My hope and trust that Noah would be okay and discharged from the NICU in three days only encouraged me to keep with my goal to nurse him. While he was in the NICU no one discussed feeding yet..I pumped to stimulate breast milk production. Once Noah was transferred to the Children's Hospital, the nurses there handed me a pumping kit and showed me every pumping station in the NICU area. So...I pumped. I knew that my pumping schedule had to resemble that of a nursing infant and so I pumped every 2 hours. I still hoped that at some point I could nurse Noah but talks with the Lactation Nurses and the Speech Therapist it was clear that nursing would be extremely challenging. Noah was having enough feeding obstacles to defeat...I was not about to introduce and force the breast. So I pumped. I pumped and had no real clue if pumping would work or not. However given that he has the distractors in place and needed the most nutrition possible I felt breast milk would be best and I was determined to produce milk. I rented a hosptial grade pump and our health insurance reimbursed me. And I was blessed....
Noah was not being fed and he had his first feed 4 days after he was born and they offered him 5mls via a feeding tube every 3 hours. I know the hospital staff is educated but really what infant eats every 3 hours? Nonetheless I pumped around the clock...yes I woke every 2 hrs even at home without an infant by my side. My milk came in slowly. By day 6 they tried to feed him 1oz of breast milk and he vomitted. In hindsight I realize that Noah was suffering from acid reflux. I wonder if this was because he hadn't been feed anything for 4 days. ?? And so they dropped the feed to just 1/2 oz of breast milk. They slowly worked it up to 2oz and by the end of the month when he was being discharged he was up to 70ml every 3 hours. At the hospital Noah cried a whole lot. I really think he was partly hungry and partly in pain from acid reflux. I arrived home with a good milk supply. I was pumping plenty and came home with tons of frozen milk.
When Noah arrived home the feeding extravaganza took a toll on me. I was waking to feed him and pump. It was insane. I continued to pump every 2-3 hours for another month. Noah was drinking 2-3oz of milk every 2 hours. By this time I was pumping 3-4 oz of milk from each breast. I thought that was completely normal. Since he was not drinking all of the milk I pumped at each session, I started freezing.
By the 3rd month I stopped pumping every 2 hours and switched to every 3 around the clock. I continued to pump plenty of milk, 4-5 oz from each breast. Noah was now drinking 4-5 oz every 2 hours. I was still over producing so I kept on freezing. By the end of this month I could not take the acid reflux...I researched natural remedies and tried Colic Calm. That worked like a charm. Hooray for no more reflux... meal time was more pleasant and Noah was more pleasant as a result.
By month 4, I was pumping every 3 hours during the day and only once at night. I was tired and refused to wake up just to pump. If Noah was sleeping (which he was) I was going to sleep. I would wake in the morning and pump out a total of 16 ounces of milk; during the day I was pumping between 6-8oz each pumping session. I was still overproducing so I continued to freeze and store.
By month 5, I was still pumping. I pumped every 3 hours to follow Noah's feeding schedule and stopped pumping at night. I still had an over abundance. I continued to freeze. Noah was now drinking 6-7oz every 3 hours.
By month 6 I was just shocked. I started trying to feed Noah frozen milk but he would not take it. He just loved fresh. I decided to use my frozen milk for cereal and solid foods. Noah started drinking 8oz of milk every 4 hours and so I started pumping every four hours. I still pumped 16 oz in the morning and 8-10oz at each pumping session. Still plenty of milk and an over abundance of frozen milk stored.
It's been 8 months now and I can't believe that I am still attached to this pump. I now only pump 3 times and pump anywhere between 6-8 twice a day and 10-16 oz in the morning. Noah still prefers fresh milk and I am still trying to go through milk from February.
This has been one wild ride. I have learned to pump in the car, at the beach, even at an amusement park. It's been a tough job to keep up. The demands of caring for an infant and toddler and a home plus responsible pumping is hard. No matter how much time I dedicated to pumping I have to acknowledge that my abundant milk supply is extremely rare and is a testament to God's grace and blessing upon Noah. Breast milk, in my opinion, has truly helped Noah recuperate from all his battles.
While I wish I could part ways with my pump and be free like a bird, I feel pressure to keep up what I started. Noah is at high risk of suffering from ear infections which could lead to hearing loss due to his cleft. Breast milk has the magic touch and PRAISE the LORD Noah has not suffered an ear infection to this date and I have to attribute that to breast milk. Therefore the pressure is on. I hope to pump until the first year. I am praying that Noah's breast milk can help Noah heal and recover from his cleft surgery. So here I go...another 4 months to go. Can I make it? I have no clue but we shall try.
One Pumping Session
No comments:
Post a Comment