I am convinced that breastfeeding is the best nutrition, but not if it is at the expense of the mother.
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 Martine's turn. Will you read along?
Martine's NurtureGoods experience (Instagram @martine.kooistra)
The last time live breastfeeding
With our first child, I pumped full time for five months with the ' Nurturegoods Smart 1.0' because despite help from a lactation consultant and cleaving her tongue and lip-tie, she could not manage to latch on properly.
Even then I recommended this pump to everyone, what a powerful machine! So I didn't hesitate for a second about which pump I wanted to use when the time came after my second pregnancy. In fact, I had already purchased the pump from Nurturegoods during my pregnancy.
My second pregnancy
From the moment I knew I was pregnant again, I wanted to do everything I could to breastfeed again. Although I had failed to breastfeed live the first time, so I had pumped full-time for 5 months, this time I just went for live breastfeeding again. And yes, our little son latched on almost immediately after delivery. I didn't know what hit me, this was such a different experience than with our daughter. This gave us a huge boost in my confidence. I was breastfeeding live! Unfortunately, our little son was struggling to gain weight, so we decided to supplement with pumped milk. So I had to and wanted to pump. For me, it was not a difficult choice which breast pump I wanted to pump with: the Nurturegoods Dual Efficient Smart 3.0.
I gave birth the first time in January and the second time in March. It can be quite cold during these months, but because the Nurturegoods pump has silicone inserts in the breast shields, the breast shields do not feel cold. What I personally also find a very nice feature is that the 3.0 is rechargeable. The 1.0 did not have this feature. I pumped regularly with both of my children on the go; in the car, on visits, at the nine months fair etc. so rechargeable is really a big advantage. Sometimes I pumped in the living room and sometimes in the bedroom. It made a difference that I didn't have to connect the pump to an outlet first. I also walked around the house while pumping, not very ideal, but it is possible because the Nurturgoods pump is rechargeable and there are pump bras available on the website. I became more and more proficient with the pump.
From Live feeding to pumping
Unfortunately, I started to look up more and more to live feeding, feeding started to hurt tremendously despite our little son was latching on well. My nipples are more sensitive than average because I have retracted nipples. When there was also thrush, clefts and a very sad situation privately, my bucket was overflowing. I made the decision to start pumping full-time again. The last time I breastfed live I did it outside, on a sunny day, in a park, so I ended this period consciously and in a beautiful place. Difficult, but better for me. My mental health is not very stable so I have to be very careful not to go over my limit, because a relapse into depression is the last thing I want.
The NurtureGoods flask
The beautiful design made me feel comfortable leaving the flask in the living room. The flask is easy to take apart, easy to clean and easy to put back together again. Everything (except the electric motor) can even be put in the dishwasher. The only downside I found was that the pump is not very quiet, on the other hand, the pump is very powerful (with both single and double pumping) and it has 9 different suction levels and multiple modes including a nipple retraction mode.
Mama knows best
I pumped full-time for another period, shorter than I had envisioned and shorter than I had pumped with Ylse, but it was fine. I am convinced that breastfeeding is the best feeding, but not if it is at the expense of the mother. Even more important than breastfeeding is a happy mom. Breastfeeding is not easy and especially the first few weeks, take the time to figure out what works for you, seek help from a lactation consultant and vent your heart to friends and fellow moms. And if it really doesn't work out, so be it. You tried, you too want the best for your baby and sometimes that means making choices that are not easy.
In most cases, ' Mama knows best' applies, so dear mom: have faith in your mother's heart.
Kind regards, Martine
Would you like to know more about Martine? Then follow her on Instagram @martine.kooistra