In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, I thought it would be fitting to share my experience with exclusive pumping in hopes of encouraging other pumping mothers. My first two children were exclusively breastfed. I never worried if they received enough milk... I never knew how many ounces they consumed on a daily basis. I was completely confident in my body's ability to nourish my children. They were both full-term babies... Cue Lamby's birth!
As you may know, Lamby was born 10 weeks premature due to placental abruption. You can read his birth story here. He spent 9 weeks in the NICU being fed almost the entire time through a ng tube. I remember a few hours after his birth, requesting a breast pump. It was SO important to me that my baby receive the best nourishment that he possibly could. It would be days before he would actually be given any breast milk through his ng tube. I diligently pumped every two hours around the clock for twenty minutes each time. My husband and mom were amazing troopers to run my milk upstairs to the NICU each time I pumped. It was so exhausting to wake every two hours! Essentially, by the time I woke, pumped, and washed the pump parts, I had abut an hour to sleep in between. All while recovering from an emergency cesarean. Exhausting yes, BUT it was also my way of feeling close and connected to my baby.
After many weeks, Lamby attempted to breastfeed. I was so confident that he would be able to successfully breastfeed. After all, I had successfully breastfed my older two well beyond their first birthdays! Lamby had a great latch, but unfortunately was too weak to effectively suck. Also, by this time I had an enormous oversupply due to pumping, which made it even harder for Lamby to nurse. I have seen Lamby stop breathing and turn blue more times than any mother should ever see. At first he started with one bottle or breast attempt per day. Eating is exhausting for a premature baby. Once he mastered an entire feeding, then a second feeding would be added, etc. until he took all 8 feedings by mouth with no episodes. He had such a hard time with the suck, swallow, and breathe reflex. Often his breathing would become so fast that I was told it was equivalent of running a marathon... he would become exhausted from simply trying to eat! He finally learned to take a bottle thanks to the amazing nurses, physical and speech therapists, and so many prayers. For many months we had to feed him is a side lying position (to his left as we learned this is more tolerable for preemies) and slightly elevated. Even when we brought him home, we had to continue to "pace" his feedings. Basically meaning that we had to watch and listen to make sure that he "remembered" to breathe while eating. It would often take him 30+ minutes to finish only 1.5 ounces. He also had issues with reflux.
Lamby's physical therapist feeding him in the NICU.
Lamby is now 9.5 months old and very healthy, praise God! He takes a bottle like a "typical" baby, AND I AM STILL PUMPING!! I must say, the time commitment to pumping is huge! Everything takes twice as long. For instance, a night feeding consists of feeding baby, pumping, then cleaning parts. The thought of quitting has been on my mind from the very beginning. To be 100% honest, I have never enjoyed it- even dreaded it at times, but knowing that my son is receiving the best makes it all worth it. At this stage, I am down to pumping only three times per day (morning, mid-day, and evening). I still have a huge over supply and make double what my son drinks per day. I feel very blessed that I have been able to pump and have such a large supply. At this point, my goal is to continue pumping until his 1st birthday. By then, I should have enough frozen breast milk to hopefully last another six months!
