Committed to breastfeeding and committed to having an ordered day while sleeping all night?  These things can work together but it may not be easy. 

My "New Mommy" memory . . . .

The first few weeks of trying to breastfeed AND get my first child to eat and sleep on a schedule were very difficult.  I was struggling with recovery from a c-section, not having a clue what to do with a newborn, postpartum crying jags, pain and difficulty nursing, and getting too little sleep.  We were ready to do whatever it took to "bring order to our days and sleep to our nights." 

BUT NOTHING SEEMED TO BE WORKING!  

A.) I thought that I had correctly been following the methods in the book "On Becoming Babywise" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam, M.D.  My daughter slept great (in her infant seat) and even slept long stretches at night (on occasion).  But nothing was consistent.  I was not sleeping at night and not functioning well during the day.

B.)  When I took her for her well-child visit, she had only gained one pound.  I had read that one pound per month is acceptable for a breastfed baby, but the pediatrician diagnosed her "failure to thrive" and told me to give her infant formula.  Now I was very confused!  Was it the schedule causing her to be too small?  Was it that I had an insufficient milk supply?  I did not want to give up nursing or my attempt to have a routine and sleep all night!  

C.)  On top of all the confusion, breastfeeding was extremely painful.  So I called a La Leche leader for breastfeeding help.  The advice regarding latch-on and proper positioning was invaluable.  But I was so discouraged at being told to nurse on demand when I had already worked out something of a schedule for feeding.  All of the "experts" were telling me different things! 

After much confusion, many tears, and prayer for wisdom as to what we should do, the following helped us:  

1.  We got lactation help.   The technical advice from the La Leche leader was very helpful.  I just did not follow the advice to nurse on demand.  (I curled my toes through the pain while nursing for the first six weeks and then the pain finally went away.)

2.  We got Babywise help.  I contacted a mom who had used Babywise with her children and she gave me a STRICT routine to follow for a few weeks.  She told me to stick to it without deviating until things were established.  My baby and I both cried for several days (and nights) but soon everything clicked.  She was eating on a routine, taking long naps, sleeping all night long, and still consistently gaining one pound per month.

3.  We switched pediatricians.  I got recommendations from breastfeeding moms for pediatricians who are supportive of parents' rights and choices in the care of their children. We found a doctor who looks beyond the growth charts and instead considers my size, my husband's size, and how well our babies are developing.  He does not pressure us to formula feed OR demand feed.  Our babies have all been tall and thin and he does not diagnose them "failure to thrive" when they are developing well and gaining at least one pound per month. 

Our experience has been that we can breastfeed exclusively and follow the Babywise routine.  We experience both tears and pain for a short while, but that soon ends and the benefits to our family have been amazing.

Feel free to email me if you want more details as to the routine that works for us.  My second child screamed most of his waking moments the first year of his life due to undiagnosed food allergies, but he found great comfort in our routine and slept long naps and all night long (almost the only times he was not crying from pain).  More food (the reason for the pain he was in) would have been the worst thing for him!