Pumping for a Preemie is Hard...

Getting my milk to come in after a Cesearean at 27 weeks 5 days was no easy feat.

I pumped every three hours for three days with nothing but sticky droplets of colostrum that my Mom helped me chase with a special syringe. Getting just a cc or less to be swabbed in Frankie's mouth. My milk has come in and I am consistently pumping more than he will eat in a day in each sitting. He eats about 4ml and I pump close to 40ml.

Pumping at home while my newborn is at the hospital consists of waking up at all hours... massaging my boobs... and staring at pictures, videos, and live feed of Frankie while pumping trying to get my milk to come down.

Pumping at Frankie's bedside with just a curtain between me and the nurse's station may seem awkward at best. However, seeing him in person and holding him helps the milk come. My body knows he is near and needs sustenance.

Good milk comes from persistence, lots of water, lactation tea (Mother's Milk), and good calories (like in the Madre cookies).

Frankie weighed 1150 grams at birth... today he is 1040 grams... the lowest he got was 980 grams. Nutrition matters!