Menu
Future Path Life Coaching
  • HOME
  • ABOUT ME
  • PROGRAMMES
  • GROUP COACHING
  • FAQ
  • MY BLOG
  • LINKS
  • CONTACT ME
  • Search
My Blog

To recognise World Breastfeeding Week 2019 here’s some snippets of my story of breastfeeding my premature baby

  • 4th August 2019
  • genfuturepathx
  • Uncategorized
  • 0 Comments
Chris as baby

In June 2008 I gave birth to a set of twins at 26 weeks + 6 days by emergency C-section at the JR Hospital in Oxford. They weren’t due until September so this was a big shock.

Immediately after their birth they were placed in incubators and wheeled off to the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU). My husband went with them and I was stitched up and taken to the recovery unit. Later that day I was taken in a wheelchair to one of the levels with other women whose babies were in SCBU. I was given a photo of each twin as it would be a couple of days before I was well enough to visit them.

I was given my own electric expressing machine which looked like a cross between an old bread maker and a food mixer. I’m not sure to this day why I was given my own machine, the other mothers had to go to a different room and wait in a queue to plug in to an expressing machine. I loved that expressing machine and the fact my milk came immediately despite giving birth so early. I also loved that I could express regularly all by myself and set up a routine of expressing every 3 hours during the day and night. My milk flowed and plenty for twins which also felt like a miracle!

The twins were being given about 1ml of milk per hour through tubes mechanically. Their bodies not really ready for milk. Our daughter Ella Rae was doing well and soon moved out of the high dependency unit but our son, Chris, was very poorly. After about 10 days, that changed dramatically as our daughter’s body started to reject the milk and her intestines began to distend. After several operations to try to improve things she died at 19 days old. There was nothing more to be done to save her.

We weren’t able to hold Chris for a few days as the medics were concerned that the same might happen to him. We took a few days away in Devon and my Mum visited him instead. By this time we had purchased our own double electric breastfeeding pump and I continued to religiously express every 4 hours, taking the milk in to the hospital, labelling it and putting it in the fridge. Chris grew stronger and stronger and the amount of milk he could tolerate increased.

I returned to work on a part time basis and continued to express to keep my milk supply up. Expressing at work took place in the store cupboard with cardboard put up against the glass part of the door and a big ‘Do not disturb’ sign. It wasn’t ideal, but it was adequate.

Premature babies don’t develop their sucking reflex until around 35 weeks and around this time Chris was given a tiny dummy so he could learn to suck. He loved it and it wasn’t long before I was able to start breastfeeding him a few times a day. It was a very special time but nothing was normal. Breastfeeding in SCBU is not very intimate and rather public, but I had to get over that.

Just as Chris turned 40 weeks, weighing about 5lb, we were able to take him home under the care of the SCBU health visitor. The health visitor visited frequently and it soon became evident that Chris wasn’t putting on enough weight. She encouraged me to supplement my milk with formula which I was reluctant to do but felt I didn’t have much choice. Around this time he started projectile vomiting after most feeds. It was so depressing to be feeding and then see all your milk spread across the room. He was also suffering with constipation. By now Chris was 6 months old and one day showed signs of bronchiolitis. The projectile vomiting continued and he was struggling to breathe due to the bronchiolitis. We got admitted to The Horton hospital in Banbury.

As we were used to having him in hospital at the start of his life, we didn’t stay overnight at the Horton, but would just spend the day with him. Therefore, the nurses were doing the feeds during the night. “What is going on?” they said one morning when I visited. “He shouldn’t be projectile vomiting like this!” We were referred to a Dietician who said it could well be down to a dairy intolerance and that would explain the constipation too. We switched his formula to a dairy free one and he was transformed – no more projectile vomiting, no more constipation and the weight gain started. I decided at that time to stop expressing and breastfeeding.

Looking back, we had so much to deal with during the first 6 months of Chris’ life and an unusual breastfeeding journey, it’s actually a bit of a blur. I don’t remember much about my feelings around breastfeeding, my commitment to it or the significance of it. In fact, I think I was more committed to expressing than breastfeeding! I treasure what I remember and was hoping for things to be simpler when I had another baby, but that wasn’t to be simple either. I’ll write that story another day.

Please Share This
  • Share
Related Posts

How are you celebrating success at the end of 2017?

It’s that time of year when, if we have a spare moment, we start to…

Kickstart your winter morning routine – 6 elements to get your day off to the right start

If we’re lucky, on average, we get about 25,000 mornings in our lifetime – how…

What do you need to BE in order to DO what is necessary to HAVE what you want? Here’s the secret!

The cliché ‘we are human doings not human beings’ rings true more evidently today in…

Leave a Reply Cancel comment reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts
  • Struggling to bring about the change you desire? Here’s why and what you can do about it!
  • Try unplugging from technology and plugging in to your kids – I did it 3 years ago
  • 12 ways to leave work where it belongs – at work!
  • Does your child’s behaviour drive you crazy? 8 reasons why and how you can turn things around. Guest blog by Camilla Miller (Parenting Coach)
  • To recognise World Breastfeeding Week 2019 here’s some snippets of my story of breastfeeding my premature baby
Archives
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
Categories
  • General
  • Some Advice
  • Supermum Article
  • Uncategorized
  • Are you a woman who communicates powerfully? 8 tips to avoid undermining speech and email habits
  • Does your child’s behaviour drive you crazy? 8 reasons why and how you can turn things around. Guest blog by Camilla Miller (Parenting Coach)
Get in touch for a Mum to Mum no obligation chat
Get in Touch
Testimonial
  • Jacques, Oxford

    I am very grateful to Jackie for helping me to articulate and visualise my life goals and for giving me the tools and confidence which have enabled me to make significant steps towards achieving them. Her enthusiasm and commitment to support me during this journey, combined with her great empathy, fine listening skills and honest feedback, have been key to my achievements to date.

Copyright FuturePathLifeCoaching - All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Cookie Policy
  • Facebook

Sign up to Jackie’s newsletter Get your free eBook

  • HOME
  • ABOUT ME
  • PROGRAMMES
  • GROUP COACHING
  • FAQ
  • MY BLOG
  • LINKS
  • CONTACT ME