When Kat was pregnant with her second child she knew she wanted to give breastfeeding another go. With her first child, her milk never came in and breastfeeding didn’t work out for them.
“This time around I researched as much as I possibly could. I did colostrum harvesting from 38 weeks.”
Kat’s second daughter Hollie was born at 39 weeks via elective c-section. They got immediate skin-to-skin together and baby Hollie latch straight away for a feed. Kat really thought they had cracked breastfeeding already but challenges were right around the corner…
Baby Hollie feeding
When The Newborn Bubble Burst
“We had our newborn bubble burst when we found out Holly had a dramatic weight loss. She lost over 14% of her body weight. The first three weeks of Holly’s life is a complete blur to me. It was filled with constant weigh-ins, hospital visits, health visitors. It felt like every single person was providing different advice and they were all focusing more and more on giving Holly formula.
I was absolutely adamant that I would and could breastfeed Holly. I was trying everything I could to make sure I had milk. I paid for an IBCLC who said Holly’s latch was great and I was given the confidence boost I needed.”
Kat using the Ardo Alyssa double electric breast pump at home
Milk Supply Struggles
Whilst things were slowly improving for Kat and her daughter, Kat’s GP ended up being prescribing her medication to aid her milk supply. At the same time Kat decided to invest in a breast pump but struggled to find the right pump one for her.
“I had tried four different pumps but none of them matched the one I had tried at the hospital. Thankfully I remembered that I had used the Ardo hospital grade pump in hospital and so I ordered the Ardo double Alyssa pump. Within a few days my feeding journey eased but we were still very much triple feeding (breast, top up & pumping)”
Kat breastfeeding outdoors
Thriving 12 Months On
By the six month mark, Kat and Hollie were really starting to find their feet with feeding. Kat continued to take her medication for her milk supply and she was still pumping to maintain a good supply of milk. By 12 months, their breastfeeding journey naturally came to an end when Hollie self-weaned.
“I feel that without having my Ardo pump our journey would have been so different and I wouldn’t have been able to reach the one year mark. Holly is happy, thriving and hitting all her milestones.
I hope no one ever has to go through the feeding journey we have been on but for anyone that is going through it know this – you are not alone!”
Thank you to Ardo Mum Kat for sharing her breastfeeding story. If you would like to share your story, contact us now.
