I pump almost every morning so I accumulate some feedings.
Every other week we ask a Real Mom if they would like the NurtureGoods experience. These moms use a breast pump from NurtureGoods in order to describe and share their experiences. In this way, we hope to raise awareness of the NurtureGoods experience and help you make a choice. This week it's mom Rachne's turn. Will you read along?
Rachne's NurtureGoods experience (Instagram @xrachne)
Keet's birth and breastfeeding adventure with love, challenges and new pump options
On June 18, 2023, our second daughter Keet was born after a very nice home birth in the bathtub. The delivery had a somewhat longer run-up. Very light cramps started in the morning at 9 a.m. but were regular every 5 minutes. Because the midwife said I had to call if it was regular because with a second one it could go fast, I called. Unfortunately I was only at 2 cm dilation. The midwife told me to call again if it became more intense. After our daughter Juul's afternoon nap, I took her to her grandparents and later, on the advice of a former colleague, I used my breast pump around 5 pm. This made my contractions a lot more intense and I really had to suck them away. Unfortunately, after checking with the midwife, my dilation was still only 3 cm.
At 8 pm the next midwife came after the shift change. She checked my dilation and still only 4 cm. Pfoe this could take a long time I thought. At 20.15 I went to bed and then it went really fast. Around 8:30 pm I felt my waters had broken because I saw little flakes floating in the water. At exactly 9 p.m. Keet was born after pressing a few times. I was able to handle her myself and lay her on my chest. We spent quite some time together in the bath so we could get used to each other. A wonderful experience that I look back on very positively.
However, our breastfeeding adventure began a few weeks before that. With the midwife's agreement, I started prenatal pumping at 37 weeks. And to my surprise, some drops of liquid gold came out immediately on the first try. Because I found it a bit difficult to catch the drops properly, I ended up sticking to 30 syringes of 1ML. A very nice yield if you ask me and this way I would be able to feed our daughter with my own milk instead of formula in case of emergency.
Fortunately, this was not necessary and Keet caught on well right away, already within the hour of her birth. The first few days she had lost some weight but by day 6 she was already over her birth weight! How happy I was! For me a sign that at least the breastfeeding was going well! Meanwhile, she is one month old and already weighs 5kg (over 1.5kg above her birth weight).
I continue to find it so incredibly special, how your body is able to create the very best nutrition for your child completely tailored to his or her needs. Always at hand and at the right temperature, how beautiful is that. I can really enjoy the good times together. Such a small child in your arms, sleeping with a drop of milk in the corner of his or her mouth.
And when nothing seems to work when your little one is so restless, the breast often offers immediate comfort and they are calm again within seconds. But I also find breastfeeding to be very challenging at times. Your little one is always depending on you. Sometimes you spend hours a day feeding, comforting and cuddling without having your hands free. And especially with another toddler girl running around, this is sometimes very spicy.
That's why it's nice that I got to try the pump from @nurturegoods.official. A fine double-sided cordless breast pump. Easy and clear to operate. Quick and effortless to take apart and it can just go in the dishwasher to clean it! In addition, the pump has very soft breast shields which makes it feel comfortable and does not hurt.
For me, a godsend. I pump almost every morning so I accumulate some feedings. Freek can also take over a feeding once in a while so I can have some time to myself and do fun things. Also with Keet going to daycare in a few months, it is nice that she is already used to drinking from the bottle. Juul has always been a bottle refuser and that has caused a lot of stress moments.
Very curious to see how long our breastfeeding adventure may last this time. Hopefully as long and without any problems as with our oldest daughter Juul. I was able to feed her for over 18 months without any problems, except for the fact that she was a huge bottle refuser. Now we continue to practice well with the bottle thanks to the fine pump from Nurturegoods!
Much love x, Rachne
Want to know more about Rachne? Then follow her on Instagram @xrachne