Expressing milk 6 times a day is labor-intensive (since it doesn't replace the feeding itself), but ironically it seems so much easier than the previous weeks that were marked by the stress of "will he manage to nurse?". Quite like that Jewish folklore tale about the Rabbi and the Goat...
Instead of stressful sessions of attempted nursing, we're all busy enjoying our wonderful baby, who's been growing rapidly, becoming more charming by the day. His sisters, who were very stressed by their parents' gloomy mood, are evidently happier and more relaxed. Heaven!
Giora
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