Before I had kids, I loved how natural and wonderful it was to breastfeed your babe. All I saw was, you whip your boob out, baby drinks, life continues.
It wasn’t until I birthed my son and held him to my breast that the lactation consultant looked at me and said, my dear, are you aware you have inverted nipples? NO? Sure I knew sometimes they drew inwards, but they came out when I was cold and it never crossed my mind as an issue. My poor little boy tried so hard but it was like trying to latch a wall. The extra hormones after birth does some pretty wild things to your breasts. They made my nipples even softer and they retracted right in.
There are 3 grades of nipple inversion that you can read about online. Mine were considered level 3, the worst. No matter how much we twisted, pulled or manipulated them, they just didn’t want to play. I was encouraged to keep trying but the hungry screams really tore at my heart and I would pump to get the milk to come in and to feed my hungry boy. The lactation consultants would try to be optimistic but I could see their distress on their faces knowing full well how this would play out, no matter how hard they tried to hide it.
My sister had similar troubles and pumped until 3 months before her daughter (second born) finally latched. I had hope and so I pumped and kept offering. But as my boy was set to be a big boy, he drank over 1000mls (a day) by 4 weeks and I called myself Daisy. Constantly I’d have to hand him off to someone else to offer a bottle while I sat in another room in tears as I looked down at my useless nipples. But I kept pumping and believed it would be okay.
At 9 weeks he latched for the first time. All the pumping pulled my nipples out more and he was older and stronger. But he wasn’t a fan of ‘working’ for the milk and ended up just wanting his bottle. I remember the tears in my eyes of finally experiencing breastfeeding.
I made it to 4 months before I called it quits on pumping. Pumping every 3 to 4 hours (no breaks overnight), the sleep deprivation got to me.
It was also too hard to keep pushing my son away to pump the volume he needed and he was being topped up with formula. I found he eventually preferred formula and was rejecting my milk so it was a decision I had to make. Whilst I was sad to stop producing for him, I actually found a heap of relief. I could just enjoy my son now. The pressure was off.
Between children, I decided to opt for an operation by a surgeon in Brisbane called Dr Belt who pieced my nipples with a barbell technique. This definitely helped bring my nipples out and I had to wear them (looked a bit like belly button bar). It brought my nipples from a cat 3 to a 1. Our nipples have about 20 plus milk ducts and you have to sacrifice about 5 through piecing.
Baby girl came along and I was determined. I had my lactation consultant (LC) ready to go and aware. I had my pump to help bring in the milk and it was game on. My girl was tiny and she really struggled. She would latch occasionally but wasn’t a great feeder. My nipples weren’t ‘fully fixed’ and despite 6 consultations outside of hospital, it wasn’t the easiest. I discovered I didn’t really enjoy breastfeeding after all. It was exhausting and because of my nipples being the way they are; the skin was so soft that it hurt a lot. I fed 50% breast and 50% pump right until she was 6 months. Holy moly, how did I make it to 6 months so quickly? Then she got some teeth and I discovered how much I preferred to pump over breastfeed a teethy monster. Cudos to the mothers that push through Haha
Things I learned about being a full time pumping mummy:
Your sanity and what you do with YOUR body, trumps everything. Stick to your own rules. We can’t be good mums unless we love on ourselves too.
Support. Its super important to have your partner involved to help you (If you have a partner) or your support person. They can take the baby or kids when you need to pump.
A decent pump makes ALL the difference. I started with your typical pump that was affordable and electric from a well known baby store. I grossly underestimated what a hospital grade pump such as a spectra s1 can do for your pumping journey. It was nicer on my nipples, gave me more milk and I halved my pumping time. Worth. Every. Cent!
Joining a pumping mums group brings sanity. There are heaps of groups that I am involved in on FB that I can ask questions in. It is a community of legendary super mums. They have become my tribe and I still ask questions to this day.
Hubby can get up for night feeds and help too as the milk is pumped and you can freeze some for emergencies or future use.
Routine pumps and keeping up supply. It takes a good 12 weeks to establish your supply. If you plan to pump, you need to work out how much milk you are making per pump and have a routine pump plan in place. For my son it was every 3 hours, my daughter was 4-5 as she drank less and it is common to have more milk with subsequent children. Supply and demand is key.
You don’t have to wash your pump parts EVERY TIME. You can put them in a container in the fridge and pull them out when it is time to pump again. I would normally wash them once a day. If you had a premmie though, its recommended to wash each time. It is also important to sterilise your bottles when babies are under 3 months. I loved the minbie steriliser as it also dried the bottles after too.
Colic – It is important to offer bottles that are anti-colic. Many babies drink a lot of air when using a bottle, so an anti-colic solution is helpful.
The golden pumping hours – you make the most supply in the wee hours of the morning because you have rested and are relaxed. 3am is a magic time where you might find you double your output
Drinking water – I cannot stress enough about the importance of drinking water. What goes out, must come in. Get in the habbit of drinking 2 glasses of water before or after every single pump.
You can burn up to 500 calories breastfeeding. Therefore, you need to increase what you eat to keep up a good supply.
A good post natal vitamin can keep up supply and help if you get your pesky period back. Pumpers often get their periods back faster than women who breastfeed. Rude isn’t it?
Each breast can create different amounts of milk! It is normal and nothing to worry about!
Things I love about being a full time pumping mummy:
Forced break when the husband is home or help is around. Yes, retreating to a room to pump for 20 mins is a nice little break. Now that I have 2 kids, I don’t mind the ol ‘off to pump, I’ll be back’ break. Haha
Knowing exactly what my babe was drinking
Being able to pump ahead and leave her with a family member
Not having sore nipples as the pumps are gentle
Still giving my baby the best and saving money on formula
Things I don’t like about being a full time pumping mummy:
1. D-mer. GOSH I wish someone had told me what this was so that I understood it before pumping. Some breastfeeding women get it too but talking with friends, it seems its very common with pumping communities. Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex or D-MER is a fairly rare condition which can affect some breastfeeding women. When the ‘let-down’ of milk arrives, it can induce a sense of depression or hollowness. It only last for about 30 seconds to a minute and is usually its worst for the first 3 months. It doesn’t happen every time but by knowing what it is if you experience it, it enables you to push through it until it lifts.
2. Schedules suck. Having to stop life to pump is frustrating. Especially when working or dealing with an unhappy baby.
3. Washing the damn bottles – goodness me, the bane of my existence sometimes.
4. High lipase – sometimes frozen milk can smell and taste a little odd when defrosted and not all babies like it. Fortunately, it never bothered my kids but it's good to know.
5. Call me Daisy – Sometimes it is exhausting pumping all of the time (but at least it's cheaper and better for bub)
All in all, they are worth it J I am celebrating 8 months in a couple of days and am getting a jewelry maker to make me a ring using resin and my milk to celebrate the journey.
- Yoland
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