First of all, Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful time with your family and friends over the holiday and look forward to what 2011 has to offer. My mom, dad, brother and sister were here visiting us in Michigan and it was an amazing weekend–I was SO sad when they left!

But anyway, no time for shmoopiness. On to today’s post …

So … after five days of pumping, nursing for longer durations/more frequently and supplementing formula, Maya was up a whopping 9 ounces to 6 lbs 3 oz at her doctor’s appointment today, just one ounce shy of her birth weight!

To say we were elated would be a grand understatement.I felt like I had accomplished the goal myself, even though it was all Maya’s doing.

She’s eating like every two to two-and-a-half hours now — which is pretty exhausting — but it’s worth it to see her gaining on the scale! Most babies are back to their birth weights by two weeks, and so we are a little behind (she’s 16 days old today) but the nurse wasn’t too concerned so neither are we. She was very pleased with Maya’s big gain!

The downside of her weight gain — I honestly feel like Bessie the cow!

While I’m happy to be able to do it and think breast feeding is a beautiful thing — and feel it can be quite soothing/relaxing at times — I have to be honest; I don’t LOVE it.

I know some women totally dig it, but to me, it’s a huge time commitment, and one I’m still feeling out.

Realistically, even if we hadn’t had this weight issue, I’m going back to work in 10 weeks anyway so it’s not like I was planning on exclusively nursing past my maternity leave anyway (I’d always assumed I’d need to pump and/or introduce formula at some point during these 12 weeks).

And after having my family here this weekend and realizing how complicated & stressful nursing can be if you’re struggling to produce enough (i.e., me), I’m beginning to think pumping is going to be my feeding method of choice — especially since it means my husband can help with some of the feedings now, which is also a bonding experience.

And, an anal-retentive person, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I like knowing exactly how much milk I’m producing for her. When I was just nursing, it was so hard to know if she was getting enough — and she wasn’t! Now, I know … and can supplement formula if she needs more than I’m producing at the moment (hopefully as time goes on I’ll continue to produce more — the whole supply/demand aspect of nursing).

Plus, truth be told, I’m not one of those women who are comfortable with the idea of nursing in public … so while I don’t care if OTHER women do it, it’s not for me … which means I need to be pumping more often to be sure I always have a bottle on hand if we’re out and about. Because the thought of being chained to my house otherwise does not fly.

So since we know she is gaining and I’m able to pump more milk now than I could even Thursday … I think we’re going to be off to a good start in 2011.

Thank you to everyone who commented on my post last week–I was definitely feeling frustrated and now am feeling more calm about the whole thing. She’s going to get what she needs from me, and I need to just relax and let it be! It’s not easy for me to do, but I know it’s what I need to be doing.

That, and eating more leafy greens … the past few weeks have been a sugar/carb fest and this mama is feeling sluggish! Though that could also be a complete lack of sleep, too … 😉