Breastfeeding the Second Time Around

Grace from Kids Health Notes is pregnant with her second child. In this guest post, she reflects back on what she learned from breastfeeding her first child. Now knowing her family history of allergies and her first daughter’s allergy to cow’s milk products and other foods, she can eliminate the allergenic foods from her diet and provide her next child all the wonderful benefits of breastfeeding. Grace says:

I’ve always known.

Even before I became pregnant I knew I wanted to breastfeed. There was no question that breastfeeding is best for me and the baby. And so I thought, knowing how to do it would come naturally, problem-free.

I had the pleasant experience of bonding with my baby minutes after delivery, even with a C-section. She latched on perfectly like she knew where and how to find me. But then my daughter developed a condition that had her staying in the nursery full-time and the nurse could only bring her out to me every 3 hours, and strictly for 30 minutes [B123: I'm surprised a hospital would impose such a schedule. Newborns need to feed on demand at least 10-12 times in a 24-hour period. The length of feedings should not be restricted. Only under close medical supervision and consultation with a lactation consultant or breastfeeding counselor should feedings be altered]. And then she was too sleepy and groggy from the treatments and she wouldn’t nurse properly.

Having my daughter feed on 3-hour routine since birth actually turned out a blessing. When she got home, she continued that routine of waking-eating every 3 hours way into her 4th month. New moms who have to deal with feeding-on-demand know how tiring it can be to breastfeed without schedule. So I did sort of breeze through the first 3 months of feeding… well, there was the colicky gas and GERD… but at least I got to breastfeed and cuddle with her. Spending time with her like that, just bonding, getting to know each other, was pure calm, like nothing else mattered in the whole world in those moments.

By her fourth month, however, things began to get weird. I started expressing my milk when I when back to work and soon realized I wasn’t building up volume. My daughter wasn’t nursing more frequently or longer either. She did continue to thrive and I breastfed her exclusively for 9 months. She developed eczema and extremely dry skin all over at 4 months but I didn’t get the connection yet. Belatedly at 8 months, she was diagnosed with multiple allergies, one of which was to milk.

She wasn’t allergic to my own milk, but I was passing on the allergens onto my milk to her from the food I was eating. If I had known about her allergies, or been more conscious about what I ate, knowing my own family history of allergies, maybe I would have been more careful very early on. My daughter wasn’t gaining much weight because my own breastmilk was giving her allergic reactions. Slowly weaning her on to an allergy-free formula was difficult for me, but it was necessary for her to thrive and gain more weight. [B123: If for some reason you are unable to undertake an elimination diet, consult your pediatrician for a recommendation regarding the appropriate formula. Of course, if your child is allergic to cow's milk, a cow's milk formula is not appropriate. Soy is another common allergen, so some children cannot tolerate soy-based formula. For a child with severe allergies, a pediatrician might prescribe a "predigested" (extensively hydrolyzed) formula that costs three times as much as regular formula].

Today, she’s a two-year old, still allergic to multiple foods but otherwise healthy, smart and thriving well. And now, I’m about to be mom to #2, and even with all the struggles I had breastfeeding and having a history of allergies, I would still breastfeed again. But this time I’ll be wiser and watch what I eat. This time too, I’ll have less anxiety about let-downs, engorgements, gas and allergies that I had before as a first-time mom. Without a doubt, breastfeeding is still the best, allergies or not.