Eve Saunders feeding Journey:
My son was born a few weeks early and had hypoglycaemia due to me having late stage gestational diabetes. After a day in NICU we were discharged to Birthcare, I made sure a midwife watched us latch for every feed and thought things were going really well however I still developed sore nipples with some cracking/blisters.
Once we got home I did have pain with latching at times, I remember hesitating just anticipating the bolt of pain when he first sucked. Although things were going as well as expected he was very sleepy with feeds and started losing weight. We then had to start a feed, pump, EBM bottle regime which was exhausting but worked.
Eventually we could wean off the bottle and were exclusively breastfeeding. I never felt like I had a huge supply until about 6-8 weeks when things picked up.
We fed exclusively till we introduced solids at 6 months, then part time until 15 months and more part time until 22 months. I felt sad letting go of our breastfeeding journey, I knew I wanted a break before baby #2 arrived but it was such a hard won bond that I will treasure forever.
How do/did you feed your baby?
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| I exclusively breastfed, I bottle fed with breastmilk |
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Did you make this decision before baby was born?:
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| No, I had other plans but circumstances meant plans changed |
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Did you face any issues with feeding your baby?:
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| Yes |
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If yes, please feel free to let us know.:
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| Our son dropped his weight during the first few weeks and was very sleepy during feeds. We had to start a 3 hourly feed, pump, top up with EBM regime which was exhausting. |
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Are you happy with your feeding journey?:
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| Yes |
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Did you find support and information easily accessible for both breastfeeding and bottle feeding mothers in New Zealand?:
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| Yes, there are many options and I found them very useful |
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If yes, who or what services did you use or felt were most helpful and informative?:
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Instagram accounts such as lactation station and haakaa made me feel a lot less alone, especially at 3am.
Any amazing tips, brands or products you found useful for your feeding journey?:
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Give yourself at least 8 weeks, breastfeeding is a learnt skill for both mother and baby. First edition let down pump Crane electric pump Nude Alchemist nipple balm.
Thank you Eve Saunders for sharing your beautiful journey.
If you would like to share your journey with us (this can be done annoyoumusly) please click the link below.
https://iue27ouoqkwlxcli-25269731402.shopifypreview.com/pages/share-your-journey
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