premature birth and having trouble

[HillelBebop]

HI everyone, my name i Kim and I had a baby on wednesday, April 29, via emergency c-section. Tuesday morning I was hospitalized because in a one week period of time i went from ok to severely pre-eclamptic with blood pressures jumping up to 188/120 and on the verge of siezures. I was 29 weeks one day. Within hours they went from saying "we're going to induce you" to "the baby is stressed and we're doing the c-section NOW." I had an amazing doctor but I had over 20lbs of excess weight only from the adema in my feet, legs, arms, hands, face, neck, hips, and thighs. So nevertheless I got over my fear of needles after being stuck over 30 times in less than 48 hours, trying to find a vein.

Now I'm home and my baby, Caleb, is in the NICU. I'm having a very hard time coping with being a mom and my brain just isn't connecting the two. I see him and I know he's mine but It's hard when he's not home with me. I'm always worried about him. And to top it off, I've been pumping every 2-3 hours and my milk just isn't coming in. I only get 2 OZ from both breasts each time. I've tried everything from hot showers, warm compresses, loads of water, and meditation. I don't know what else I can do. Can anyone help me?

[SingingMom]

Hi, welcome!

You'll get more help if you post on the General Breastfeeding board. It gets more traffic and more people will see it.

That said, I'll ask a couple of questions. How long are pumping? I didn't quite understand- two ounces from each breast, or two ounces total? How big is your baby?

If you're getting four ounces all together, that's fantastic! A little baby isn't going to eat that much all at once. You may need to pump every time baby eats. That's what will bring the supply to the level he needs.

Now, let's try to help you relax. You've been through some seriously scary stuff and now you have a newborn in the NICU. Cut yourself some slack, okay? You're doing great. Not your fault, and you're doing nothing wrong, and it's probably a temporary problem. It's only been two and a half weeks. And ANY milk you can give him is good milk.

You can try eating oatmeal to boost supply. You can pump more often. If those things don't help enough, you can try fenugreek or domperidone. We have moms here who have had experience using both. If you post over in the "General Breastfeeding" or "Pregnancy, Babies, and Parenting" forums, you'll likely get some response from those moms.

[Snickerdoodle]

My daughter stayed in the NICU for one and a half weeks while I pumped the whole time. I don't know if this is specific to the hospital or not, but the NICU nurses encouraged breastfeeding moms to pump by the isolette their babies were in, which (I was told) helps boost supply. They even had dividers they could roll over and make a makeshift 'room' for you if you weren't comfortable pumping in the open. Doing Kangaroo care will help boost supply, too. I'm not sure exactly how, but when I would stick my daughter down in my shirt for an hour, then go pump in the hospital pumping room, I would get at least an extra ounce of milk.

[Snickerdoodle]

Wow I just realized this thread is waaay old hehe.