Breastfeeding After the NICU: Gina's Story
We received this breastfeeding story from Gina. Her daughter had a NICU stay and she struggled to figure things out in the hospital setting. Read on to find out what worked for her!
Pregnant with my first baby, I went to the hospital at 40+3. I was all packed with a suitcase which included my breast pump to check my size. My fluids were low so I was admitted, but my labor was slowly progressing. My daughter’s heart rate kept dropping during contractions, so the doctor was leery to proceed with Pitocin. Eventually, I was administered the Pitocin, to only slow down my labor further.
At 40+5 I finally gave birth after 5 hours of pushing due to baby being positioned sunny-side up. She came out and was placed on top of me. Before stimulation, I knew something was wrong. I didn’t touch her, I just started screaming that she wasn’t breathing. They immediately put her on the table and began working on her. No golden hour. After 20 agonizing minutes, they had her intubated. We found out she was choking on mucus. She was breathing on her own, but as a precautionary measure they kept her intubated. She was then transferred to a level 3 NICU. (The hospital where I delivered was only a level 2.) I was discharged 5 hours after giving birth because they told me it would take at minimum 24 hours before they could transfer me. That answer wasn’t good enough for me.
Right after I was discharged and able to see her.
I finally make it to the NICU to officially meet my baby and she is all hooked up. Those NICU nurses were such angels. My baby was in a cooling system to prevent any further brain damage and to monitor her for seizures. This meant I was unable to hold my baby until 4 days old. I had to wait until she was warmed up.
In the meantime, I reluctantly was going back and forth between home and the hospital. I was pumping every three hours day and night. I had pictures and videos of my baby. The nurses fed my baby my milk through the tube in her nose/mouth. At first, I wasn’t producing enough so she had donor’s milk. They kept encouraging me that I was doing a great job. I thought I was failing. I am the first to breastfeed in my family. My mom and grandmother both formula fed. This was all so new to me, but I knew that it was now more important than ever. Especially when we got the devastating news that she sustained some brain trauma resulting in an HIE (Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy). I persevered through the sad, lonely, sleepless nights. I didn’t feel like the hospital lactation consultants were very helpful. I don’t think they ever could have imagined how successful I ended up becoming with breastfeeding. I held her after 4 days, but the hospital setting was uncomfortable for us both. She was still all hooked up and it was hard to get a comfortable position. I worked on using a nipple shield, but again I didn’t feel proper support from the lactation consultants.
Discharge day
2.5 months old here
11 months old here on her first cruise
After 8 long and dreadful days in the NICU, we finally made it home. I finally got her to latch successfully with the nipple shield. I did some research and found out that my insurance covered a lactation consultant to come in-home. She helped give me the confidence to continue our journey. After about 6 weeks, one night her and I were home alone and peaceful. I got her to latch! It was a magical moment.
I am proud to report that we’re still going at 13 months strong! It’s such a special bond that we worked so hard to achieve. We have been cleared from the Neurologist unless anything changes. She’s meeting all her milestones and is extremely sassy! So proud of us!
What do you think about Gina’s story? We think she did an amazing job to find the help she needed to succeed! Thanks for sharing Gina!
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