Milk part 1 - Expressing
I had always wanted to breastfeed, it was one of life's experiences that I wanted. After Evelyn's operation she would be fed through a tube so if I wanted her to have milk from me I would have to express. At first you are encouraged to generate the colostrum (for anyone not aware this is the milk the breast produces after giving birth) by massaging your breast by hand. Now when I say massage think squeezing your breast so hard that it hurts and you think it might pop. That is what I had to do - I am not aware if this is how it feels for everyone else but this was my experience. Nothing came. I would try constantly throughout the day, directly after cuddles, but still nothing. The middle of the night is the best time for lactation so I would wake myself up in the early hours, struggle to get out of bed with my sciatica plaguing my back and my core muscles having been cut open. I would sit on the toilet in the tiny, clinical bathroom of our NICU room and squeeze my breast so ha...