Remember: FED is BEST. 

You might be thinking: “Really? Another disclaimer?” But I feel it’s so important. In this new age world of social media, there are too many unnecessary comments and opinions flying around. Every single pregnancy is completely different for every single woman. I want to do what I can to stop the comparisons and the ugly comments. As long as you are taking care of your baby, you are doing fine mama. 

I also find it important to acknowledge the mamas who really wanted to breastfeed their baby but struggled and switched to other options. I am so sorry it didn’t work out for you. Just know that you did not fail, you did not give up. You did what was best for yourself and your baby. I’m no clinical medical professional, but I remember seeing a mom in the NICU who was so adamant about only breastfeeding her baby for every single feed (even overnight — but rarely made it on time when the baby was hungry), that I felt it was actually delaying that baby’s progress. Meanwhile I didn’t have a choice with Parker. She was IV & tube fed from birth to mid-October. From then it was a mix of bottle and tube feedings. My breastmilk also had to be fortified to 24 calories so she could get the extra protein needed to help grow. At one point, the nutrition team needed to increase her protein intake more and was hesitant to suggest one formula-only bottle per shift, instead of increasing to 27 calories which did not work well previously. I looked at the whole team and said, “Look, I’m not a crunchy breast-only mom. If she needs a formula bottle to help her, give her a formula bottle. 

And finally, this blog post will not offer any advice in regard to physically pumping, how to increase supply, etc. I am not a lactation consultant. Everybody and every body is different. I will leave the advice up to the trained professionals. This blog post is to share the pump organization process of a Type A new mom, just in case my tips and tricks can help anyone else. I also hope you’ll share your tips & tricks with me and readers in the comments.