Emilie's Story of Oversupply, Pregnancy During COVID, and Postpartum Preeclampsia
Our breastfeeding story this week comes from Emilie. Emilie shares about her journey with oversupply and how after her experience with her son, she was better prepared for her journey with her daughter, born during COVID, then having preeclampsia complications later.
Being a mom has been a core value to me since my earliest memories. I met the man of my dreams, my servant warrior husband my first semester of college to become a nurse. We got married shortly after graduation and I started work as an Obstetrics RN on a Mother-Baby Unit. Working every day with new moms and babies through some of the most intimate times of their lives was a privilege I will never take for granted. It further solidified my desire to be a mom and gave me a lot of practical knowledge and skills that I would use when it was my turn.
I had my first baby, a boy almost 4 years after we were married. Though no major challenges arose, we still went through the “usual” growing pains of a tiny, hungry baby and a tired, sore new mama who had never done this before. My nipples cracked and bled and I developed clogged ducts. My sweet mom made a healing salve for me that was life changing and I still use on ouchies today. The pain of the clogged duct was unexpected and much more severe than I would have imagined. What ended up working for me was an abrasive washcloth to scrub my nipple (I know, OUCH) before each feed and tons of hot baths. I also came to know that I had an oversupply of milk. A visit to the pediatrician who took my concerns at face value, didn’t write them off as just being a worried new mom and didn’t make me feel bad that I was a nurse and “I should know what is wrong'', which was a lie I told myself led to a referral to lactation consultant. After a visit with a lactation consultant, we found out that my 3-week-old baby was getting 3 ounces of milk in about 2 minutes, too much for his little tummy to handle but not enough for my breasts to feel relief. It took a lot of trial and error, a lot of spraying milk into wash clothes until my let-down was through, but we made it through. I’ll never forget one of the first times I took my 2-month-old baby to a restaurant and tried to feed him under a cover. He hated it, he was starving, I was hot and embarrassed and retreated to the bathroom. A strange lady about 20 years older than me walked in a little while later to find me trying to cover up and calm the baby at the same time. Her words carried more weight than she could ever know- “You’re doing a good job, mama. You’re doing fine. Nobody minds a crying baby. He’s just fine and so are you.”
I had my second baby, a girl, 22 months after my first. I found out I was pregnant the week our island entered a state of emergency and lockdown due to COVID. I anticipated the oversupply and dealt with it much earlier than with my son and had far fewer complications (Woo-hoo)! I did develop mastitis requiring antibiotics at one week postpartum but was so privileged to have a physician who brought me in early before a holiday and didn’t mess around with my concerns. The trust that I developed with the provider would become paramount as I developed postpartum pre-eclampsia at 10 days postpartum. I was readmitted to the unit and first told they had no protocol for my baby to stay with me due to COVID and that my husband would have to come take her. I had not yet begun to pump or develop a freezer supply and the prospect of it all was crushing. This same provider and the angel nurses on the unit worked to advocate for me to get to keep my baby with me the entire time and for my husband to get to stay as well. My husband took over 100% care of our baby when the magnesium for my blood pressure made me unable to lift my hands and he even held her to my breasts to feed.
The experiences that I went through are so mild in comparison to what others have gone through, but they still left me with the feeling that my babies and I fought for what we had. Motherhood is hard and raw and beautiful. The grace that has been extended to me by strangers is breathtaking and something I hope to be able to share in the future.
What do you think about Emilie’s story? We think she did an awesome job and can’t wait to see how she encourages moms in the future! Thanks for sharing Emilie!
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