Michelle Dewberry Instagram – Shout out to the Pump Army!!! 😂 (this is me at 03.00am today, half asleep doing my best impression of Daisy the cow, while desperately trying not to wake up too much!)
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So. Let’s talk Breast pumping for a moment (sorry boys! Maybe close your ears for this bit 🙉).
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One of the challenges of having a premmie is the need to provide breast milk; a) often without your body knowing you’ve had a baby if you’ve had an emergency c-section, b) often months before your body would naturally be ready to deliver milk and c) often without a baby to breast feed.
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You are suddenly plunged into a world of Breast pumping / expressing… This new world is packed full of pumps, bottles, washing and sterilising. Trust me, it ain’t fun (or at least, it isn’t for me!).
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The beginning of this journey for me was super hard. Painful isn’t even the word and I felt like giving up most days 😩😢…I will forever be grateful to the midwives who sat with me for ages helping me to get the tiniest amounts of colostrum with a syringe. I would be over the moon if I even managed to get 1ml 😂
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I struggled with expressing so much that I had more visits from the lactation/breast nurses than I had hot dinners. (It really did hurt me so much.) Those girls have probably seen more of my boobs this past 3 weeks than they have of anyone else’s in 3 years! 😂🤦🏼♀️
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But, I persevered and now I *finally* have a tiny freezer stash of milk, which feels like THE biggest achievement 💪🏻. I’m never gonna win ‘the world milking championships’, but I’m happy with where I am.
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So, if you’re just starting out your pump journey. Keep going if you can (and want to!) and know that it does get easier – I promise (the night pumps will always be a nightmare tho if you’re anything like me 😂).
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You got this mamma 🙌🏻
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#prembaby #premmiebaby #premmie #premlife #nicu #nicubaby #nicumom #nicumum #nicufamily #premature #prematurebaby #breastpump #breastpumping #breastexpressing #expressing #expressingmilk #engorgement #31weeker #pprom #ppromawareness #pregnancy #pregnancyreality #pregnancycomplications #colostrum #colostrumharvesting #mumlife #hospitallife #mummysboy | Posted on 01/Aug/2020 23:26:47
