Pre-reading disclaimer: This is for pumping mamas...so there will be a lot of verbage about pumping and boobs. And also, these are tips that worked for me, just in my 'ol preemie mama opinion. ;)
Hi Fellow NICU Mama,
As you can see from the blog, I did the preemie thing twice. Ellie, was born at 27 weeks and 6 days gestation due to my water breaking prematurely, although it was a slow leak. She was born at 2 lbs. 7.5 oz. Fast forward. She’s now 5 years old and is reading! Is she ok now? Yes. But has it been a long road with therapy and feeding ups and downs in those first few years? Yes. But why do I tell you this? Because there is HOPE my sweet preemie mama friend. HOPE. And ONE day at a time. This is what you must cling to to get through this journey you are now on.
In Sept 2011, we then had Beckett even earlier. :( He was born at 2 lbs. 2.6 oz. at exactly 25 weeks just due to premature labor. Beckett is now 2 years old! We have had more hurdles to jump with him, but God is healer, and we’ve seen that through our sweet Beckett. He’s now starting to really talk, which is so much fun! He has ongoing lung issues that we are also trying to manage, but again...grand scheme...we are so blessed he has come this far.
My preemies are by far the most brave people I know. Second most brave…fellow preemie mamas. This is hard. This is scary. SO scary as mom! It’s not going to just be over tomorrow. (I so remember wanting it to all be just a bad dream) But know you aren’t alone. I know you don’t know me at all. And I don’t expect you email or respond. I know everything is overwhelming. But...if you ever want to email or text, you just write away! I’m here to help you understand the preemie lingo, pumping stuff, feelings, family...anything!
Obviously, this is our blog where I journeyed our story. Feel free to read back (Ellie in 2008 and Beckett in 2011) We started the blog because I just couldn't keep up with updating friends and family. It was just too much for me emotionally to keep telling over and over what was going on. But it was also a great way to get the word out as to how people could pray, and specifically.We’re forever grateful for their prayers and support! Know that I will be thinking and praying for you daily, and cheering your sweet baby on for everything he or she IS doing. We’re asking them to do SO much even though they weren't even supposed to be here yet.
A. Focus and try to celebrate the one good thing that she does well each day. It's VERY easy to get bogged down by everything she "isn't doing right" We tried to cling to this! We even had a sticker calender so we could visually see all the things she was amazing us at! This will be easier after the first few days. The first few days are just awful. Lots of tests, lots of ultrasounds, lots of new information....but just come back to this and try to take one day at a time.
B. Family, friends and visitors. It is overwhelming, and if you're like me, congratulations was the last thing I really wanted to hear. I know they care, and they are scared right along with you, but have you and your hubs come up with some ground rules. It's your job to focus on baby. So ask people to respect that. I coped with this by scheduling visitors. That way I only had like 1 or 2 people at a time, and not 11. With so much unknown, it was hard. And depending on how baby's day was going, I sometimes even canceled visitors. I also scheduled visitors because then I could also make sure to keep on my pumping schedule. Remember this is our preemie mama version of feeding the baby, so don't be afraid to kick people out of your room to pump. It was so great to try and pump breastmilk as it’s best for our preemie’s intestines to digest, and it was also something that I, only mom, COULD do for my baby.
I’m hoping the lactation consultants/nurses in the hospital are helping you. So forgive me if you already know everything...and YAY celebrate if they already are!
1. Try and pump 8-10 times a day. I think I did every 2 hours during the day, and 3 at night. During the first 14 days after delivery...that is what time frame you have to establish your milk supply. However, there were nights that I was SO exhausted, and would let myself go ⅘ hours. It's ok to let yourself do that if you can, just not every night. I would always be so mad when I woke up not to my alarm, but it was obvious that I needed the sleep! And then most times, my boobs would wake me up anyways (after you get going awhile).
2. Hands free pumping bra. Good move. It's such a game changer! http://www.amazon.com/Medela-
3. Get a kitchen timer to set your time for pumping. Pump only 15 minutes, no more than 20 at each setting. You want to keep the ta tas happy! I made the mistake of doing it for SO long, like 45 minutes once, and on the hardest power suction setting because I "thought" that was what I was supposed to do! Glad I learned about the 2nd day after Ellie was born NOT to do all of that. Use the suction settings on the pump, only for your comfort. Only do as much as you can tolerate it with out it hurting. USE lanolin like it's going out of style. Rub it on your nipples before (if they are sore) and after. It's good to let them air dry sometimes too if you have the time, and the privacy Plus, only 15 minutes because you are pumping so often trying to help establish the milk supply.
4. Clogged milk ducts will likely be a friend ;( I took soy lecithin daily to avoid this by the end. I would get a clogged duct, and take some quick, and that would help too though. You can find it at the vitamin stores. Also, I ended up taking acidolophilus daily too because I apparently was prone to yeast infection/thrush (even though I only PUMPED and hadn't breastfed) I got it with both Beckett and Ellie. I guess it's just me! It was no fun! So FYI: if you ever have itching/red breasts, and if it cuts like glass thru your nipple when you pump, that is maybe a sign of yeast...so get to the doctor and on some medicine! Don't just think it's "part of pumping." I had to be put on multiple courses of diflucan. It always hit me hard. And Dr.Newman's nipple cream/ointment. Also ,what helps with clogged milk ducts is hot shower, massaging toward the nipple tip.
5. Try and relax when you pump...I know...so hard at first when you are waiting for your milk to come in. But EVERY single drop is liquid gold for your sweet girl! So be SO proud for every drop! Do you pump in their room? pumping room? If I was in the pumping room, sometimes i would look at pictures of the babies, journal, write letters to them, and it usually would result in me crying, but that also helped with let down! Just remember...you are mom, and it's something that only you can do for your baby. It's just so amazing!
6. Try and eat healthy...meals and snacks...drink lots of water. That will help keep your supply up. Watch how much milk you intake/yogurt (Ha...fruit and yogurt parfaits in excess were my weakness) as it could cause a milk intolerance. Beckett had bloddy stools once, and eliminated dairy for awhile until the Neonatologist gave me the ok again. Not sure if it really was from that, but if you just try and not go overboard on dairy, you should be good for his/her digestive system.
7. I also got a notebook that I wrote down the times I pumped, how much I got, what time I took my pain meds, etc. The first week after Beckett was born, I was SOOOO in the preemie mom daze! Everything is so overwhelming (even the second preemie time around) So I had to write everything down. Even people who came to visit me, I wrote it down...plus I wanted those scheduled so I could visit around pumping times. Because that was #1 priority for me! If people do visit, don't feel bad at all saying you need to get going because you need to get pumping! It's like feeding times! I would also keep some extra bottle labels (for the milk bank) in my notebook.
8. Make sure your flanges (the cone shaped things) are fitting correctly. You don't want them rubbing too much on the tubes, that will make the ta tas not happy in the long run. The lactation consultant should have helped you with that "fitting" at the beginning. And again, use the lanolin if they do rub a little. A little rubbing is ok, you just want to be careful.
9. Get some of the microsteam bags that medela makes. Along with some of the quick clean wipes (easy when you are out and about pumping) With the microsteam bags, I microwaved my pump parts at least once a day to sanitize them. Let the hubs help you with cleaning the "pumping dishes." When he can of course! Ben was a rock star at helping with that. He would help me label my bottles of breastmilk, and we would use one of those pink tubs from the hospital and soak and wash the pumping dishes with just regular dish doap (like dawn) and hot water, rinse, and let air dry on a paper towel. I also would sometimes keep the cleanpumping dishes in either a ziploc bag or the microsteam bag, and I kept ALL my pumping stuff in my diaper bag, and carried that thing around proudly! I also had a spare set of pumping stuff in case a part went missing or broke.
10. Keep some burp rags handy when you start filling those bottles full of breastmilk. I would set them on my lap, so when I had to change bottles I wouldn't spill on my pants! Learned this one the hard way! Bad problem with the hands free....wouldn't pay attention until I felt it leaking! HA HA!
11. At home, I would pump into the medela bottles that came with the pump, and would pour into the bags and freeze them flat. I would bring fresh to the NICU, but I got to the point where I would just pump at the NICU and then just keep the stuff I pumped at home...at home in our deep freeze. I had the medela pump n style breast pump, and it worked great for both preemies!
12. I carried all of my pumping stuff in two ziploc bags, two sets, had two sets in case I needed spare parts. With my lanolin, 2 new breastpads, burp rag, hooter hider, journal, notebook for NICU Notes, name labels for the milk bottles...and I carried all of this in my baby's diaper bag! Oh yes I did! And I brought it into the NICU every day, carried it around when we were out and about too! :)
7. I also got a notebook that I wrote down the times I pumped, how much I got, what time I took my pain meds, etc. The first week after Beckett was born, I was SOOOO in the preemie mom daze! Everything is so overwhelming (even the second preemie time around) So I had to write everything down. Even people who came to visit me, I wrote it down...plus I wanted those scheduled so I could visit around pumping times. Because that was #1 priority for me! If people do visit, don't feel bad at all saying you need to get going because you need to get pumping! It's like feeding times! I would also keep some extra bottle labels (for the milk bank) in my notebook.
8. Make sure your flanges (the cone shaped things) are fitting correctly. You don't want them rubbing too much on the tubes, that will make the ta tas not happy in the long run. The lactation consultant should have helped you with that "fitting" at the beginning. And again, use the lanolin if they do rub a little. A little rubbing is ok, you just want to be careful.
9. Get some of the microsteam bags that medela makes. Along with some of the quick clean wipes (easy when you are out and about pumping) With the microsteam bags, I microwaved my pump parts at least once a day to sanitize them. Let the hubs help you with cleaning the "pumping dishes." When he can of course! Ben was a rock star at helping with that. He would help me label my bottles of breastmilk, and we would use one of those pink tubs from the hospital and soak and wash the pumping dishes with just regular dish doap (like dawn) and hot water, rinse, and let air dry on a paper towel. I also would sometimes keep the cleanpumping dishes in either a ziploc bag or the microsteam bag, and I kept ALL my pumping stuff in my diaper bag, and carried that thing around proudly! I also had a spare set of pumping stuff in case a part went missing or broke.
10. Keep some burp rags handy when you start filling those bottles full of breastmilk. I would set them on my lap, so when I had to change bottles I wouldn't spill on my pants! Learned this one the hard way! Bad problem with the hands free....wouldn't pay attention until I felt it leaking! HA HA!
11. At home, I would pump into the medela bottles that came with the pump, and would pour into the bags and freeze them flat. I would bring fresh to the NICU, but I got to the point where I would just pump at the NICU and then just keep the stuff I pumped at home...at home in our deep freeze. I had the medela pump n style breast pump, and it worked great for both preemies!
12. I carried all of my pumping stuff in two ziploc bags, two sets, had two sets in case I needed spare parts. With my lanolin, 2 new breastpads, burp rag, hooter hider, journal, notebook for NICU Notes, name labels for the milk bottles...and I carried all of this in my baby's diaper bag! Oh yes I did! And I brought it into the NICU every day, carried it around when we were out and about too! :)
It's all so overwhelming, but you can do this! You CAN do this! It's by far the hardest journey x 2 I have been on. It's tough in the storm, and it's tough after the storm, but you CAN do this! Have hope my friend! I'm cheering for you. From one preemie mama to the other. Praying for you too. And again...feel free to email me at mandysue@gmail.com if you want to.
Wishing you many tiny, tiny blessings,
Mandy
Wishing you many tiny, tiny blessings,
Mandy
No comments:
Post a Comment