From the start we had it all planned,
I was going to have a non-medicated natural birth. My husband would cut the
umbilical cord and would shout out the baby’s gender then we would have skin to
skin and breastfeed for as long as possible. No pacifiers, medication, or
formula. However, life had a different plan for my family. I had an emergency
C-Section and my son was rushed to the NICU before I could see, touch and
admire him. During the time my son was away and not with me I felt defeated and
heart broken. The only thing that I could do for him was PUMP, PUMP and PUMP,
so that he could have something from his mom.
I started pumping right after surgery every two hours for two long
dreadful weeks. At the beginning I had a hard time emptying my breast; as a
result I was engorged all the time for the first few weeks. Once I learned how
to express milk manually I felt some relief from the pain I was experiencing.
Eventually I was comfortable enough that I could pump and hand express at home
and at the hospital where I would benefit from seeing my son. I was concerned
that not being able to touch him would decrease my milk supply and that I would
have to give him formula, thankfully that was not the case.
On Mother’s Day, just two days
before my baby was released from the hospital I had the opportunity to hold him
and breastfeed for the first time. It was the best Mother’s Day gift I could
ask for. It was the utmost magical, beautiful, and most rewarding experience. My
son finally had his mommy and I would never let him go. Once at home he had a
hard time adjusting to us and his new environment, but the one thing that
always soothed and relax him was breastfeeding. Even though we were finally home
we had new challenges that I did not foresee; because of my C-Section I found
it difficult to get into a position that was comfortable for me. We tried the
cross cradle, football hold, and side lying until we found a very useful
nursing pillow that took the pressure and weight from my abdomen. Eventually my
baby and I got synchronized and overcame that challenge, but it seemed that we
would overcome a problem when a new one arose. For example in my case my
nipples were sore and at times they would bleed due to the fact that my son was
born with one tooth, I also experienced clogged ducts, back aches, and after my
maternity leave was over I had to return to work full time and the pressure to
produce more milk was overwhelming. Besides all of that having the right
support from my family and several lactation recipes along with teas and lots
of determination have been key for me to be able to breastfeed for 6 months
now. I now have an established milk supply, I no longer dread pumping and I
look forward to coming from work to feed my son. I plan to breastfeed for the
first year and if possible two plus years.
Despite the many hurdles and
obstacles my son and I have encountered, breastfeeding has been a wonderful
journey. My son is happy and healthy, and there is nothing I rather do than to
be feeding my baby and him looking up at me with those beautiful brown eyes. Breastfeeding
has created a beautiful strong bond between my son and I and I am proud that I
trusted my body to make the magical substance that my son needs to thrive.
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