The whirr of the pump drones on…

The story of our Adventures in Breastfeeding starts where most of these sorts of stories starts, on baby’s birth day. Liam was so tiny, I worried about feeding him. He made the motions of nursing, but I wanted to make sure we were “doing it right” so I asked the nurse to have the Lactation Consultant stop by and help us out. She came by and checked out Liam’s latch and said it looked like he was doing a great job. But that he might need some more “coaching” (me as well, I’m sure!). No one would be in the office on Saturday or Sunday but that someone would stop by for sure on Monday. In the meantime, I should keep trying him at the breast.

In the meantime, he needed to drink something so we gave him formula. With his low birth-weight and probability of developing jaundice, we needed to make sure he was getting enough to eat. The nurses gave us Enfamil Lipil to feed him and that went pretty well. Still, I asked the nurse if I could get a pump in my room, so I could maybe start working on my supply. If we were going to have trouble with breastfeeding, I’d rather he had my milk than the formula, if possible.

They brought me the Medela Lactina (pictured above) and showed me how to put it together. And we were off. I started off getting a mere 5ml per pumping session, but that was at least something. The next time the LC came by, on Monday, I expressed concern at Liam’s ability to nurse. He would latch on, suck a little and then either get frustrated with hunger and detach, or settle down and suck just lightly, as if in his sleep. So she brought in a scale to help us determine if he was indeed getting milk. Because his latch was spot on, and he was definitely sucking. She weighed him and then he nursed on both sides for a total of about a half hour. She came back and weighed him again. No change. Not one gram. And that meant he wasn’t getting any milk.

Now, it could be a one-time deal, or this could be something that was happening every time he nursed. Judging from our experience so far, I was inclined to believe the latter. The LC recommended that we rent a pump just like the one we were using and gave us the number of the rental service company located there at the hospital. She assured me that since he had gusto for nursing and a great latch, that it would only be a matter of time until he was big and strong enough to get the milk himself. And to make sure I was putting him to the breast in the meantime, to get him used to the experience of nursing.

So Kile stopped in at the rental service and found out the rental was $45 a month, not terribly bad. However, there was also a deposit of $35. To put it plainly, we just didn’t have that right then. Kile had just paid a bunch of bills that morning.? We needed some groceries, to get gas and various other things.? This was just NOT in the budget.? And I?? Lost my nut.? The lack of sleep and the hormones and the stress of the situation collided and I turned into a sobbing mass. Kile, feeling stressed enough as it was, didn’t particularly care for my waterworks, but I quite literally couldn’t stop myself.? But I got myself mostly under control by the time the nurse stopped in.? She could tell I was upset and I knew better than to put her off.? Those nurses can be persistant.? And I didn’t want to make it into a big deal so I told her we were a little worried about having a pump at home to feed the baby with.? She said she would talk to the LC about this, see if they couldn’t find a good solution.

So the LC (otherwise known as The Saint of Breasfeeders) came by and her kindness still takes my breath away.? She offered to loan us, free of charge, a pump (another Lactina) in her office that she often would loan out to mothers of babies in the NICU.? I believe at this point, I had to pick my jaw up from the floor.? And it didn’t stop there.? She also gave us an Advent pack she had that included the Via storage containers a bottle AND an Isis pump.? :eek? Can you believe that?? I nearly was kissing her feet as she left.? That woman is a goddess.

Luckily, I’ve now got a pump in place, a used Medela PIS so I can return the Lactina.? We’re going to try it out tonight and see how it goes. :)? Wish us luck, because I feel we may need it.