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Preemies
Hello Preemie moms... I suppose I should introduce myself
Hi everybody... I'm a first time mom from central Ohio. My son Elias was born at 28 weeks and 6 days via C-section after I had sudden and serious complications threatening both of our lives. I had a couvelaire uterus following abruptio placentae. This is all a fancy way of saying my placenta was
detaching from the uterus and breaking apart, and the quickly expanding
blood clot that followed did a number on my insides.and threatened to tear open my womb. If you want to you can read a long and detailed account of the whole ordeal in this post I made on my birth month board.
Elias is 30 weeks old now and even though I have been released to home he is still in the NICU. We go and visit him a couple times a day. I got to hold him for the first time recently, doing kangaroo care, and it was the best feeling in the world.
Here's my little man:
For this picture we placed a ball-point pen into the incubator for size comparison, to give everyone a better idea of just how tiny the little guy really is.
So, now I'm home and attempting to pump milk for this little guy has pretty much taken over my life. I am eating oatmeal every morning and downing fenugreek and drinking boatloads of water. I am taking hot showers and massaging the funbags beforehand... but even so, the most I have ever been able to pump in one day is 20ml. And that's not at one sitting, that's the whole day's output combined. Some days are much less. It's frustrating at times to drag yourself out of bed at ungodly hours and only pump a drop or two. I am trying hard not to get discouraged. I know stress and tension can kill your ability to produce milk and so it's a vicious cycle. It's hard when all you have to encourage your milk ducts is just a few pictures of your child. At times it feels like there is an ocean of worry and longing working against me.
Anyway, several people on my birth month board encouraged me to check this board out. They said you ladies were a great resource and would know just what I'm going through.
- Whitney
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Hello Preemie moms... I suppose I should introduce myself
Hello and welcome. I'm sorry you are here and hope your little guy is doing well. My daughter is 5 weeks old and was born at 27 weeks due to severe pre-e and IUGR (32 weeks gestational age). She weighted 1lb 11oz at birth.
Are you able to get help from the lactation consultants in the NICU? At my hospital they check in daily with the team during rounds and stop by the bedside a few times a week to see how things are going. They have been very helpful when I was having trouble getting my supply up and more recently when I started having pain while pumping. At my hospital they are free to work with while dd is in the NICU. If your NICU doesn't offer this, check with your ds RNs. They are very knowledgeable about pumping and bf'ing too.
I don't know if your your Neo will suggest this, but they may want to use donor milk if your baby's intake exceeds your production. This is very normal for preemies and isn't a dig at your or your ability to produce. It is a way to get great nutrition which is easier for a preemie to digest while your supply comes in. They did this for my dd while my supply came in.
Is there anything in particular you have questions about or want to know?
Sending good healing thoughts to you and your ds.
Hello, and welcome. Yes, you found the right spot - it may become home to you for a while because you're learning a whole new vocabulary and our peers who go onto FT can't understand. I'm glad they can't - I guess it's just my way of saying that the BMB's become a difficult place.
Your little guy is so handsome! Congratulations. I'm sorry you're into the NICU rollercoaster, though. Maybe check out the blog and share the FAQ in my siggy so friends and family will know how to help during the journey. But ask us anything - or just share a sweet moment from your day.
Kangarooing is the best
Peanut Butter and Jelly!
<a href="http://s568.photobucket.com/albums/ss122/AliceNP/?action=view
Congrats on your handsome little boy! Im so glad that you have started kangaroo care with him... its the best! (and will likely help your milk production!)
You have gotten lots of great advice regarding pumping. I just wanted to add a little encouragement/positive story. I too had a pretty traumatic birth and ended up rehospitalized at 1 week post partum due to a large hematoma and I really feel like this affected my milk production early on. My supply continued to grow for MONTHS with lots of pumping, more milk plus special blend, oatmeal and lots of snuggling with my girl. At almost 10 months I am still pumping and breastfeeding her with one supplemental formula bottle a day. Its still very early for you and your body has had alot of stress... Im hopeful that you will see more production soon. you are doing a great job!
www.virginiakkent.blogspot.com
Nice to meet you; Elias is so precious! I'm sorry you had to go through such an ordeal to get your little miracle. My daughter was born at 29 weeks 0 days, so I know what a shock it is to see them so tiny, but he is so perfect! And he will just keep growing and growing before your eyes. You will be amazed.
I also know how frustrating pumping is, but keep up the good work! No matter what, you will be glad you tried. I'm going on 6 weeks out and I still feel behind on my supply. There are days when I only manage 6 pumping sessions when I know I should be striving for 8-12, and it's hard to not become disappointed in myself. The important thing is that you keep trying; don't give up! It may seem really discouraging, but in the long run those small pumping sessions are telling your body to produce more. I started out getting maybe 2 mL per session if I was lucky, now my minimum is 25-30 mL per session (my "record" so far is 80 mL in one session!), so it DOES get better, even with a slow start. As PP mentioned, you can supplement donor breast milk in the meantime (which is what I had them do with my daughter while I tried to build up my supply). It's nothing to be ashamed of, just another way to provide for your darling baby. If you haven't rented a hospital grade pump (like the Medela Symphony), please do if you can afford to! That is the number one thing that has helped me. It will get better for you. You are doing the very best thing you can for Elias just by trying!
Good luck and best wishes!
Congratulations and welcome to the board. Praying that Elias has a uneventful NICU stay.
I've had two NICU stay's and both times my supply sucked. But I keep at it and pumped every two to three hours, but at night I would let myself sleep 5 hours (advice I got from the NICU Manager), and that did help with supply. I would also ask if you can pump at Elias bedside. I found that helped too.
Please keep us posted.