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What's Here? |
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Experiences of a new mother and her neonatal
intensive care unit baby. |
Baby
Stuff
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Breastfeeding My NICU Baby
By: Brandie Valenzuela
I would never have imagined that my baby would be
taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) shortly after his birth. While
he was born a little early, 37 weeks and 3 days to be exact, we had a perfect
pregnancy - no problems at all. I went into labor on November 24, 2000, and at
9:44pm, I gave birth to Matthew William through a cesarean section. My husband
and I were just overjoyed at finally being able to meet our newest little
blessing!
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Shortly after Matthew's birth, he had to be taken
to the NICU because of difficulty breathing. It was around 1am that the
neonatologist, explained to me what was wrong with my baby, and asked me to sign
several consent forms for procedures such as a blood transfusion and a chest
tube. At this point, I still thought that Matthew might be able to room in with
me -- and that I would be able to breastfeed him soon. The next morning, I was
told that this would not be happening, and that Matthew would have to be in the
NICU for approximately 3 - 7 days.
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I had always planned on breastfeeding Matthew, so
when I heard that he would be in the NICU for several days, I felt that I would
miss out on that early bonding with my newborn. I wanted to hold my baby, I
wanted to feed my baby, I just wanted to do all those things that a new mother
does for her baby. As Matthew was on a ventilator and IV's, and receiving
nourishment through his IV's, I was becoming more and more depressed.
The day after his birth, I reminded several
nurses that I wanted to breastfeed my baby and asked them if I should be
pumping. I was very concerned with making sure that I got my milk supply going
and that I had the colostrum and early milk to feed my newborn when he was ready
for it. The nurses agreed that I should be pumping, and they brought me a manual
breastpump. I had a difficult time expressing the colostrum and I was sure to
tell the staff, who told me that the hospital had an electric pump, which might
work easier. I soon was able to start using the electric pump, and while it was
slightly painful in the beginning, I was able to start expressing first the
colostrum, and then the milk, with ease.
In the beginning, I was pumping very small
amounts, but as I continued to pump every two to three hours, I was soon
expressing more and more breastmilk. The hospital provided me with small plastic
bottles to store and freeze the breast milk in, and explained to me to label
each bottle with my name and the date and time of the pumping session. These
bottles were then stored in a freezer located in the NICU.
When I was released from the hospital, and
Matthew was not able to come home with me, I just cried and cried. It was an
awful feeling leaving the hospital empty handed. I wanted so badly for my baby
boy to be well, so that our family could begin our life with him. I almost felt
like I hadn't given birth, that I wasn't a mother of a newborn. But the one
thing that gave me a constant connection to Matthew, was the pumping of my
breastmilk. Each time I sat down to pump, or each time I leaked onto my bra and
blouse, I was reminded that I had a baby who was counting on me for not just
love and care, but for the nourishment that only a mother can give. This made me
really enjoy the pumping sessions, just as a mother enjoys feeding her
newborn directly from the breast.
On December 1, 2000, after Matthew was in the
NICU for one week, he was taken off of the ventilator. This was an incredibly
happy moment for my husband and I, because we knew our baby was not far from
coming home. I asked the NICU nurse about when Matthew would be able to nurse.
It was explained to me that he would need to take my breastmilk with a bottle at
first, because they wanted to monitor the number of ounces he was drinking. I
was upset by this, because I knew all to well about newborns refusing the breast
after being offered the easy-to-suck-from bottle nipple. The nurse explained to
me that he would take to the breast just fine, even if he did nurse from a
bottle first, and that babies don't get nipple confusion like Le Leche League
would tell you. Well, I wasn't convinced, and at this point I become very
worried about the problems I might encounter once Matthew as able to breastfeed.
Less than 48 hours after the ventilator was
removed, Matthew was given his first bottle of breastmilk. How well he drank the
milk would play a part in how soon he would come home, so you can imagine my
happiness when he had done extremely well. All the nurse were quite impressed at
how much breastmilk Matthew would drink in a sitting.
Then finally the day came. We knew that Matthew
would be coming home to us within the next day or so, but on the night of
December 4th, 2000, I asked the doctor if I could try to nurse my now 10-day-old
Matthew. She thought that was a great idea, and asked the nurse to help me find
a more private area to nurse him. I followed the nurse to a quiet room, got
comfortable in the recliner, and she handed me my precious baby. She asked if I
needed any help getting him to latch on and I told her that I think I could do
it (I had breastfed my last baby), and she left the room. I loosened my bra to
get my
breast ready and I put Matthew's head in the crook of my arm and turned his
belly to mine. I lifted my shirt and brought Matthew's little mouth to my
nipple, where he latched on just like a breastfeeding pro. He sucked a few
times, and would stop, but would start once again. It was the greatest feeling
in the world.
As I sat there feeding Matthew for the first
time, tears rolled down my cheeks. At that moment, I know I was the happiest
mother in the entire world. I had my baby, snuggled against me, and I was
breastfeeding him.
I am pleased to say that the next morning, our
healthy Matthew was released from the hospital and we were able to take him
home. Matthew has continued to nurse very well, and is becoming what we all
love: an adorable, chubby, breastfed baby!
Babies
Moms Parenting
About the Author: Brandie is a
wife and homeschooling mom to three children, who also works fulltime from her
home designing custom scrapbook albums and teaching scrapbook classes. For more
information, visit: Brandiev
Designs
Copyright 2001 Brandie Valenzuela
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