Our story this week comes from Phylisha. She really prepared herself for breastfeeding before she even became pregnant! She reached out when she had issues, and she did an amazing job at overcoming the obstacles that came her way!
My breastfeeding journey in a way started before I was even pregnant. I had heard about breastfeeding but knew absolutely nothing about it. Only one person that I knew had even done it and it fascinated me. I started to research it and learn all I could about it. The benefits amazed me! How could it not? Breast milk is tailored to your baby’s needs, it is constantly changing for them, and less dishes to wash! I came to the conclusion that when I did eventually get pregnant I would breastfeed, to me it was a no brainer.
While I was pregnant I continued to research everything I could to hopefully ensure a successful breastfeeding journey, I did not realize how important that would end up being. Around 34 weeks the doctors noticed my daughter was measuring small. They kept an eye on it and I reached out to a few lactation consultants to prepare myself in case she were to come early. I started to collect colostrum and save it just in case she had blood sugar issues or latch issues.
The big day finally arrived and she was born very small but perfect. She latched right away! Soon issues started to present themselves. She was spitting up large amounts, pulling off my breast choking, crying and fussing when trying to eat, gassiness, and clamping down of my breast were just a few of the challenges we faced. I started to research and reached out to my county's W.I.C. lactation specialist. We decided that I would pump and see if I had an oversupply and I pumped 18 oz combined from both breasts! I started nursing reclined, pumping some off before feeding (only if engorgement was making it too hard for my daughter to latch) , and block feeding to hopefully make my supply more manageable. It worked! It was bittersweet to see my supply lower. I was so thankful to finally take control of my breastfeeding relationship but all the groups you join or articles you see all idolize an oversupply so I questioned if I was doing the right thing. I still had an oversupply and could pump anywhere from 8-12 oz a time and more importantly my daughter was starting to enjoy breastfeeding.
Our freezer began to fill up at an exponential rate and we soon had more milk than we could ever use with me only working 3-4 days a week when I was to go back to work. I started to look into donating. I made a post on my states Human Milk for Human Babies page and started to put together a portfolio for myself. I included the blood testing they did at the beginning of my pregnancy, a little blurb about myself and my daughter and a written statement saying I would be willing to be drug tested if a mama wanted me to. I keep this saved in case a mama ever wants more information about me and the milk she would be receiving. Soon got multiple matches and started to donate. Before I knew it I had donated 850 oz before I even went back to work! I have continued to donate and will continue to donate, my current donation total is 1,536 oz. Along with donating myself I am also spreading awareness in any way I can about donor milk! It is a truly amazing thing that saves lives. My hope is that one day it is more widely accepted becomes an option at the front line for mamas who are struggling.
I went back to work when my daughter was four months old, after many nights discussing with my husband we decided that he would be the one staying home with our daughter. I had a job that I loved with coworkers who became family, I didn’t want to give it up. My husband asked me for resources to help him when it came to bottle feeding a breastfed baby. We spent some time learning about how to properly thaw and warm the milk as well as pace feeding. Thankfully our daughter took to a bottle straight away and had no issues with nipple confusion.
Then the fear set in. How would I manage pumping in a fast paced job like waitressing? I sat down and talked to my lead waitress and she calmed my fears like she always did and we made a plan of how we would work my breaks with pumping. I try to feed my daughter about an hour before i go to work so two hours into my shift I will pump. Most of the time it works out that I only have to pump once at work and then I feed my daughter right when I get home. I am still working on perfecting my pumping set up for work. I am currently using an old backpack to carry my pump and a lined bag with ice packs for my bottles. I perfected my pump set up before I even started to think about my bag and ice pack. My Spectra S1 and Pumpin Pal flanges are my best friends at this point in time! Breastfeeding and pumping are a journey. Things aren’t perfect overnight you have to just keep trying to see what fits for you!
I am so thankful to be able to breastfeed successfully. I attribute a lot of it to my strong support team, my research obsession, and my sheer will to make this work and give my daughter the best I could possibly give! I hope to keep sharing my journey to hopefully help struggling mothers. I hope that one day I will be able to be a support person for a mama struggling on her journey. I want to be that little bit of a push she needs to keep going. I want to use my journey to help as many mamas as possible.
What do you think about Phylisha’s story? We think she is amazing for donating and helping so many other babies! Thanks for sharing Phylisha!
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