I have a good friend that I'd like to introduce to this forum if there are moms out here dealing with this similar situation. She needs support and I'm not sure how to help. I know how much moms have helped me get through the sleepless nights of my two younger babes. Just having someone to talk/chat with was amazing support.
My friend had a baby in September. Before, during, and after labor she got very little sleep. After giving birth, she hadn't slept for 6 straight days and was feeling quite delusional. Doctors felt it was due to the trauma of delivery/anxiety/etc. She gave her some drugs to help her get to sleep; hoping that it would shut her down for a few nights. They told her it was safe to breastfeed while on these drugs. My friend is extremely health conscious and hates taking meds, but at the state she was in she decided to give it a try. She did get a few hours of sleep, but a few days into it she began to investigate the drugs she was on. Everywhere she looked it said it wasn't safe to breastfeed while taking them. The pharmacist said absolutely not. The doctor apologized, but that sure put a bad feeling in her. The doc offered a different drug. She began pumping and dumping while on these other meds in hopes to begin again soon. Unfortunately the next month or two was havoc. She was still not sleeping and doc had switcher her meds around so much; her body was rebelling. She stopped pumping in hopes that maybe one less thing to do would help her body to heal so she could sleep. It has been 5 months now and she is not on any meds; she's trying to help her body heal naturally. However she is still getting very little sleep.
But the worst of it for her is; she is grieving not being able to breast feed. She has two older children who she breastfed basically up until the next time she got pregnant. And to not be able to breastfeed this baby is really hard on her. She doesn't know how to cope with the overwhelming feelings of sadness, and she doesn't know how to create a bond with her new baby. Has anyone ever had to go through something like this? Someone who has breastfed all their other children, but couldn't breastfeed one?
