“I just wanted to share my breastfeeding journey with my second son and I hope this to be an encouragement to other NICU moms. I went into premature labor when I was 35 weeks pregnant. I had to have an emergency c section and when he was delivered we waited as the doctor kept trying to get him to cry. Finally we heard a few cries but the pediatrician had to rush him to the nursery. As she walked by I got a short glance. Hours after he was delivered the transport team brought him to see me in an incubator (due to being intubated) and I got to touch his little fingers but that would be all I saw of him for two more days as we were at two different facilities. I started pumping in hopes my milk would come in but I was getting very little out. Once I finally got released and could visit with him again I would pump every three hours in the pump rooms in the nicu and at the hotel we were staying at by the hospital. Slowly but surely my milk started coming in. Once he was finally able to try and drink milk his bottles were supplies fully by me. As his intake increases the amount I was able to pump increased. It was amazing. We were discharged after a week. About fifteen days postpartum I developed a serious infection at my incision and had to go on an antibiotic that forced me to pump and dump. I pumped every three hours on the dot after I fed him a bottle. It broke my heart after he was finally able to nurse straight from me instead of bottles and now it was me who was our road block. I ended up pumping and dumping for a little over a month because I kept getting infections at my incision. When it came time for me to be able to nurse again I was concerned he wouldn’t take because he had been on bottles; however, he latched perfectly and to this day refused a bottle anytime he is offered. I know it is hard to make yourself wake up and pump or pump and dump every three hours for weeks on end, but please please trust me it is so worth it! I would love to be an encouragement to anyone who is going through this!
First picture was the day he was born and the second picture is now!”
-Hannah
