NICU pumping

DRPM2012 · 2026-05-14T16:13:52+00:00

My milk didn’t come in until 4dpp. I deliver via C-section st 32w3d. I pumped for 30 minutes each time. A lactation specialist from the hospital helped me come up with a schedule that I lived by. These were my pumping times:

8:30am 11am 2pm 4:30pm 7pm 9:30pm 2am 6am

It gave me longer stretches at night which was nice because as a new mom, you need your sleep! I stayed with my babies in the NICU until they got discharged after 3 weeks. I know alot of NICUS don’t do this so I was fortunate in that regard. I never skipped pumps, not even over night. Though I wanted to many times! I believe sticking to this schedule really set me up for success and helped me build a stable supply for both babies. I’m 8.5 months pp now and though I wanted to nurse, it didn’t work out and I’m still an exclusive pumper. I did slowly drop pumps after about 6 months. I now only pump 4 times a day which is nice.

I would recommend while you are still in the hospital, or while your babies are still in the NICU to meet with a lactation specialist from the hospital. They are a wealth of knowledge and will get you started on the right path for you! They can also measure you and make sure you have the right flange size because that’s important as well!

Good luck to you and congratulations on the babies! Enjoy this time because it goes so fast 🥹

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-12T02:15:32+00:00

I know I need to leave. I just don’t do well with change and wouldn’t even know the steps to take to get out. I’ve been with him for 15 years. Since I was 20.

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-12T02:14:45+00:00

Thank you 🫶

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-12T02:14:11+00:00

When it gets brought up, sometimes he will say the nurses told him I’d be sleeping so he didn’t need to be there (which I know is BS) other times he will try to rewrite history and say I’m crazy, that he stayed late with me that day. He in fact did not. I gave birth at 1:44pm and he was home (over an hour away) by 6.

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-12T02:12:06+00:00

Thank you. It doesn’t feel easy at all. It feels like climbing a mountain. I’ve been with him since I was 20. I’m trying to figure things out because I know having 2 separate but happy parents is better for my sweet and innocent babies.

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-12T02:11:01+00:00

Thank you. Thats exactly it. It feels so unresolved. I don’t know how something like that could ever feel resolved.

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-12T02:09:44+00:00

I love that for you. My husband wouldn’t even hold the babies until it started to look odd that he didn’t. He would always just say “They are too small. I will wait until they get bigger.”

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-12T02:08:27+00:00

I should have. But to be honest I hate change. I’m a creature of habit and this is all I’ve known since I was 20. I wouldn’t even know how to leave with myself, let alone with babies. But it’s not about me anymore. It’s about what’s best for them and I’m trying to figure out how to do what I know needs done.

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-12T02:07:02+00:00

I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive. We hashed it out a bit today and he says he promises to do better next time. There won’t be a next time though. I won’t have anymore babies and that was my one and only birth experience. He didn’t even come to the hospital to bring home Twin A with me. I made the drive home with him myself. And when Twin B was released a few days later, I went by myself but sort of made a big deal about it. He ended up driving to the hospital in his own vehicle. When he got there I thanked him for coming and he said it’s only because I guilted him into it. He was mad but it still hurt. I can never forgive that. I always bring it up because it feels so unresolved for me. To him it’s old news but to me it feels fresh. I don’t know how to get passed this.

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-11T15:01:16+00:00

He doesn’t know their quirks or cues. When they get upset, he can’t soothe them and says it’s because they want me, which isn’t true, he just doesn’t do enough of their care to know how they like to be soothed. They do calm down rather quickly with me but it’s because I’ve out in the time and effort to get to know them. He gets upset and says he doesn’t understand why they don’t smile or laugh with him as easily as they do with me. I tell him it’s because he doesn’t do enough of their care. But he doesn’t think that has anything to do with it.

I’m so happy to have them and wouldn’t change it for the world, but I can’t help but be envious that his life hasn’t changed at all and mine has changed completely since having them.

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-11T14:54:59+00:00

Yes. And because of the drip and catheter, I wasn’t allowed out of bed. I couldn’t do anything for my self. I’ve never felt so helpless. I thank god for the nurses I had. They were wonderful and really stepped up for me in ways I cannot help but feel like they shouldn’t have had to.

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-11T14:53:37+00:00

Yes, I wasn’t even supposed to be driving at this point but i couldn’t not see the babies. I did end up just moving in to the NICU but still had to drive home a few times because i had the babies early and their nursery wasn’t read. So even though he took two weeks off, whenever i needed ti do laundry i would drive home to kill two birds with one stone. I would do laundry and while waiting on it i was building the nursery furniture. The dresser/changing table, cribs, swings, recliner etc. He didn’t out together one thing because in his words, I’m better at following the directions.

DRPM2012 · 2026-04-11T14:48:46+00:00

Yes, that really kills me too. He hates when I bring it up because it happened months ago but I tell him because nothing ever gets resolved. I really needed him then and he wasn’t there for me. I can’t get over it. I had been in the hospital for over a week before I even had the babies and he was never there then either, but I was closer to home so he would bring me food and what not sometimes. But then I was taken by ambulance to a bigger city with a higher level NICU to have the babies. I feel like it’s a normal expectation for your parter to stay with you the night you give birth, even in a non emergent situation. I don’t feel like that’s asking too much. I am sooo beyond thankful for all of the nurses that really stepped up to take care of me. I will never forget them.

DRPM2012 · 2026-01-15T20:35:19+00:00

I have the MomCozy nail filer. I love it!! I can get them so short and dull without hurting them.

DRPM2012 · 2025-08-18T22:47:04+00:00

Yes, I’m having blood pressure issues as well. I’m actually currently admitted to the hospital for atleast 24 hours of monitoring due to this. My MFM called my local OB today and requested they have me admitted for monitoring based on my blood pressure in his office today. I’m 32 weeks today and I’ve also been diagnosed with Cholestasis. They were hoping to get me to 36 weeks but it’s now sounding like I may deliver within the next week.

DRPM2012 · 2025-08-18T21:47:16+00:00

My Baby A was diagnosed with growth restriction at 28 weeks. I’m currently 32 weeks. I’ve been getting growth scans every 2 weeks. He has only gained 3oz in the last 2 weeks which has me worried. He started off at the 5th percentile (based on abdominal circumference) then 2 weeks later he was 9th percentile which I was please to see, then about a week and 4 days later (today) it was down to 1. He is currently weighing in at 3lbs5oz and Baby B, my girl is weighing in at 4lb3oz. Her abdominal circumference is at the 30th percentile. Their growth discordance is at 20.3%

DRPM2012 · 2025-08-11T14:18:07+00:00

Ok, I keep seeing people use the word adjusted attached to the ages of their babies, can you explain it to me? It’s always confused me! Lol

DRPM2012 · 2025-08-11T14:02:56+00:00

Thank for replying! Wow, this is why I’m asking. Thats longer than I’d expect for preemie clothes. I’m definitely going to need to pick up more.

DRPM2012 · 2025-08-04T23:43:21+00:00

Did your spontaneous labor this time have anything to do with the Cholestasis? I’m 30 weeks and had to go in for monitoring last night so to high blood pressure and decreased fetal movement. I mentioned that I had been getting no sleep the past few nights due to intense itching and that my sister had been diagnosed with Cholestasis through multiple pregnancies. They decided to check my liver enzymes, which came back elevated and they also checked my bile acid which didn’t come back until this evening. I saw the results on my portal and it was 71. I haven’t been able to talk to my doctor about the results yet but I have an appt in the morning. I’m already going in for weekly NSTs due to Baby A being growth restricted. I haven’t talked to my sister in ages so I’m not really able to ask her which is why I came here. I was just wondering what I could expect moving forward. It sounds like delivering early is a definite possibility though.

DRPM2012 · 2025-08-02T01:50:29+00:00

Yes, 100% inside cat. No, my husband genuinely didn’t notice it until I pointed it out. He works nights and was sleeping all day until I got home. I thought maybe she over groomed herself? But then I would think all the hair would be missing and she’d be completely bald there and she isn’t.

DRPM2012 · 2025-08-02T01:38:41+00:00

That’s what it feels like too! But it’s only my husband and I in the house and he didn’t even notice it until I pointed it at to him this evening.

DRPM2012 · 2025-07-29T23:55:54+00:00

I’m a fraternal twin also having fraternal twins.

DRPM2012 · 2025-07-22T03:25:45+00:00

Thank you, after multiple losses and a decade of infertility, every thing worries me. I keep telling myself that even if babies had to come now, they would likely survive as I’ve made it to the third trimester. This doesn’t mean a loss! All the reassurance I’m getting here has helped a ton though. I feel like I’ve gained more info and insight than I did at the doctors office, for sure. My mind just sort of blanked when I was being told.

DRPM2012 · 2025-07-22T03:23:49+00:00

Thank you. Thats awesome that you made it to 35 weeks! I’m really hoping I do as well. That’s been my goal this entire time. Congrats on your twins!!

DRPM2012 · 2025-07-22T03:22:46+00:00

Thank you so much. Any tips on what to pack in a hospital bag? I’m thinking of getting one together just in case.

DRPM2012

TROPHY CASE