Nikki Lee writes:
<< So could the new mother's foggy mind be an artifact
of her strange environment? How can she integrate all that she needs for
this
new baby plus deal with the different sights, sounds, smells, and
environment
of an artificially constructed environment? >>
All these Lactnet posts reminiscing about one's own birth experiences in
relation to medication and hospitals summoned a 45 year old memory. I
had been working night shift in OB for several years and knew the
department like the back of my hand.
I was the "star of the show" in L&D late on 3-11 that day after 15 hours
of labor with one dose of "twilight sleep" (Demerol 100 mg. and
Scopolamine 1/150). Once on the delivery table, I succumbed to the sweet
talk of my good friend the nurse anesthetist, as she stood mask in hand
near my head. Pretty vulnerable situation. How could I have disappointed
her and not let her give me a general anesthetic?
Since I was "special", they did me a favor (yes! I KNEW it was not the
routine!) Before whisking my baby off to the nursery, they waited for me
to awake and showed her to me, tightly swaddled and squalling.
I must have assumed I would have another 7 1/2# fairskinned, bald boy.
But she was a chubby 8# 15 oz. girl, with a ruddy red complexion and coal
black hair standing in spikes. My first words when I saw her were "That's
not my baby."
The night nurse on postpartum was (politically incorrect term now) a
little old maid who I knew was probably out at the desk knitting. I
remember my mind going a mile a minute teeming with thoughts, unable to
will myself to sleep, even though it was "time".
I was feeling full of excitement and adventure, and unbeknownst to her,
in my private room, I gleefully snuck up in the dark to the bathroom for
the first time after delivery all by myself. I must have felt right at
home, knowing just what to do.
Unfortunately the breastfeeding related part followed the pattern of
those days - 12 hours NPO, 5% GW q. 4 h for the next 12 hours, five
minutes on one side only q. 4 h. etc., etc. I can't remember a thing
about my daughter in the hospital, except being surprised how much more
she made my nipples hurt than even the first baby had!
At home, in the middle of the night, I moved her bassinet from beside my
bed out into the hall BECAUSE IT WOKE ME UP every time she roused and
lifted her head and stretched, etc.! I KNEW of course that it WASN'T TIME
for her to be hungry, and thought I should try to get some sleep!
By the 5th day, I remember standing in front of the bathroom mirror
looking at my tender swollen breasts and (without knowing why) doing
gentle effleurage on them because of the pain. I saw myself begin to
leak, very, very slowly. I remember distinctly having an "a -ha" moment
and then saying to myself "Something's anatomically wrong with me! I
don't have enough holes in my nipples!"
(Realize that the knowledge of the MER was not to reach our little OB
enclave for another 5 years!) Given how painful my nipples were, that's
all it took for me to "throw in the towel" and switch to the bottle as I
had done with the first baby at 5-10 days.
The rest of my 45 year old memories are blurry except for the day about 6
weeks later when I was about to leave the house, 2 1/2 year old in tow,
thinking "I feel like I've forgotten something!"
"Oh, yes! The baby's still in her crib!
Amazingly, she survived, and has gone on to be a wonderful mom.
Fortunately, by the first time she made me a grandmother, I knew enough
to help her get off to a good start toward a rewarding 9 month nursing
experience!
Jean
********************************************************************
K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, Ohio USA
________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
