As mentioned in my previous post, my little baby came into this world in a bit of a traumatic way and spent four days in the NICU. The morning after my son was born, the special care nursery nurses said that I could breastfeed him. They wanted him to have a specific intake over the next few days to monitor his sugar and adjust his IVs as needed. At first, it was only 10ccs. So I went to the nursery and had the opportunity to have a lactation consultant help me the first time. Because of the size and shape of my nipples, she recommended a nipple shield. With help, my baby latched on and I was able to provide the 10 ccs of colostrum that the nurses needed.
Over the next couple of days, I tried to pump every three hours for at least 15 minutes. This yielded very small results. By the time Nathanial was allowed to leave the hospital, he was up to 4 ounces per feeding of formula. That is quite a good size feeding for a brand new baby and quite an amount for my breasts to catch up with! On top of the delay in having close contact with Nathanial, I also had company in and EVERYONE wanted to see the baby and spend time with us. Because we had such a hard time with breastfeeding from the beginning, I chose to pump and bottle feed while people were around.
Still, I could not get my production up. Once everyone had given us a bit of space, I decided to try feeding at the breast again with Nathanial. I KNOW this is how I managed to up my production. Nathanial ate every 2.5 to 3 hours and nursed for an hour. This increased my production dramatically. At night, my husband fed the baby while I pumped. It seemed to work better for us than my breastfeeding for an hour at night.
So those were my days for about a week and a half. I nursed him for an hour, put him down and tried to get things done, and then nursed him again about 2.5 hours later. It was difficult, but I had no idea it was about to get much worse. My right breast began to get a little bit pink and a little sore. I assumed it was just a little engorged and went about my business. Then, the chills hit. I have never been so cold in my life! To get warm, I took a hot shower, wrapped myself in a robe that had been heated up in the dryer, and drank hot tea. Still, I could not get warm. I knew I had a breast infection. The next day, the on call midwife worked me in and prescribed antibiotic. That day, my fever spiked to 102.8! I haven't had a fever that high in my entire adult life!
I chose to pump that breast and nurse the right breast over the next bit until the soreness went away. Once it did, I began nursing again, and to ensure I had drained the breast, I pumped the remaining milk away at the end of the nursing session.
Then, a day before my baby turned 5 weeks old, I began to feel pain up in under my arm. The chills began and I immediately put myself on Tylenol and ibuprofen piggy backed to reduce the fever. I called my OB/GYN and they called in another prescription of antibiotic. Now, I am trying to pump exclusively and praying that I can kick this infection for good.
I wanted so badly for breastfeeding to go well and for me to be able to nurse/provide breast milk to my son for at least six months. Now, I feel as though I am running my own health down. It's not that I want to put my own health before his, but I can't mother the way I need to when I am running a fever and dealing with aches and pains. Still, the amount of pressure placed on new mothers to breastfeed is overwhelming. I feel that if I do not continue, I am not providing Nathanial with the best start, and thus, I am a bad mother.
We will see what happens with this pumping only thing. I pump 6 times a day: 3, 7, and 11 morning and night respectively. I'm praying I can make it work at least for the next 4.5 months. Wish me luck!
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