The Sound of Nursing

When it is quiet enough in our home to listen while I feed Aya, I realize what a beautiful sound nursing is. I love to hear her swallow deeply in the beginning, listening to the sound of abundant milk flowing. Then, later in the feed, it is the gentler swallowing, the quieter drips of milk that sound satisfying, like the lasts bites of a decadent dessert you don't want to eat too quickly. Aya's body seems to almost dance to the music. When the music of the milk is loudest, her eyes are wide open, her hands often reach out for my face, a string on my hoody or my breast. Then, as the "music" calms and slows, so too her face relaxes, and her shoulders rest. As the "music" fades, her arms fall to her side, her hands open and she is lulled to sleep by the slow dance. It couldn't be anymore peaceful, for her, or me.

Works for Everything

I have come to love the fact that nursing seems to work for everything. Before Aya was born, I thought of nursing primarily as the way I would feed Aya. After she was born, I continued to think of it this way. I would feed her and then "watch the clock" for the next time it seemed as though she was probably hungry again. It didn't matter if she cried or fussed in between--I always assumed she was distressed for a reason other than needing to nurse. I knew the hunger cues to watch for, but for some reason I found them very difficult to read so I followed the clock instead. Aya would eat and then begin to suck her hands again a half an hour later...certainly she couldn't be hungry again--or was she!? Looking back, I think Aya needed to nurse far more often than I offered. She might not have always been hungry but she certainly was upset and nursing might have been the perfect way to soothe and comfort her.

Now I feed Aya whenever it seems right. Often it is because I can tell she is hungry but now I also nurse her when we have been apart for awhile, when she seems sensitive or unsure. It makes me happy to know I can meet most all of her needs by holding her close and letting her nurse.

Blisters?

I didn't know you could get sore nipples again...For a few days, I had noticed that I felt sore again and finally, when I actually looked at my nipple, I saw the culprit. I had little red blisters. Nursing felt like pinching and it wasn't comfortable. Crazy, right? Thankfully, I read some good information in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, and started trying its suggestions. Basically, blisters, or blebs as they call them, can occur because of blocked ducts. The blisters forms over the top and actually collects some milk within them. They can occur more frequently after a period of time when the baby begins to sleep longer stretches at night. The book listed many options as remedies--soaking them in olive oil, warm water or vinegar, popping them with a sterilized needle, and more frequent nursing. I tried the vinegar. Vinegar actually absorbs the milk within the blister and then makes the blister smaller.

For a day or two, I put vinegar on a paper towel and wore it within my bra for a few minutes after feeding. Finally, after one of Aya's longer nursing sessions, I felt it pop and it bled a little. For several days after it popped, I still felt some tenderness but a lot less pressure. I followed the lead of a lactation consultant at a hospital class I attended, and used some neosporin, which helped speed up my recovery considerably. This was not a fun experience, but I was glad it reminded me again of how painful nursing can be in the early days, and reminded me too, of how thankful I am that nursing is comfortable again.