Breastfeeding... There are other obstacles!
by Christina Tonelli (Written for La Leche League of Tucson, October 2009)
I always knew that I wanted to have a child, but wasn't sure when that day might come. I had always planned to breastfeed because it seemed the most natural thing to do and was the most nutritious food I could provide my baby. It was never a question in my mind, and I never understood why people created such controversy over breastfeeding.
The day finally came that I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I was very excited to begin nursing and to share that intense personal experience with her, but Sofia had a difficult time sucking. We remained in the hospital where I used a breast pump every two hours and gave her my milk through a nasogastric feeding tube (NG-tube) that had temporarily been inserted into her nose that went directly down to her stomach. We continued to practice breastfeeding and bottle feeding until her suck was strong enough to have the NG-removed. After two weeks, we were finally able to take our baby home where we continued to practice breastfeeding until she was able to nurse with ease. I felt a beautiful connection between us while she was nursing. Her soft warm body against my breast and the feeling of her suckling was very comforting to both of us.
Things took a tragic turn though when she went into heart failure just two days after we brought her home. She had a Congenital Heart Defect (AVSD/AV Canal) that we learned about when I was 20 weeks pregnant. We immediately returned to the hospital and three weeks passed before the doctors were able to stabilize her tiny heart. Her heart failure caused various complications, including exhaustion because her heart was pumping so hard and her breathing was more than 100 times per minute (an average baby breathes 20-40 times per minute). She didn’t have the strength to suck, not even from a bottle, and she was burning calories very quickly and was losing weight fast. So when she was just four weeks old, they operated and inserted a long-term gastric feeding tube (G-tube) that went through her abdomen and into her stomach.
We finally brought her home again when she was 6 weeks old, and I was even more determined to continue providing breast milk for her. She was so fragile and I knew it would give her the best possible chance to stay healthy and gain weight so she would be strong enough for her scheduled heart surgery at 5 months of age. I continue to pump every 2-3 hours around the clock and fed her (through her G-tube) my fresh milk immediately after each pumping session. This continued until I unfortunately had to return to work when Sofia was only two months old, at which point I adjusted the frequency of pumping to every 4-6 hours, which still produced enough milk for all of her meals.
My goal was to continue this routine for four more months around the clock until Sofia had her heart surgery and was fully recovered. I knew I would have enough milk to continue feeding her even beyond that though because I was producing more milk than she was consuming, so we began freezing the excess. We had so much of it that our freezer was overflowing and we had to buy a separate freezer just to store it all. This was liquid gold and I was not about to just throw it out!
Sofia was very weak and her development was stunted during the 5 months she was in heart failure, but she stayed healthy and continued gaining weight on her diet of breast milk, which we fortified with a commercial formula in order to boost calories per ounce and help her gain weight even faster. We had many set backs though because of the complications brought on by heart failure during the time period, but I believe the breast milk was the thing that kept her healthy and helped her overcome her many obstacles while awaiting surgery during those long and difficult months. I was so grateful that I was able to provide that for her.
After what ended up being two heart surgeries and one month in the hospital, which they thought would only be one surgery and 10 days; Sofia eventually recovered and quickly began catching up on her development. Now that she was 6 months old, I was so used to the routine of pumping that I decided to continue until my milk naturally dried up. I figured if nature was allowing my body to continue producing milk, then I couldn't possibly make the decision to feed my baby anything else. So my goal of pumping for 5 months was far surpassed and I ended up pumping for 2 years!
At that point, I was only pumping twice a day which provided her a breakfast and bedtime snack. Since Sofia still had not learned to eat by mouth, I blended homemade organic foods for her three main meals, which easily flowed through her G-tube. Quite honestly, I probably would have continued to pump if I hadn't gotten bronchitis and been isolated from her for 10 days. I was just too sick and didn't have the energy to continue pumping, so five days before her second birthday, I retired my pump. To my surprise, I was very emotional about not being able to provide Sofia with breastmilk anymore.
I know a few other moms that had babies with heart defects and chose to pump as well. They were a great support for me during the difficult times, wondering how I was going to continue the routine while working full time and take care of a baby in heart failure heading for open-heart surgery. We all realized that these were the babies that needed their mothers' milk the most. These were the babies that would benefit the most, and we did what we felt we had to do in order the get them as strong as possible, and keep them healthy so they had the best shot to make it to their heart surgeries and recover.
I am so grateful and so lucky that I was able to breastfeed my baby for the first two weeks of her life, and experienced that amazing connection with her while she nursed. I felt a special bond with her for the entire two years that I fed her my fresh breast milk because I knew I was still providing her with the most natural, most nutritious food possible, even though it wasn't by direct contact. I consider myself a mom that breastfed for two years, and I am very proud of that fact.
In the first year of her life (half of which she either spent in heart failure or recovering from heart surgeries) she never had a cold, or fever, or flu, or any contagious sickness. I believe it was because she was receiving my breastmilk, and that made all the difference in her journey. No one else could have done that for her. I was her mom, and that was my role, no matter what the obstacles.
Christina & Sofia Breastfed for 2 years!
For more information on La Leche League of Tucson: http://www.lllusa.org/web/TucsonAZ.html
I always knew that I wanted to have a child, but wasn't sure when that day might come. I had always planned to breastfeed because it seemed the most natural thing to do and was the most nutritious food I could provide my baby. It was never a question in my mind, and I never understood why people created such controversy over breastfeeding.
The day finally came that I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I was very excited to begin nursing and to share that intense personal experience with her, but Sofia had a difficult time sucking. We remained in the hospital where I used a breast pump every two hours and gave her my milk through a nasogastric feeding tube (NG-tube) that had temporarily been inserted into her nose that went directly down to her stomach. We continued to practice breastfeeding and bottle feeding until her suck was strong enough to have the NG-removed. After two weeks, we were finally able to take our baby home where we continued to practice breastfeeding until she was able to nurse with ease. I felt a beautiful connection between us while she was nursing. Her soft warm body against my breast and the feeling of her suckling was very comforting to both of us.
Things took a tragic turn though when she went into heart failure just two days after we brought her home. She had a Congenital Heart Defect (AVSD/AV Canal) that we learned about when I was 20 weeks pregnant. We immediately returned to the hospital and three weeks passed before the doctors were able to stabilize her tiny heart. Her heart failure caused various complications, including exhaustion because her heart was pumping so hard and her breathing was more than 100 times per minute (an average baby breathes 20-40 times per minute). She didn’t have the strength to suck, not even from a bottle, and she was burning calories very quickly and was losing weight fast. So when she was just four weeks old, they operated and inserted a long-term gastric feeding tube (G-tube) that went through her abdomen and into her stomach.
We finally brought her home again when she was 6 weeks old, and I was even more determined to continue providing breast milk for her. She was so fragile and I knew it would give her the best possible chance to stay healthy and gain weight so she would be strong enough for her scheduled heart surgery at 5 months of age. I continue to pump every 2-3 hours around the clock and fed her (through her G-tube) my fresh milk immediately after each pumping session. This continued until I unfortunately had to return to work when Sofia was only two months old, at which point I adjusted the frequency of pumping to every 4-6 hours, which still produced enough milk for all of her meals.
My goal was to continue this routine for four more months around the clock until Sofia had her heart surgery and was fully recovered. I knew I would have enough milk to continue feeding her even beyond that though because I was producing more milk than she was consuming, so we began freezing the excess. We had so much of it that our freezer was overflowing and we had to buy a separate freezer just to store it all. This was liquid gold and I was not about to just throw it out!
Sofia was very weak and her development was stunted during the 5 months she was in heart failure, but she stayed healthy and continued gaining weight on her diet of breast milk, which we fortified with a commercial formula in order to boost calories per ounce and help her gain weight even faster. We had many set backs though because of the complications brought on by heart failure during the time period, but I believe the breast milk was the thing that kept her healthy and helped her overcome her many obstacles while awaiting surgery during those long and difficult months. I was so grateful that I was able to provide that for her.
After what ended up being two heart surgeries and one month in the hospital, which they thought would only be one surgery and 10 days; Sofia eventually recovered and quickly began catching up on her development. Now that she was 6 months old, I was so used to the routine of pumping that I decided to continue until my milk naturally dried up. I figured if nature was allowing my body to continue producing milk, then I couldn't possibly make the decision to feed my baby anything else. So my goal of pumping for 5 months was far surpassed and I ended up pumping for 2 years!
At that point, I was only pumping twice a day which provided her a breakfast and bedtime snack. Since Sofia still had not learned to eat by mouth, I blended homemade organic foods for her three main meals, which easily flowed through her G-tube. Quite honestly, I probably would have continued to pump if I hadn't gotten bronchitis and been isolated from her for 10 days. I was just too sick and didn't have the energy to continue pumping, so five days before her second birthday, I retired my pump. To my surprise, I was very emotional about not being able to provide Sofia with breastmilk anymore.
I know a few other moms that had babies with heart defects and chose to pump as well. They were a great support for me during the difficult times, wondering how I was going to continue the routine while working full time and take care of a baby in heart failure heading for open-heart surgery. We all realized that these were the babies that needed their mothers' milk the most. These were the babies that would benefit the most, and we did what we felt we had to do in order the get them as strong as possible, and keep them healthy so they had the best shot to make it to their heart surgeries and recover.
I am so grateful and so lucky that I was able to breastfeed my baby for the first two weeks of her life, and experienced that amazing connection with her while she nursed. I felt a special bond with her for the entire two years that I fed her my fresh breast milk because I knew I was still providing her with the most natural, most nutritious food possible, even though it wasn't by direct contact. I consider myself a mom that breastfed for two years, and I am very proud of that fact.
In the first year of her life (half of which she either spent in heart failure or recovering from heart surgeries) she never had a cold, or fever, or flu, or any contagious sickness. I believe it was because she was receiving my breastmilk, and that made all the difference in her journey. No one else could have done that for her. I was her mom, and that was my role, no matter what the obstacles.
Christina & Sofia Breastfed for 2 years!
For more information on La Leche League of Tucson: http://www.lllusa.org/web/TucsonAZ.html
