Oct 27

Thoughtful Thursday! “Don’t Give Up, You Can Do This…She’ll Be Nursing Like A Pro Before You Know It.”

“Don’t give up, you can do this. Lots of moms want to give up because it’s frustrating, but keep with it, and she’ll be nursing like a pro before you know it.” – NICU Nurse to mother having problems nursing her baby in the NICU.

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There are 7 comments to this post.

Wendy had this to say, Oct 27, 2011 @ 3:08 pm (Quote)

Because of the direct effect that breastfeeding has on reducing infant mortality, this nurse is actually saving lives by encouraging women as she does. WTG!!!

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Amanda had this to say, Oct 27, 2011 @ 3:19 pm (Quote)

My baby was born seven weeks early and was getting most of her nourishment through a tube. She had to be able to eat on her own before I could take her home but I couldn’t get her to latch on and nurse. Finally I told this wonderful nurse that I was ready to throw in the towel, get her using bottles (which she did with some success), and get my baby home. This nurse very gently reminded me that if I wanted to nurse her at home, I needed to get the relationship started as soon as possible; better to struggle in the NICU with help than struggle at home and feel helpless and isolated.

Thanks to this nurse’s help and encouragement I kept pushing and finally was able to get my baby to nurse. She continued on bottles of expressed breastmilk at the NICU because as much as I would have loved to set up camp at the NICU and nurse her for every feeding, I had four other kids and lived 45 minutes away.

When I was finally able to take her home, I didn’t buy bottles. I assumed I would be able to nurse her successfully – and I was right! She nursed beautifully until I was pregnant again and had to wean her.

Sidenote: Once I was visiting with my baby in the NICU and overheard this same nurse encouraging another mom to keep trying to breastfeed despite difficulties. I wonder how many nursing relationships blossomed because of this woman?

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JaciDoula Reply:
October 29th, 2011 at 5:42 pm JaciDoula(Quote)

That’s such a welcome change to hear compared to the local excellent NICU we have here who has the “24 hours on a bottle” rule before the baby is allowed to go home. They offer very little breastfeeding support there

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Melissa C had this to say, Oct 27, 2011 @ 4:51 pm (Quote)

Someone give that nurse a raise!

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Lisa had this to say, Oct 27, 2011 @ 6:00 pm (Quote)

As a former NICU mom, this really resonates with me. I was always encouraged by one of my son’s main nurses who kept cheering me on despite our (many) nursing hardships. He did end up nursing like a pro… for 34 months!

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Heidi had this to say, Oct 28, 2011 @ 7:39 am (Quote)

Amanda, thank you for sharing that great nursing story (pun intended). It’s so neat how the right word at the right time can have a huge impact on us.

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