My "original" plan was to nurse for at least six months. Three months on maternity leave and three months at work pumping. In "normal" births the baby is in the room with you and you get to practice nursing every couple hours if needed...and your body is prepared to produce milk. In my case I was bed bound for the first two days, and when I was mobile I only had strength to visit baby two times a day. The nurse wheeled in the big industrial pump and I did pump as much as I could, but I only produced maybe a tablespoon of colostrum. The nurses assured me my milk would come in and the colustrum was very good for baby. I remember using the plastic syringe to suction up every bit after pumping. One of the most special moments was when one of the nurses in the NICU helped me to nurse baby for first time to see if she latched. She latched immediately and the feeling was indescribable. I was lucky to have a baby who latched, but since I knew I didn't have enough milk I resorted to pumping so I could see how much she got every feeding. Since, she was under 5 lbs and premature she needed to grow, so I wasn't willing to risk it. Here is daddy feeding baby. Notice how tiny she is in his hand.
I went to the nursing course Kaiser offered and learned all I could, but it didn't help me produce anymore milk. I was pumping every 3-4 hours once I returned home, but over the course of six weeks I never produced more than 2 oz. each time. My hands were cracked from washing bottles and pump accessories, and my nipples had blisters. I felt so guilt ridden the weekend I let my milk go, but I knew it was for the best.
After, speaking to a lot of friends who nursed I realized I was allowed a lot more freedom by switching to formula. Some days baby could go 4 hours between feedings. Some nursing babies feed every two hours and momma gets no rest. I think pumping can be better than nursing in some cases because you can measure what baby is getting and get more rest. If a new mother overproduces milk the baby might not get the creamy milk and be hungry every two hours!
2 comments:
To nurse or not to nurse four kids later I found the bottle much easier for me with my four kids. Two I attempted to nurse and two straight to the bottle. I felt guilty not nursing when my two sisters at the time were just nursing away. But it just doesn't work out sometimes and we have to not feel bad
When i was at home, my first morning pumping session would give me 4-5 ounces. But during the day, i would get about 1-2 ounces. I was worried I wasn't producing enough milk but Little Joey seemed satisfied. I had a friend who could pump 5 ounces every single time! Drove me crazy. Every woman is different. As long as your baby is being fed, with breastmilk or formula, and she is thriving, that's all that matters.
-Sylvia
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