Friday, December 9, 2011

Nursing through Pregnancy - 35 weeks

I haven't had any major discoveries or drastic changes in the past 5 weeks, but I thought that the 5 week mark has made for good updates. I did hear a few swallows while Sasha was nursing recently, but once I paused to actually listen for them, there were none.

The discomfort of just being pregnant and 38 years old has far out run the discomfort of nursing these days. I rarely put up much fight (effort to redirect Sasha) against nursing these days. I'm a bit more patient, though I do have my weaker moments. It is still the non-sleep times that drive me the craziest. My latest distractions are Solitaire and Spider Solitaire. On a bad night, I find my eyes darting around the screen manically, so even those distractions aren't fool proof.

toddler with boppyA familiar site - Sasha will bring me "her" Boppy now, too. This is a big help to my big pregnant self!
Click image for Photo Credit.

I would have to say that I still have all of the weird sensations (pain, discomfort, arousal, and just ODD), but all to lesser degrees since I got my colostrum. I often squeeze a little colostrum out to show Sasha that there is milk in my breast. She acts all excited, but I don't think her latch has actually changed. Occasionally she has even asked me to express a little colostrum for her to see (and taste?).

Bed times range. On a really good night, when I've timed things perfectly, I can nurse her to sleep in 15 minutes and she stays asleep when I put her into her bed. On a bad night, I wind up nursing her for well over an hour, often with several failed attempts to put her into bed. I wish I could tell you what the problem is there, but if I knew I would have already fixed it.

I have to be very aware of her food intake because if she doesn't eat enough dinner (and I don't offer a hefty snack before bed), she will wake often to nurse... still without taking any milk. Now that I am so very huge, laying in her bed is very uncomfortable so I want to avoid this as much as possible. Not to mention the restlessness of getting up to nurse her every hour!

She usually comes into bed with me when Daddy gets up for work (around 3am). Then I am usually able to sleep through nursing. Elmo and I recently discussed how crowded our bed will soon be since it seems there will definitely be occasions for all four of us to be in the bed.

Sasha using BoppySasha nursing her sister's baby doll
on the Boppy cushion
August 2011

As delivery nears, I find my fears are actually at the forefront of my mind less. I'm focusing less attention on worrying about her latch returning as well as worries about Spencer's ability to nurse. I think I just have too many other preparations keeping me busy to waste time worrying. Whatever the cause, it is an improvement!

My doctor tells me that Spencer could easily arrive at 36-37 weeks, so there may not be any more nursing through pregnancy updates. These may (hopefully) turn into tandem nursing updates!

Find the other posts in this series:
  • Nursing through Pregnancy - final weeks (39th week)
  • Nursing through Pregnancy - final weeks (38th week)
  • Nursing through Pregnancy - final weeks (36-37, so far)
  • Nursing through Pregnancy - 35 weeks
  • Nursing through Pregnancy - 29/30 weeks
  • Nursing through Pregnancy - 25 weeks
  • Nursing through Pregnancy - 20 weeks
  • Extended Breastfeeding, So Far! (posted pretty much the weekend I got pregnant!)
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