| Number |
Date |
Name |
Please type or paste in your ... |
| 51 |
Tue Feb 12 15:45:41 EST 2013 |
Katie Barnes |
I had a cesarean birth in 2009 because my daughter was in a breech presentation. One of my biggest disappointments about having a c-section was not being able to hold her immediately. I asked my nurse More....before going into the OR if we could arrange for immediate contact. One of the lactation consultants from the hospital attended my birth and helped put my daughter on my chest while I was still being operated on. Once I was in recovery my LC placed my daughter on my chest and she did the breast crawl. It was a great way to start off our nursing relationship! |
| 50 |
Mon Jul 09 21:48:15 EDT 2012 |
Erin Zemaitis |
First, I ended up having to have an emergency c-section and the doctors wanted to separate my baby and I for an hour so I could "recover". My nurse though took it upon herself to bring me my baby while More....I was in recovery and held him up to my breast so that he could nurse. I'll never be able to put into words what that meant to me! A few days before our 2 week check up, I was in so much pain from breastfeeding that with tears in my eyes I fed him formula. The next day (nipples were cracked bleeding and excruciating) we went in for our check up and my lactation specialist was overjoyed with how much weight my son had gained and asked how everything was going. I said it was good, that I was sore but I had heard that was normal. She assured me a little tenderness was normal but asked to demonstrate how he latches. When she saw my nipple she just about fainted. She helped me with my latch, gave me some cooling pads, and a silicone nipple guard and lots and lots of encouragement. My son is 10 months old and we've been nursing ever since! I hate to think what might have happened had I not had such an awesome lactation specialist assigned to me. |
| 49 |
Thu Jun 28 10:52:08 EDT 2012 |
Hannah Severson |
My daughter was born in a baby friendly hospital. I was able to breastfeed her at less than an hour old. They helped me when I thought I was doing something wrong, and also when I thought I wasn't going More....to be able to continue breastfeeding..they showed me that it was still possible! |
| 48 |
Fri Jun 08 11:50:39 EDT 2012 |
Anonymous |
My son was born in Germany. They never took him away, so he was with me 24/7. The nurses made sure my husband and I did skin on skin contact for a minimum of one hour every day. The lactation consultant More....came to my room every day to make sure we were breastfeeding correctly and to help me with breastfeeding positions. All of the nurses at the hospital could also help me with the breastfeeding any time I called them. My son is almost 11 months old now and still breastfeeding with no bottles. |
| 47 |
Sat Mar 31 11:13:41 EDT 2012 |
Anonymous |
My daughter was born 6 weeks prematurely due to complications of my pregnancy. Although safely delivered by my physicians, my daughter was unable to nurse right away. As a mother of a premie, it was particularly More....important for me to breastfeed but my baby was not able to latch on or feed enough from the breast for the first couple of months. I knew the many health benefits of breastfeeding for a premature baby: disease protection, better growth and development, reduced incidence of life-threatening diseases and decreased occurrence of the typical complications of prematurity. So I very much wanted to breastfeed her.
My Nurse was extremely supportive both physically and emotionally in helping me to successfully breastfeed.
Through the support and encouragement of my nurse, I was able to establish a milk supply through pumping, and then at two months of age, my daughter was breastfeeding exclusively! Without her help and guidance and encouragement I would not have persevered and would have missed out on this wonderfully rewarding experience of bonding with my baby and giving her the nutrition and immunity she needed. The advice and help I received from the hospital lactation support nurse gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed to successfully breastfeed. I know I am giving my daughter the best and healthiest start in life through breastfeeding. |
| 46 |
Fri Feb 10 10:08:58 EST 2012 |
erin yorker |
My birth center had an on site lactation consultant...an IBCLC, who was wonderful and saw me to help support the process in the first few days. I had terrible engorgement and the process was painful. More.... She helped me troubleshoot both of these issues. |
| 45 |
Mon Dec 12 19:36:53 EST 2011 |
Rebecca Repko |
I had my first son on July 4, 2008. It was a very hectic labor and delivery, as my water broke and he was born 2 1/2 hours later, after a drop in his heartrate, a rush to the OR for a possible C-section More....and a doctor who swore there was no way to deliver him otherwise. Before I was rushed to OR I told the nurses I was breastfeeding and that no formula whatsoever was to be near my son. I had given my husband strict rules as well to not have anyone attempt to give formula if I wasn't able to nurse him right away. After a safe delivery (naturally, no c-section) in the OR, the baby was taken to the birthing center room while the doctor and nurses did what they needed to do. Within an hour I was back in the room with my son (after passing out of exhaustion). As soon as I got into the room, the nurse brought my son over and put him on my chest. He immediately wanted to nurse, and they helped me latch him on. THroughout the next few days we had some struggles with a tongue tie, but all of the nurses in the birthing center were very kind and helpful to get him latched on, whether day or night. I've had 2 more boys since then, and even though I'm a "veteran" mom, I still had struggles in which the nurses were there to help with. Thank goodness for woman who know what a wonderful experience breastfeeding is, and who are willing to do whatever they need to, to help a mommy out! |
| 44 |
Tue Nov 01 17:59:56 EDT 2011 |
Beth Townsend |
I had my first child by csection (breech) back on 8/15/2011 at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. The hospital is working towards becoming baby friendly certified. They put my baby on my chest More....in the OR and tried to help me getbhim to latch while the doctor stitched me up. They also helped me do the same in the recovery room. When i got back to my room, the lactation consultant was there to see me shortly after and helped me with positioning and gave me tips. She observed me feed and gave feedback. The nurses were also really helpful throughout the night each time I tried to feed my son. I requested the lactation consultant 3 other times during my stay and each time they were there very quickly and gave me lots of support and encouragement. Not once during my five day stay was formula or a pacifier mentioned by anyone that cared for us. They allowed me to sleep with my baby on my chest every night too. I attribute all of that to the great start we got off to which has led to continued success. |
| 43 |
Tue Nov 01 17:59:45 EDT 2011 |
Beth Townsend |
I had my first child by csection (breech) back on 8/15/2011 at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. The hospital is working towards becoming baby friendly certified. They put my baby on my chest More....in the OR and tried to help me getbhim to latch while the doctor stitched me up. They also helped me do the same in the recovery room. When i got back to my room, the lactation consultant was there to see me shortly after and helped me with positioning and gave me tips. She observed me feed and gave feedback. The nurses were also really helpful throughout the night each time I tried to feed my son. I requested the lactation consultant 3 other times during my stay and each time they were there very quickly and gave me lots of support and encouragement. Not once during my five day stay was formula or a pacifier mentioned by anyone that cared for us. They allowed me to sleep with my baby on my chest every night too. I attribute all of that to the great start we got off to which has led to continued success. |
| 42 |
Thu Oct 13 23:02:31 EDT 2011 |
Elana Natker |
My first child was born in 2008 in Boulder, Colorado, at Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital. The support I got there was tremendous - from the lactation consultants there at the hospital (and available More....for free phone consultations 7 days/week), to the breastfeeding support group that met weekly. What I loved about the support group (there and at a similar group I went to at Boulder Community Hospital, closer to my house) was that the weekly get-togethers were staffed by lactation consultants and included an option to weigh our babies and see how much milk they were getting at a feeding. I never had to wait long for questions to be answered or to get the support and confidence boosts I needed. When my child was 5 months old we moved to the D.C. area, and I was unable to access similar types of support, which is unfortunate. Luckily with my second child (born in 2011), I have the confidence and experience to hopefully nurse another full year - or more. |
| 41 |
Sun Sep 04 14:20:57 EDT 2011 |
Carole Van Nahl |
The nurses at White Plains Hospital in 1980 helped me transition from colostrum to physiological engorgement to breastfeeding at home but they could do this because I had a C-Section and discharge was More....4 days later. See what a difference our race to discharge makes |
| 40 |
Tue May 31 22:58:48 EDT 2011 |
Anonymous |
When I lived in california I had my first baby at Irvine Medical Center in Irvine, California in 1996. My mom didn't nurse and this was all new to me as well. Yet in my heart I was determined to nurse!! More....I didn't' know it didn't necessarily come naturally. It was several weeks of bleeding nipples and my baby throwing up blood when I realized that I needed to go back to the hospital and talk to the lactation specialist there. She encouraged me to keep nursing and helped me figure out other holds to nurse the baby on so I could heal my scabby bloody nipples and told me about Lansinoh. And helped me to correctly latch the baby on. I had the same issues with each of my kids (I have three) but I knew how to correct the problem soon enough, so it worked out each time. I nursed the first one for a year because I thought I was supposed to stop at 1 year (books told me this but they were wrong!), and the other two I nursed until I was done or they were done, so 2 1/2 years for my 2nd child and almost 3 years for my 3rd child. This first time though after 6 months of nursing I went back to the lactation specialist to tell her that I was still nursing and that she helped me tremendously. She said to me, "Wow, I had no idea you would still be nursing, you had so many issues!! I felt so proud of myself!!"
From then on whenever I have had a friend whom had nursing issues or who didn't nurse their first baby but was going to nurse their second kid, I am there for them. And so many people have told me that I kept them nursing and that they were so grateful for my help and encouragement. That makes me feel so good that I was able to help so many people as I was helped! N |
| 39 |
Sun May 29 12:14:06 EDT 2011 |
Amy Rice |
I was lucky enough to give birth at the Cambridge Birth Center in April 2008. They have a wonderfully supportive group of Nurse Midwives and doulas that take wonderful care of women during the pregnancy, More....birth, and after the birth. We had a lactation consultant come in during the first hour after birth to make sure my daughter was latching on correctly and that her head and my body were positioned correctly. It was very helpful and they are definitely advocates for breastfeeding for a healthy baby. |
| 38 |
Sun May 29 08:23:44 EDT 2011 |
april rujan |
The hospital where I delivered both of my children very much advocated breastfeeding. As soon as baby is born they would put them on for me and help me as much as possible. The assistance at first with More....a lactation consultant was very nice being a new mom. Any questions were openly answered and offered assistance if needed once home. |
| 37 |
Sun May 29 01:27:12 EDT 2011 |
Michelle Muhlbach |
When my oldest was born, we had a lot of complications. Because of the complications, i was not able to nurse my son for about 24 hours after he was born. When the neo-natologist came to see me, and to More....talk to me about the medical issues going on with my son, she asked me "Are you planning on breast feeding him?" I said "Yes, but they told me I can't breast feed him for about a day, and I know he can't go that long without eating." In my hormonal state, I broke down in tears at the thought of not being able to nurse my baby. The neo-natologist just smiled at me and said "That's good, and you're right, he can't go without eating." I was able to stop crying and looked at her hopefully. She said "I'm not going to give him a bottle, because that's just asking for trouble right off the bat if you are wanting to nurse him. So I am going to order him a feeding tube instead, so there will be no chance of nipple confusion." I was so grateful. Had this doctor not had the passion for breast feeding that she did, and had she not offered the feeding tube, I would have never thought of it, and my nursing relationship could have been doomed from the start. |
| 36 |
Sat May 28 18:12:32 EDT 2011 |
Lauren Powells |
I always knew I would breastfeed. My siblings and I were breastfed, and everyone in my family just did it. But when I was pregnant for the first time, and started to read about ways to become "greener" More....for my unborn child, it really became a cause I wanted to champion.
I had my baby in 2008, and despite a very rough delivery, my milk came in, and the journey began. We did have some latch issues due to "flat nipples". I had a very helpful and encouraging appointment with a lactation consultant from the hospital where I gave birth when my baby was a few weeks old, and that did wonders because we fixed the latch issues. So she helped me win that battle! But I had several others: I cracked, and stayed cracked for weeks... which led to mastitis... 3 times. I also had clogged ducts and several yeast infections, but I persevered, because I knew what I was doing was more important than my comfort, and the lactation consultants gave me the confidence to keep going. I knew that I could call them for any questions or problems, and I had them on speed dial!
These ladies were so fabulous, in fact, that I called them on behalf of my sister who was living in Scotland and having some breastfeeding issues. They helped me with her problem and made a difference in her life--all the way across the ocean!
I'm now on baby #2, and 7 months into this breastfeeding journey. I have an appointment next week with the same ladies because we've hit some minor speed bumps that I want to take care of. I also refer to kellymom.com (author is an IBCLC) almost daily! |
| 35 |
Sat May 28 18:09:21 EDT 2011 |
Lisa Semple |
My first son was born at 31 weeks. When he was born he couldn't breathe on his own, let alone eat. After he was whisked off to the NICU the hospital delivered an electric pump to my room and showed me More....how to use it. I faithfully delivered tiny bits of colostrum, and later milk, to his NICU unit to save for the day when he could finally have it. When his stomach was ready they first fed him the tiny bits of colostrum I supplied, never wasting a bit, and later built up to actual milk. When he was strong enough to be held they encouraged skin-to-skin and told me to let him latch on if he wanted. When he finally grew strong enough to nurse they supplied me with a lactation consultant and classes to help us prepare. When I grew frustrated at how slow it was going and wanted to give up and just pump and bottle-feed, instead of saying "okay" they switched the feeding schedule around so it fit better for him and encouraged me to keep trying. After 37 days in the NICU he went home happy, healthy, and completely breast-fed. I know if the nurses hadn't supported me during my down days I know he would have been switched to formula shortly after coming home. Instead he nursed for 17 months. Because of that I had the confidence to nurse his younger brother for 20 months, and I'm currently nursing my 3rd son at 9 months with no end date in sight. |
| 34 |
Sat May 28 17:36:32 EDT 2011 |
Beshka Ringstad |
I was given wonderful post-partum options, regardless of having a c-section, to have my newborn with me ASAP, including skin to skin contact. I was encouraged by the nurses and the facility in general More....to breast feed and was given lost of advice and reminders to ask for help if needed. Fortunately, this was my fourth child and fourth time breast feeding, so I'm a veteran and was determined to do it, no matter what. But it's nice to know that my hospital supports all mothers who wish to give their baby nature's perfect food. |
| 33 |
Sat May 28 13:44:19 EDT 2011 |
Lisa Lindstrom |
In 1999, my third child was born in south Florida. I wanted to pull open my gown when he was born and have him placed on my belly. The doctor and nurses agreed. We were all in awe as we watched this More....new life, born just moments earlier, still attached to me on the inside by the umbilical cord, lunge to my hormonally darkened areola and latch on perfectly. No words to describe watching this instinctual behavior on his part. There was just silence and awe. |
| 32 |
Sat May 28 13:02:10 EDT 2011 |
ilse fisher |
I had no direct help, with the exception of an LC who came in quickly after I gave birth and left a card with me. She would prove amazingly relieving when I called her in 'panic' at what I didn't know More....at the time as GROWTH SPURT!! i thought i had no milk to give my baby and this woman gave me the confidence to nurse through it. one single call made a huge difference in my bf'ing experience. |
| 31 |
Thu May 26 11:04:47 EDT 2011 |
Stephanie Ellinger |
After struggling with breastfeeding after the birth of my first daughter, I was hoping that the experience that I had with my son three years later would be a different story. In some ways I got what More....I asked for and then some! Though I had 4 routine ultrasounds during my pregnancy with him, he was born full term via a repeat c-section with a number of life-threatening birth defects. Nathan was born with a complex congenital heart defect as well as Pierre Robin Sequence (a small recessed jaw and a cleft palate). He was born at a community hospital, transferred to a regional hospital, and then finally another hour away to the closest children’s hospital that was equipped to care for his needs. His jaw was so far back in his face that on his second day of life his tongue flopped back and blocked his airway which resulted in a code blue being called on him. The next day Nathan was taken to the operating room to have jaw surgery. Many heart babies are too weak to breastfeed but Nathan’s cleft palate and jaw distraction made it impossible to ever nurse him.
I was devastated. Devastated in the loss of what should have been a healthy baby and also that my desire to provide the best for my child by nursing was being taken away from me. There were many things that I could not do for Nathan. He was almost a month old before I was allowed to hold him. I wasn’t allowed to change his diapers, to swaddle him, or to even help with basic baby care as he was on a ventilator. A very kind nurse pulled me aside and said though there were many things I couldn’t do for my child, there was one thing that no one else could do for him. I could still pump milk and provide it for him though he was being tube fed. It was very stressful being an hour and a half away from my baby and having a toddler at home that also depended on her mother. The NICU doctors and lactation specialists checked in on me every day to see how things were going for me pumping milk. They fought to have a hospital grade pump made available to me for free as my child was incapable of nursing and that he had very special needs that further necessitated the need to have breast milk. A private room was made available to me to pump milk at the hospital and several medications were prescribed by the doctors to help increase my milk supply as the stress was taking a toll on my body and my milk supply was starting to dwindle. He was in the NICU for 2 ½ months during which time I was able to keep my milk supply up and increase it. Nathan came home for a month and then was back in the hospital for open heart surgery. With the amount of pumping that I had done and the support from the hospital, I was able to provide milk for Nathan until he was almost 7 months old. Nathan is now 3 years old and is dependent on a g-tube as his sole source of nutrition. I have no regrets though about my ability to provide breast milk for him as I gave it my all.
I am having another daughter that is due on June 13, 2011. After a lot of specialized testing, the doctors and pediatric cardiologists are certain that she will be born healthy and whole. I am a working mother, but have the resolve to breastfeed again as I saw the MANY benefits that it provided my son. Breastfeed isn’t easy or doesn’t come naturally to some. For some women it may not be an option. I am very grateful for the support I had when thrown into the situation I was in. It was a key factor in helping restore my son’s health. |
| 30 |
Tue May 24 11:14:03 EDT 2011 |
Katy Cairo |
I have been determined to breastfeed my baby since the moment I found out I was pregnant, but as many mothers before me can tell you, it's not always as easy as it looks. My daughter was born at Anniston More....Regional Medical Center on April 16th 2011. We had a long labor and when she came out we were thrilled she was healthy and immediately let her latch and began kangaroo care. The nurses were incredibly encouraging and helpful with breastfeeding and for the next 2 days things went flawlessly. We were released April 17th to come home, and things were great. When we got home everything took a turn for the worse. My daughter had jaundice and became extremely lethargic and fussy. She cried the entire night and it would take 45 minutes for a latch and even then it would be a bad one so that I would end up with cracked, swollen, and bruised nipples. The next day we went to our pediatrician and she had a 12% weight loss and her buluribin levels were still climbing. We were devastated and worried. We left the Dr's office and went straight to the Lactation Specialist at the hospital. They offered us many solutions and showed me how to pump and syringe feed her to help put the weight back on and get her healthy. We were determined to get her healthy so every two hours I would try to feed and then pump whatever she didn’t eat and syringe feed her. Our next pediatrician appointment was Wednesday and unfortunately her buluribin levels were even higher and they admitted my daughter to the hospital. We now had to exclusively pump and syringe feed because we couldn’t spend the 45 minutes waiting on a latch when she needed to stay under the UV lamp. We were stressed, exhausted, and heartbroken seeing our baby so very uncomfortable and just trying our best to stay positive. By the time we were admitted I was in the middle of engorgement which did not help the situation in the slightest. I felt beaten down and discouraged, but still wanted more than anything to breastfeed. I knew that if there was one thing I could do to give my baby an advantage in the world it was to breastfeed her for as long as I could. The lactation specialist hearing about our admittance and breastfeeding troubles, came up to our room and stayed for over an hour talking to us, working with us, and giving us a complete lesson. The next day my daughter had gained a little weight, and her levels had dropped. Things were going in the right direction. We were able to go home the next day and by the time we got home, we were latching a feeding perfectly! We had more bumps in the road thanks to a gracious oversupply on my part and fast flow of milk, but with the support of our hospital’s Lactation Department and The Breastfeeding Support Group, we have made it through and are one happy baby and Mama. |
| 29 |
Fri May 20 23:16:44 EDT 2011 |
Anonymous |
I gave birth to my first child at 35 weeks and we had so much trouble from the beginning. He was too weak too suck, too sleepy to eat, my nipples were flat and his mouth was too small. I had no idea More....what I was doing and before he was born thought it would be so easy to just feed him. I had not even bought a pump. The lactation consultants at the hospital saw me about 2 times and gave me so much great advice. They really took their time to teach me tricks, even though they were not working. They also suggested using a nipple shield and told me other way to draw my nipples out so we would not need the shield. They were so patient and really took the time. I was so frustrated and let down and began formula feeding in the hospital, but they still tried so hard to help me feed him. They recommended that I pump for him until he was able to nurse. Finally, when we was a few weeks old, he was able to nurse. |
| 28 |
Fri May 20 13:48:17 EDT 2011 |
Allison Walters |
I gave birth at the Birth Center in Wilmington, DE. The midwives and nurses are very supporting of breastfeeding and making sure that mother and baby have time to bond immediately after delivery. Through More....their prenatal education classes, I learned their philosophy on this and adopted it as my own. I feel so fortunate I had access to such a wonderful place to welcome my daughter into the world. Nursing right after birth is a memory I will always cherish, and I firmly believe that this impacted the length and quality of my daughter's 15 month nursing relationship with me. |
| 27 |
Thu May 19 16:26:29 EDT 2011 |
Karen Carter |
I knew all along I wanted to breastfeed my baby, so I took a prenatal breastfeeding class and was prepared to nurse immediately after birth. However, things don't always work out as planned. My daughter, More....Julia, showed up 5 weeks early and was rushed off to the NICU with only a fleeting kiss. It was about 3 hours, although it seemed like days, before we were able to see our daughter in the NICU. She was on a CPAP and a feeding tube and had other issues. Around 8 AM, 3 hours later, the lactation nurse brought me a pump and taught me how to use it. The staff encouraged me, and I started pumping every 3 hours. The NICU fed Julia the colostrum I was able to pump and supplemented with formula. On day 2 the NICU moved Julia's feeding tube from her mouth to her nose and the nurses encouraged me to try breastfeeding. They helped position Julia and helped me get her latched on. They only allowed me to nurse 10 min each side, so she would not get to tired and burn more calories than she ate. After nursing, daddy would give a bottle of formula until Julia was full and I would sit next to them and pump for another 10-15 minutes. When my milk started coming in, daddy would give a bottle of EBM while I pumped again. After a few days, the feeding tube was removed and we continued to nurse and pump every 2-3 hours. By the time Julia left the NICU we were nursing experts. If it weren’t for the lactation nurses, the NICU nurses, and the rest of the OB nursing staff at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, IN, I don't think we would have had the positive breastfeeding outcome we've had. Julia is 16 months and still breastfeeding twice a day, the only formula she has had was the formula given in the first 4 days before I was able to produce enough for her. I am now 34 weeks pregnant and looking forward to learning how to tandem nurse very soon. I know the nursing staff at Lutheran will help me once again. |
