Preemie Diaries - Cup Feeding

The day the feeding tube is removed is always an awesome day. You know you have graduated to "big baby" status and are one step closer to going home.

I was always under the impression that my baby would breastfed immediately. (I clearly had no notion of how this premmie thing works.) But then I figured my baby would be bottled fed the breast milk. Wrong again.

Imagine my shock when I first saw a baby being cup fed. I kid you not. It is the most amazing sight ever. But it is also very frustrating as well.

The cup feeding is great in teaching baby how to suck, swallow, breathe. But it is so time consuming and frustrating, especially if you have never done it before.

I was lucky in that I got to try breastfeeding when baby reached 1.5kg. So although the feeding tube was still being used, baby was learning how to suck.

You really take for granted how much a term baby can do in comparison to a preemie baby. I mean I had no idea in the beginning that baby would need to learn how to breastfeed. I never knew that my milk would not come in naturally as soon as baby was out. I also never knew how hard pumping and sustaining milk supply would be, because baby was separated from me and because he was not sucking.

So many unknowns. So many new things to learn.

I think the most frustrating thing is pumping. It's all you do, all day and all night. In the beginning I was super frustrated but once I realised that my baby's life depended on getting that breastmilk, momma went into overdrive. I did everything and took everything I could to help my baby. And trust me it was extremely hard work. But we did it. We were one of the luckier ones because not everyone is able to produce milk.

The first time I tried cup feeding I was so scared. I didn't understand how a baby so small would be able to do it. But I sat and watched other babies doing and enjoying it and I just perservered.

When we were discharged I thought that that would be the end of cup feeding but no, in order to administer the vitamins baby needed I still needed to cup feed and also to make sure he was in fact still getting enough milk.

One of my biggest goals was to make sure that baby put on weight as he should be. Measuring every gram gained (and sometimes lost) became part of everyday life.

I don't know who came up with the cup feeding phenom but boy are you a smart someone. And thank you.

I've put up a little video that we took back in our cup feeding days so that you guys can see just how amazing it is.

XOXO, T

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Going Back To Work - Thank You Cat And Nat

So alot of you don't know this but when my baby was born prematurely last year, I decided to stay home to take care of him. It was a very tough decision, but one that has proven to be the best decision I have ever made.

With his first birthday fastly approaching, I have been thinking about getting back into the job market.

But with new youth coming into the job market every year (by the thousands) and also having been out of action for so long, I've always worried about how will I make it work, have I become obsolete?

Technology changes daily and people are re-inventing themselves and honing their skills daily too.

So when I came across this video from these wonderful ladies Cat and Nat I felt like they hit the nail right on the head.

Me being a mom is an attribute, not a liability. And in the past year I have mastered more skills than any person that I know. I have also worked on skills that I wasn't so good at (multi-tasking? Piece of Cake). My memory? (On point. I mean I have a small baby who has to have vitamins administered on time, daily. And my older child has different sports on different days).

I could go on and on but these ladies definitely do it in a more convincing way.

So for all employers out there, I think that you should watch this video and re-think how you see moms. We are actually a financial benefit to your organisation.

And thank you Cat and Nat for saying what a lot of mom's have been wanting to say but just didn't. You girls rock!!!

XOXO, T

*Accreditation: Cat And Nat: Mom Truths Cat And Nat: Mom Truths
*Accreditation:  Cat And Nat