Welcoming Naiya Lennon

Motherhood

Sep 14

Written By

Our daughter, Naiya Lennon officially turned two weeks old last night at 11:40 pm (not that anyone is counting!). I'm excited to finally share some hospital photos from her birthday since the past couple of weeks have been such a whirlwind and finding the time to post has not been the easiest.

We are completely head over heels in love with our daughter and I keep having to pinch myself to remind myself that she's ours (and I'm not dreaming!). So far, Naiya is an amazing baby with such a sweet personality. She never seems to stop eating (I've turned into a 24-hour milk machine), she loves long naps (but only during the day) and she loves to stay awake as much as possible all night when her parents are dying for some sleep. Phil and I are constantly wondering if it will be 18+ years until we can sleep again because our complete lack of sleep feels pretty overwhelming.

Thankfully, my mom was here helping us out for the first couple of weeks post-baby and Phil's mom is also visiting later this week to help too. We'll take all the help we can get!Out of all of the challenges that present themselves in becoming new parents and having a newborn, breastfeeding has been the hardest for me so far. The first week went really well but in looking back, I must have been having beginners luck. This week, I realized that breastfeeding became increasingly painful--to the point where I was wincing and tears were streaming down my face.

I had been using the nipple shield nurses gave me right after my c-section but it started to cause more harm than good. When I tried to get Naiya to latch without it, she wasn't able to and I got really nervous.After finally tracking down a lactation consultant this week, I learned that the shield itself had caused a pretty bad infection and blisters in my nipples to the point where I can no longer use it.

My lactation consultant suggested I stop breast feeding for a few days and solely pump to wait for everything to heal. From there, I'll go back for another consultation next week and she'll try to help Naiya latch again. I'm so thankful we got to the bottom of this sooner rather than later but we still have a long way to go.I don't know how women breastfeed for a year or more at a time--power to them!

I personally didn't go into breastfeeding pressuring myself to do it but once I started, I really enjoyed the special connection I felt with our baby. I also love all of the healthy benefits that come along with it. I'm determined to figure it out--or at least give it another shot. I've heard it gets better if you stick with it but if it doesn't, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Until then, I'll keep snuggling this adorable little nugget and I'll continue to stay positive.