Paula's Breastfeeding Story
My story is a failure and a success one.
It starts when I was 25yrs old , and I decided to do a plastic surgery, my breasts was too big and I didn't like it at all. But one of my dreams was to breastfeed my children, so the doctor promised
that I wouldn' t have any problem.
Five years later I had my first child, Skarlett, she was a beautiful baby .
Skarlett born with 7lb 1oz , but lost more than a pound at the hospital. I
was producing milk and after hard work she had latched-on just fine although my nipples were inverted. I was feeding so much she wanted sometimes every hour. At her 2 weeks check-up she hadn't reached her birth weight, so the doctor advised me that I should give a bottle to her or I could jeopardize her healthy. He thought that because the breast surgery I wasn't producing enough milk, that could be true, so I did what the doctor told me. Two days later Skarlet had passed her birth weight. But I didn't give her formula, I was pumping and feeding her my milk with the bottle.
When Skarlett was 6 weeks old I tried to breastfeed again, but it was too late. I called a lactation consultant to help me. I finger feed Skarlett for two days. After all that I gave up breast feeding, but I still
pumped for two more months.
At 33 yrs old I had my second chance to fulfill my dream, but my bag of water broke at 34weeks so Morgan born premature and only 5lb 7oz. At first I thought that I could not jeopardize her healthy but I would give breastfeeding a try in a few days.
She latch-on very fast and I had lots of colostrum, I was really hopeful. At 5 days old we had to go back to the hospital , Morgan had jaundice, she had to stay in the lights for 24hrs and the doctor said that she should be fed with the bottle with formula, so the billirubin would pass on her feces faster. But than I spoke up, I didn't want to lose every thing that I worked for, so I would breastfeed her first than I would give the formula. After 24 hours her billirubin level dropped to a normal level and we could go back home.
Morgan is a strong sucker, but because she was so little I was always concerned about her weight gain. I kept telling myself that if I had to bottle feed Morgan would be ok, because her healthy was the most important thing.
I took her to the doctor to weight every week. She would gain some weight but not a significant amount to make me feel confident. I had a supportive doctor and he gave me enough encouragement to keep trying.
At 6 weeks old, Morgan gained 10 oz in a week, and I had no more doubts. I was so happy that I could scream. My work was paying off, and my baby was getting the best of me and I was realizing my dream.
She is 2 1/2 m old and she is with 8lb 9oz, she still little but just because
she is a premature, but I am sure that she will catch-up soon.
My advice to a others mothers with a breastfeeding problems is to hold on to her decision and be patient. Breastfeeding is a art that has to be mastered, and any mother can do it.
That is my breastfeeding story .
Paula Prittie
