Having a Baby with Tongue Tie and How I Survived Exclusively Pumping

Birth

My son was born at 6lbs 8oz at 39 weeks. He had to be in the NICU for a couple of days due to severe Jaundice. In the NICU he was given bottles (of pumped breastmilk) so, we knew he would take a bottle no problem and I breastfed as often as I could. He had no problem going back and forth between bottle and breast. To begin with, he was gaining weight and aside from his jaundice, he seemed totally healthy. But, very quickly he started to not gain and sometimes even lose weight. He was always, and I mean always, hungry. He wasn’t napping or sleeping at night because he constantly wanted to eat. I knew this wasn’t healthy for any of us so I scheduled an appointment with a lactation consultant.

At the appointment the lactation consultant weighed him before and after he breastfed. Which showed he wasn’t getting enough breastmilk during his feeds so she examined his latch and tongue. She noticed the tip of his tongue was heart shaped and he couldn’t lift it as high as most babies. So she thought maybe he had tongue tie. We took him to the pediatrician who referred us to a specialist (luckily all within about 2 days). Our son did have tongue tie but not severe enough to have surgery. We took him home and kept doing what we were doing. We were told to let him feed as much as he wanted to and that’s what we did.

Mother’s intuition

2 weeks later I could just sense something wasn’t right. He was still thin and I knew in my gut something was wrong. So, I took him to the pediatrician. He hadn’t gained an ounce in almost 2 weeks when he should have been gaining .5-1.5 ounces per day. At this visit, we discussed in detail his current routine from the bottles we used to breastfeeding positions. We had been half breastfeeding and half bottle feeding him. It was decided he was simply burning too many calories trying to eat. The effort it took him to suck was using all the calories he was taking in.

So, we needed to get him an easier way to get calories. When he was about 8 weeks old we decided to cut breastfeeding completely. We were only feeding him expressed milk through a bottle. Now, as a mom who was set on exclusively breastfeeding, having him in the NICU and being bottle fed straight out the gate really took an emotional toll on me. But, in the end, I could pump my breastmilk and if we needed to we would give him formula because fed is best! We were using the Avent Natural bottles which are recommended for breastfed babies and we were using the super slow flow nipple (or the “0” nipples) which are also recommended for breastfed babies. So, the first step the pediatrician recommended was to get a faster flowing nipple. So my husband went straight to the store to get the nipples with a slightly faster flow (the “1” nipples).

Light at the end of the tunnel

Two weeks later we had a well-child visit and our son had gained 2lbs! 2lbs in two weeks! Both the doctor and I were shocked! Eventually around 15 weeks Liam finally had enough strength to start exclusively breastfeeding. But for over 10 weeks I was exclusively pumping.

Exclusively pumping is extremely exhausting emotionally and physically. First, it’s like you are in between breastfeeders and bottle feeders so you don’t really know where you belong or where to ask for help. Exclusive breastfeeding isn’t really your faction since your baby gets fed from a bottle but bottle feeding typically refers to formula feeding so you don’t really fit into that category either. Typical/common mom forums or chat boards don’t address the exclusive pumpers.

One of the biggest pieces of advice people give new moms is “sleep when the baby sleeps” which always drives me nuts… like oh, yea I hadn’t thought of that! First, new moms have to shower, eat, and I don’t know… live while the baby is sleeping. This list applies if you only have one child but if this isn’t your first you can add making meals, bathing children, reading books, taking kids to lessons, and so on to that list. When you are pumping you can add pumping, storing, labeling, and cleaning pump parts to that list of things mothers need to get done while the baby is sleeping.

Here is what got me through the exclusive pumping stage with less break downs…

 Hands-free bra!

This the best thing ever!! I’m not kidding. I know pumping is only 15-30 mins but being able to just relax and have your hands makes it so much less stressful. Then you can just text or do stuff on your computer an anything. I liked having a strapless one if fit tighter so I was more comfortable but if you don’t need it to be strapless I would get multiple of the bra listed below.

Pumping bra for work

An amazing pumping bra for when I needed to pump at work. While I love my hands-free bra, when you are trying to pump at work you are going to want a bra that you can wear under your clothes. Stripping down to put on a hands free pumping bra just ins’t realistic. Most pumping bras are uncomfortable or show through your shirt or something ridiculous. But the Simple Wishes Super Mom bra has none of these problems! It has lots of different ways you can wear the straps depending on the shirt/dress you are wearing, it is comfortable, doesn’t have underwire and is all around amazing. This bra was recommended to me by a woman that was breastfeeding/pumping for 5 years straight!

SNACKS!!

Have snacks and water by your bed (or wherever you are most comfortable pumping) at all times because man does pumping make you thirsty and hungry. I have a 32 oz reusable water bottle that I would keep full by my bed. I had veggie chips, almonds and let’s face it cookies to keep by my bed so I didn’t have to worry about needing to get up during a pumping session.

Netflix!

When you have a newborn they eat A LOT so that means you have to pump A LOT I tried to use this time to relax. I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan so during my pumping time, I would sit back turn on my favorite season (season 5 obviously Luke and Lorelai for life!) eat some snacks, chug some water and have 30 mins of me time.

RELAX!

To go along with my last tip. You just grew a human, pushed it out of your body, and are no providing that little baby with nutrients you deserve to relax. When you are pumping this is 100% guilt free relaxing time for you and don’t even for a millisecond feel guilty. To help you relax have a dedicated pumping station that you set up to give you maximum comfort. Have a phone charger, books, music, snacks, comfy pillows, a blanket, and anything else you can think of that will make you comfortable and relaxed in that space.

Medela Lanolin Cream–

So the first six weeks or so of breastfeeding or pumping sucks… yea pun intended… your body is being pulled in ways you probably aren’t used too so it can get pretty sore. Lanolin cream is a lifesaver!

• Multiple pump attachments

• I had three different sets so that when I had 3:00 am pumping sessions I didn’t have to walk downstairs to clean the set before I could go back to sleep. For cleaning, I used two little tubs where I would soak the pieces in hot soapy water, rinse, and move to the other tub to dry. It made my life so much easier. I would never have stuck with pumping if I had to work with only one set.

 

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