breasts & penises

Warning: This post contains topics that are quite controversial to new parents. Please respect our families decisions.

About a week ago I put together a post about how well we were handling things as a family of three.

The very next day I had a little bit of a reality check. We took Mo in for his Weight Watchers weigh in, as I like to call it. Since he's a little guy we wanted to make sure that he was gaining as much as he should be in these first important weeks. The doctor told us he should definitely be gaining at a quicker rate and put us on a strict schedule that included supplementing his feedings with formula. At first this was hard for me to hear. Most breast-feeding moms don't want to hear that they need to introduce formula. But I looked at the bright side. Feeding him formula from a bottle meant that I would know exactly how much he was eating and how often. But also that Mike could feed him and it wouldn't be such a physical toll on me each time he needed to eat. The doctor told us to do this for five days and then come back in for another weigh in. So we got started and fed the boy every three hours. Five minutes of breast-feeding on each breast followed by two ounces of formula.

The day after that Mo was scheduled for his circumcision. In short everything went fine. He took it like a champ and honestly the worst part (for me) has just been the extra step of applying Vaseline on his penis during diaper changes. But the concern and unknowns that I had around the circumcision and the worry I had about caring for him post procedure was probably the worst part. Just wondering if his cries related to that, or his hunger, sleepiness or what have you.

The mama trauma of the circumcision coupled with the weight issues: feeding schedule, pumping and formula. All of this together was a lot for me to pack into the end of the week. It left me exhausted and emotional. Tears were shed and nerves were tested. I was overly concerned and worried about the 'damage' we were doing to our little guy.

So what did we do? We spent all day Saturday as a family of three on the couch and in bed snuggling, sleeping and watching movies. It was the perfect cure.

I'm happy to report that at his weigh in and check up yesterday he had gained 13 ounces and his little penis is healing just fine. Now we just have to keep up with his new schedule- he adapted quite quickly to waking every three hours and his appetite has definitely grown. I am still struggling with some sensitive and sore nipples but am told the more we get used to feeding the better it will get.

Thanks for letting me keep it real! xx Ly