When he became inconsolable on Sunday night, known as the ‘Second-Night-Syndrome’ a nurse instructed us to continue trying to give him a pacifier and that he would settle eventually. He began screaming at my breast and refused to latch…There were blood blisters on both of my nipples and I had not slept since the Thursday night before. My son eventually fell asleep in the early hours of the morning. When he was weighed around 8 am on Monday, he was 5lb 4oz. He had lost 15% of his body weight in 48 hours.

My milk did not come in until Wednesday afternoon, over 96 hours after my son was born. He had been hospitalized for five days after delivery. I had no idea he was starving. My breastfeeding class did not include any information on delayed onset of lactation, starvation signals, or formula supplementation. I am a registered nurse and thought I had done enough research to breastfeed successfully, and that I would be doing what was healthiest for my son by exclusively breastfeeding.