Hi Breastmates
Thought I’d share my start to Breastfeeding with you.
After the birth of my daughter by emergency c-section she was whisked away as she was grunting and having issues with her breathing, I didn’t worry (too much!) as I’d heard this was a common complication of a c-section. Little did I know then that was one of the signs that she had Strep B.
She was 10 days in the Neo-natal Unit with antibiotics – I found breast feeding completely overwhelming to start with. She was hard to stir to actually get her to latch on and swallow, we had to use cold flannels, Daddy moving her arms up and down and all the tricks of the NNU staff because she was comfort sucking more than feeding.
The staff were really positive even when it took 7 days for my milk to come in. I expressed every 2 hours and fed her every time she woke. She did have a feeding tube put in which I found deeply upsetting at the time with all her other bells and whistles she seemed to be hooked up too! But it was reassuring as well as I knew I’d feed her, and then we’d make a mutual decision to whether we gave her the expressed milk – which we did because we could see she was actually getting something into her tummy. And I believe it was due to this she never actually lost any weight.
I guess my reasons for sharing this is that I feel very lucky to have had the support to get my breastfeeding established, it didn’t come easy my nipples felt and looked like they had endured World War III, but the patience and care I received was amazing and with all the chaos that surrounded us with her birth it was a fantastic bonding experience as I felt very numb and shell shocked afterwards. She is now 5 months and breastfeeding beautifully, not a wet flannel in sight!
From Sarah
