Moved to Las Vegas and woah what a transition - kinda long

[sherbetarchitect]

I've been nursing around the clock. Ok that's an
exaggeration but it feels that way. With our dd (now almost 4!) we
had to pump exclusively because I was never able to transition her to
the breast (32 week preemie). Now with ds (born at 36 weeks 5
days/now almost 6 months - gestational age) we are nursing on
demand. Up until the 4th month he followed a very normal pattern of
behavior (from what I've read). Started out the first 6 - 8 weeks
nursing every 2 - 3 hrs around the clock. About 3 1/2 months he
started doing a 5 or 6 hr stretch at night followed by a 3 to 4 hr
stretch. I was happy - he was happy.

Then we moved across the country and he was simultaneously teething
and having a slight cold. Ok - so we started nursing more (it
seemed) than even when he was a newborn. I attributed this to a) the
stress of moving, b) change of climate (from very humid to LV) and c)
the teething and cold issues. This pattern pretty much continued
while we were staying with my parents when we first got here (7 weeks
highly stressful) and then seemed to get a little better when we
moved into our own apartment. But we've been dealing with ear issues
for the last 10 - 14 days so we started getting up 10 - 12 times some
nights. I just nurse him back to sleep whether he's hungry or not
because it seems to be the fastest way to get him back to zzzz's.

I have to be honest - I was only responsible for parenting our dd for
about 60 - 65% of the time because the nights were always shared.
Combine that with heavy financial stress, a cross country move and
all the affects it has had on my dd as well and the strain on our
marriage and I started seeing F O R M U L A in bright lights
dancing in front of my eyes a couple of times. There are a few
things that have kept me going but at the top of the list is the
sheer privilege of getting to do this (dd never nursed and we lost
our milk supply after 6 1/2 months of pumping so she had formula for
like 3 months till I switched her to goat's milk).

Last night he went from 9 to 12, then 12 to 3 and then got up at 5
(he usually gets up at 6 or 6:30). That was one of the best nights
I've had in the past few weeks so i"m not complaining.

Somebody tell me it's going to get better. Somebody remind me that
no matter how much I nurse this wonderful child it will seem like a
fleeting moment when he's older. Has anyone else had similiar
experiences?

Thanks for listening....

Signed tired and droopy breasted

[shelbell]

I totally feel ya mama. DD was always a good nurser but liked to cluster nurse and she could stay on forever! I don't think she's ever pulled off on her own, she'd just stay latched all the time. She's almost 8mo. already! It does get better though. I have a 12 yr old and an 8 yr old and I think about how it seems like yesterday that they were little. Your mindset is just perfect. You just really have to appreciate every little thing, even when it's tough, because you will miss this special time when it's gone. Good luck mama and good for you for sticking with bf'ing even when it's tough.

[spryght]

Just think how hard it would be to get him back to sleep w/o BF. That's gotten me through alot.


Amy