Milk Machine

As someone who has breast fed, pumped and formula fed, I'm a huge supporter of feeding your child in whatever healthy way best for your family.   If you didn't breastfeed, there's no judgement from me, that is for sure.  Being a parent is hard work and you choose what's best for yourself and your child.  

With Grace, I struggled through inverted nipples, nipple shields, poor latch, bleeding and cracked nipples, mastitis (3 times), clogged ducts and hauling my pump around with me everywhere.  My entire life rotated around pumping every 2 hours.  I freaked out if I didn't pump exactly every 2 hours.

And then Postpartum Depression & Anxiety hit me hard.  That was the end of our breast feeding journey and we {happily} switched to formula.  Formula was EASY and freed up so much of my time and energies.

Breastfeeding is HARD work and not everyone is able or even wants to take on that challenge.   We just have to feed our kids.

With Noah, it's important that he receives breast milk for the best possible shot at growing and gaining weight.   I'm pumping and eventually we'll try to breastfeed when he's big enough and can suck, swallow and breath simultaneously.   The NICU staff supports and promotes breastfeeding in a calm and kind way.  If you can't, you can't.  You don't want to, you don't do it.  Choosing to try out breastfeeding again, they are really supportive and encouraging.  I meet weekly with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (or IBCLC) who has gone above and beyond in her support.

This time around, I told myself that I wouldn't stress about pumping.  It would either work or it wouldn't.  I was blessed to have a friend offer to donate her milk if pumping wasn't working.

Luckily, it has.  And I feel like an absolute superhero.   I make humans and then my body makes milk to feed them.  

This weekend, I brought over 500 ounces of frozen milk to my in-law's house.   Our freezer is too small and we don't have the budget to buy another one.  Thank God they have the space and are so supportive!  

We even practice breastfeeding.  Noah can't latch yet, but he can practice.  It's the most amazing feeling so far.  He gets fed through his feeding tube and we practice so that he associates breastfeeding with eating.  You can tell that he instinctively knows what to do but just isn't sure how to do it just yet.   How amazing though! 

Speaking of pumping, off to hook mine up for the 3rd pump of the day!