Why I Stopped Breastfeeding

(Are you caught up? Read part 1 and part 2 of the story first!)

I stopped because nothing was working.

We kept going back and forth to the lactation clinic 2 or 3 times a week to get Baby Doc weighed and to do a before-and-after feeding weight. He was gaining great (once we got over that initial big loss). But I still had no more than 1/2 ounce of milk for him at any one time. (By this point, he was taking 2+ ounces of formula at every feeding.)

How I Tried to Breastfeed

(If you missed last week’s installment, here’s how the story began.)

And oh, how I tried.

First and foremost, we had to feed the baby. I started with this crazy contraption called a Supplemental Nutrition System. It sounds fancy, but it’s really not. It’s this very long, very thin, very flexible tube. One end goes in a bottle of formula. Once the baby latches on, the other end of this tiny tube goes into his mouth, alongside the breast. So while he’s trying to nurse from me, he is also getting some formula from the bottle.

Sound simple? It’s not… quite. There is a definite trick to it. You need to hold the formula bottle just right. Hold it too high and it acts like a siphon and formula pours through the tube and into kiddo’s mouth, too fast for him to swallow. Hold it too low and it’s too hard to suck the formula through the tube and he doesn’t get any.

Then there’s the placement of the tube in his mouth. That also has to be just right… not too far into his mouth, but just far enough. And turned just the right way so the three teeny-tiny holes on the sides of the tube aren’t stuck under his tongue or against his cheek or the roof of his mouth where the formula can’t come out.


Can you tell I was a bit frustrated with that gadget?

Why I’m not Breastfeeding

Here’s the super short answer:

I tried. Really hard. I couldn’t. So we stopped.

Well, that was boring. Do you want a little more of the story?

Baby Doc was a pro at nursing, right from the beginning. (It must be a guy thing.) He never had any problem getting where he was supposed to be or latching on. I worked with the lactation nurses at the hospital before we came home. They adjusted how I was holding him a little bit, and they gave me suggestions to help him get an even better latch.

Surprises About Labor and Delivery

Sure, I went to the childbirth classes. And I watched the videos. I’ve seen lots of labor and delivery on silly TV shows. And I’ve seen plenty of animal babies born, naturally and by C-section. Heck, I’ve even helped with lots (and lots) of animal births. But I was still surprised about plenty of things during my labor and delivery with Baby Doc!

Baby Doc has no snooze button

Seriously. I’ve been looking for one!


At one month old, Baby Doc was still pretty floppy. We plunked him down for this picture, and then had to worry about him toppling over. In November, he was still getting up 2-3 times a night. Ick. Luckily for me, Farmer Doc was helping out. We alternated middle-of-the night Baby Doc duty, so neither of us got too ridiculously exhausted.

Welcome Baby Doc!

Wow… what a couple of weeks it has been! Right on the heels of saying goodbye to our favorite Martin cat, we welcomed our son into our lives.

Baby Doc was born on Friday, Oct 18. He weighed in at 8 pounds even, and was 19 inches long. Frankly, we expected him to be closer to 10 pounds. He was almost a runt!  

Baby Bump 36 weeks

I can’t believe there’s only one month to go before we get to meet Baby Doc! The time has been going so fast…


(Don’t mind the dust bunnies in the photo. I can’t bend down to pick them up anymore. Someday I’ll vacuum again…)

Baby Bump 31 weeks

As of today, I’m officially 32 weeks pregnant (the pictures are from a few days ago). That means there’s only 4 weeks to go! Holy moly… how did that happen? This is pretty unbelievable…

(Update. Apparently I can't do math. Or read a calendar. I'm not 4 weeks out... There are eight whole more weeks to go! I guess that means we have plenty of time...?)

Big huge thanks to everyone who commented and sent me emails on my last baby bump post about the things I should (and shouldn’t) worry about. I did take a mom-friend shopping to help finish out my registry. I’m sure we’ll be adding a few things here and there, but I think we’ve got the important stuff taken care of.

The bump is definitely getting more pronounced. The kid is definitely getting bigger.


I had another ultrasound last week to check in on Baby Doc. He’s weighing in at an estimated 4.25 pounds. Average for this age is 3.3 pounds. Yep, he’s above average. Still. I thought his head looked like it was getting pretty big. The ultrasound tech wouldn’t tell me what the circumference is… In retrospect, that’s probably a good thing…


We got our first 3D ultrasound pictures. I think these photos make the baby look sort of lumpy, and kind of creepy. The ultrasound tech told me that I was wrong, and he looks very cute. He’ll probably be cute when he’s born.


Last week, my fingers apparently got swollen. I’ve been keeping an eye on my wedding rings, to make sure they didn’t get too tight to get off my fingers. I had a moment of panic on the way back from the doctor’s office when I almost couldn’t get them off. But a little elevation and holding my hand directly in the path of the air conditioner in the truck, and I was able to get them off.


Now they’re on my necklace instead of on my fingers. (Don’t mind the cat hair on the shirt. It’s an occupational hazard.)


Next up? Turning this messy room into a nursery…

I’ve got some great plans for it… but it’s going to take some serious work…

Baby Bump 27 weeks

Oh my. Time is flying, and I can’t catch it!

Baby Doc is growing just as well as all the weeds in my garden. At our ultrasound last week, he weighed in at approximately 2 pounds, 12 ounces. Average for this age is closer to 2 pounds, so he’s in the 81st percentile. Still plenty big!

Baby Bump 23 weeks

I made it to that 6-month mark. (Today is 24 weeks. These photos are from last week.) I’m still feeling good, and haven’t hit the freak out stage yet. (Well, unless you count the day I found out I was pregnant. There was a little bit of freaking out then!)

I have graduated out of regular clothes and into maternity clothes. There’s no going back now!


We had another ultrasound this month to check on a few anatomy measurements that they couldn’t see well the last time. He wasn’t tremendously cooperative this time, but they did get to see what they needed.

19 Weeks Pregnant

This week marks 19 weeks pregnant for me. To celebrate this milestone (can I call it a milestone? I’m almost half-way there!) I had an ultrasound to check out all of Baby Doc’s anatomy (fingers and toes, leg and arm bones, spine, all that good stuff) and find out the gender.

Before I tell you… any guesses?

My Year 2 Change just got bigger!

I started off this year with a big Year 2 Change challenge from my friend Cris. She challenged everyone to think about what we really needed to change in our lives. For me, it was pretty simple to figure that out. My challenge was to become a morning person!


I started off pretty well, and was proud of myself at the one-month mark. I had gone down to one snooze hit in the mornings, and had made 10 days in a row and was feeling pretty good.

Then I realized I was absolutely exhausted in the afternoons! I mean seriously beat-down tired. I would head to the recliner, cozy up with a big blanket, and nap. For hours.

Seriously? What was the deal?