My Pumping Journey with triplets

During my pregnancy I was unsure if I would ever be able to produce enough for three babies. Immediately after my c-section I started collecting colostrum and I actually started to get some in the recovery room. They leave you no time for relaxation after giving birth. Colostrum is the first type of breastmilk females produce. It contains highly concentrated antibodies to help your baby fight diseases. I was only getting enough to fill tiny syringes but that is all they needed. Staff would then take it to the NICU and divide it between the babies. I was lucky enough to have my babies receive donor milk while my milk was starting to come in. It takes your body about 3-4 days for your colostrum to turn into breastmilk. They told me they usually only give donor milk to babies born 32 weeks or sooner but since mine were triplets they gave us the option for donor milk. The donor milk was also expiring soon so they needed to use it up. The day after the babies were born I was hand expressing colostrum (see picture below) every 2-3hrs. That day I got a total of 9.9ml/0.3oz and I was hand expressing for 20min each time. They recommended hand expressing colostrum since it is so sticky. Once my milk came in I was told to pump at least 8-12 times a day in a 24hr period. The lactation nurse also said not to go anymore than 4-5hrs without pumping during the night. On the second day post-op I only produced 2.9ml/0.1oz (yep, you read that right) and the third day I produced 9.75ml/0.3oz in a 24hr period. My milk started to come in around the fourth day post-op and I produced a total of 138ml/4.7oz in one day. I was still pumping around 20min and each time was getting anywhere from 12-43ml/0.4-1.5oz each session. Each day my total amount pumped was increasing. One week post-op I was pumping a total of 363ml/12oz per day and I even was letting each baby latch and try breastfeeding. The babies were still getting donor milk and my milk was being stored for future use. I was using a hospital grade pump up for about a week and decided to try my Medela freestyle pump. Crazy enough I had better results with the freestyle. The freestyle had a vibration feeling along with pulling and my body produced more breastmilk with the vibration. Spectra S1 and S2 also have a similar vibration feeling but I don’t feel it is as strong as the freestyle. I gave back the hospital grade pump and continued using my Medela freestyle. If anyone is having a hard time producing milk I always recommend trying different pumps. Two weeks post-partum I was producing a total of 929ml/31oz in a 24hr period. I was still pumping every 2-3hrs during the day and 4hrs was the longest stretch at night. Three weeks post-partum I was producing a total of 1215ml/41oz. The goal is to have a full supply by 2 weeks. The lactation consultants told me a low supply was 0-500ml/day or 0-17oz; borderline 500-750ml/day or 17-25oz/day; and a full supply 750-1000ml/day or 25-33oz/day. I reached my full supply goal around 2 weeks and 3 days post delivery. It really helps to have a supportive significant other who can help in the process of pumping. My husband was helping me clean parts and document during the beginning of my pumping journey. About 6 months post-partum I was producing 2322ml/78.5oz day. I always had more than enough breastmilk but as they got older I was about a bottle or two short a day. I started using my frozen stash to make up for the deficit. Once my freezer stash dwindled down I started to supplement with a little bit of formula. Since the day the babies were born we were always adding formula in order to make extra calories in the breastmilk. We were using Enfamil Enfacare and if you have multiples make sure you sign up for their multiple program. This program allows you to get free formula and your pediatrician should help you sign up for this. The Enfamil rep at our pediatricians office also gave us free formula. I know Similac also has a similar program for parents of multiples. Since my frozen stash was getting very low I started supplementing some of their feedings. I started doing this around 10 months. It really wasn’t that much and they were actually getting about the same amount of formula scoops it was just more diluted with the filtered water. I went down to 5 pumps a day when my babies were 10 months old. I was doing 6 pumps a day for the longest time. My schedule (at 10 months) was roughly 430am/9am/12p/5p/11p. I was pumping for 25-30min each time because I noticed I get another let down around 23-24 min. I was lucky enough to have never experienced mastitis. I know so many moms who have dealt with mastitis and it sounded horrible and it can really tank your supply. I produced around 1774ml/60oz a day of breastmilk at 11 months post-partum and that’s when cut out my middle of the night pump. My pumping schedule at 11 months was roughly 430am/9am/12p/7p. Since I had triplets I was pumping more than most moms with one baby. Usually by this time you are not pumping as frequently. We slowly weaned them to whole milk once they were about one. We started with 25% cows milk/75% breast milk and eventually had them completely on whole milk. Once they were mostly on cows milk I started freezing another large batch of breastmilk. I did this so when they are toddlers I can add some frozen breastmilk to their cows milk. I think this will be particularly helpful if they get sick. The weaning process has been easier than expected. I reduced my pumps to 3x a day and went from 15min to 10min. I was so nervous to start weaning off the pump but your body knows what to do. I pumped first thing in the morning, noonish, and right before bed. After a week or so I reduced my pumps to 6-7 minutes 3x a day, twice a day, and finally once a day for 5 minutes. I started taking a decongestant throughout the day and I feel that helped dry me up tremendously. After a few days of only pumping once a day I only did one pump every other day until I completely stopped. If anyone is reading this and expecting a baby or babies just know that it is not easy pumping but once you get into a routine it does get better. I honestly can’t believe my pumping journey is over. Thank-you for reading my blog on my pumping journey and I hope this helps. Follow my family on Instagram ~ Triplet_mommy_2017

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Miscarriage and secondary infertility

We got pregnant a couple months after getting married. We told immediate family and a few close friends early on. However, 9.5 weeks into the pregnancy I suffered a miscarriage. It actually happened on my 33rd birthday. It was a horrible day and the pain was almost unbearable. The worst part was having to tell people that I miscarried. I learned my lesson not to tell others until I was in my second trimester. We started trying again soon after and figured we would have no issues. Months went by and nothing. I started drinking special teas and taking supplements to help conceive. I started testing my LH surges and knew exactly when I was ovulating and still kept on getting negatives. I was so depressed and sad. I kept on thinking that the next month has to be it. People all around me were announcing their pregnancies. Most of them already had one or two children. I had co-workers that kept on asking me when I was going to join the “mom club”. Little did they know we just had a miscarriage and have been having fertility issues. My due date for the baby I miscarried went by and then what would of been their one year birthday. Things were coming in the mail at each milestone my baby would of reached. I ended up calling them and telling them to remove me from the list. I even started tracking my temperatures. I swear I tried everything and I was even making my hubby take special supplements. I felt like my clock was ticking and that my eggs were turning into dust. I went to the doctor right around the 6 month mark (post miscarriage) and had a bunch of labs drawn. I was just trying to be proactive and I always recommend others to do the same. I remember going to my doctor and talking to him about my issues of not getting pregnant. During my visit he showed me a picture of his twins. He said this is what happens when you try really hard. I just smiled and held back the tears. I knew we would absolutely love twins because the thought of doing this all over again sounded like no fun. All my labs came back good except I had a slightly elevated prolactin level. The doctor put me on a low dose of medication to help reduce that. I had absolutely no reason not to get pregnant. I also had a HSG to make sure my tubes were clear and that test came back completely normal. We ended up going to a fertility clinic sometime after a year of trying (post miscarriage). We tried 2 IUIs at this clinic and our insurance stopped working with that doctor so we needed to switch clinics. After a few more months we finally were able to attempt another IUI. The third IUI also did not take. At this point my husband and I were wondering if we would ever get pregnant. I honestly was just waiting to go to IVF. My insurance was making us try a total of six IUIs before we could even attempt IVF. They switched some medications around and after the forth IUI it finally took! When the nurse called me to tell me my HCG level was 312 I couldn’t believe it. The first person I told was my brother and then I told my hubby when he got home that day. He was happy but told me he wouldn’t get very excited until we got past a certain point. We ended up telling my parents during our Florida trip. Our journey felt like eternity but I know so many others have struggled longer. It took us over 2 years to get pregnant after our first miscarriage. If anyone is reading this and having fertility issues please don’t give up and your time will come. God is good. You can follow our journey on Instagram @triplet_mommy_2017 thumbnail_1311-2018-0100951191469315282110

Summer Infant – My bath seat

I had the pleasure to use and review the Summer Infant “My bath seat”. This is the first time I ever used a bath seat with my triplets. It’s super easy to set up and is very safe for your baby. The bath seat has three suction cups so it really safe once it is installed. I love the fact that you have two hands to wash your baby during bath time. You also don’t need to worry about it tipping over. The backrest is high which gives your baby lots of support during their bath. I would highly recommend this bath seat for any parent with babies who can sit unassisted.

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Love of my life

Hubby and I are high school sweethearts and met during our sophomore social studies class. We dated a couple of times in high school and went our separate ways for a few years. We reunited in our early 20s and dated for a brief time. It wasn’t until Hank messaged me on FB (2013) that we reconnected for the final time. I was very hesitant this time around but he promised me everything will work out. At this point in our lives we were both ready to settle down. I knew Hank was the one way back in high school but it took us about 15 years for us both to figure that out. He proposed to me and we got married on July 25, 2015.