Liquid Gold
Day 2 and I’m recovering well from the C-section. My legs are heavy from the magnesium. I’m tired and sore, but excited about this new life of mine. Crazy, I know, that I’m officially somebody’s mommy. I cannot believe it! To say it’s surreal is an understatement. Like I don’t think it will actually hit me until we’re able to take her home…whenever that will be.
For now I’m just taking it all in. I mean, everything happened so fast. There’s 3 more months left until her actual due date, so breast milk was far from my mind… until Nurse Jean walked in.
I was laying in the bed silently praying for a steak when Nurse Jean walked in saying, “I’m here to collect some milk.” She strolled in proud and sure that she would be able to get what she wanted.
Being that I had just given birth, unexpectedly, 3 months early, I laughed at her. There was no way my body would be ready to produce anything after the shock it just went through. I looked at Ignacio and laughed again.
What I didn’t know is that my body…ladies…our bodies are uniquely designed and everything (organs, nerves, all that stuff) talks to each other. Nurse Jean confirmed that. She got closer to me and leaned over and said it again.
I asked her how would I be able to produce milk. She leaned in closer and said, “your body knows what just happened. It knows that your baby has been taken from your womb so it has to work to start producing milk. It may be slow at first, but Demi needs your milk. It’s very critical that she get those high calorie nutrients from her mother. It will speed up her healing, growing and functioning process.”
I learned quickly that Nurse Jean is no quitter. She was persistent in getting her milk. After all the back and forth there was one thing she said that really stuck with me. “Ms. Dean, it’s all in your mind. All you have to do is think about it. Will it and it will happen. Just start imagining the milk flowing.” And then she walked out saying she’ll return for her milk.
Funny, the same thing I preach, was being thrown right back at me at an unexpected moment. I went a step further and prayed for it.
I took her advice and along with the practice of massaging my breast to loosen the milk for flow. It seemed weird at first, but, I cried when I finally saw this yellowish liquid stuff appear.
I could not believe it. I was so excited we buzzed Nurse Jean. Y’all it was only a drop, but that drop of milk was so vital to Demi’s health. Nurse Jean hugged me and told me to keep massaging and pumping, that more would come. She took a syringe and sucked up that one little drop to feed to Demi.
Mommy and Demi and lunch time
I was on such a high…feeling like super mom because I produced milk 3 months early. Another miracle if you ask me. Nurse Jean gave me an order to pump for 20 minutes every 2 hours. And that’s what I did. Every 2 hours around the clock. It took a ton of patience, tears, loss of sleep and frustration, but I finally started filling up bottles.
Here’s why I’m telling you this…
Breast milk is called liquid gold for a reason. With Demi being a preemie, receiving nutrients from my body helped remove the cords and tubes faster. It was a great aid to her overall development. Today, Demi is over 14 pounds and I feel every bit of it.
I’m so grateful that even though it started rough with that one drop of milk…it was the foundation Demi needed to grow strong, healthy and leave the NICU an entire month early.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the amazing positive effects of breastfeeding.
Life is amazing and scary at the same time. Things may not go at all like you planned or dreamed, but understand that everything happens for a reason. There’s always a great message in all that we endure.
The lesson I learned from the struggle of getting breast milk to finally flow for my one pound baby was this…
God has already equipped us with everything we need to survive, thrive, and flourish. All we need to do is be ready to receive it and simply believe that it’s possible.
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MAMALOGUE is LSherie’s true stories of mommy life with a preemie.
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