When I was pregnant with my daughter Chloe, my oldest (4 year old) would tell everyone that she was going to help mommy and daddy with her new baby sister. I would ask her how she is going to help and she said she was going to help change diapers and give the baby a bottle. This made me sad that I knew she wouldn’t be able to do that at first and I wasn’t sure how to explain it to her. Thanks to Phillips Avent Comfort Pump (Exclusively sold at Target), my daughter and husband were able to give Chloe her very first bottle!
How do you teach your kids about nursing? Are you modest? Do you let them help with the nurturing experience? Before having my new baby these topics really concerned me. I know the benefits that breast milk has on babies and kids and I if I was able to nurse and it worked for me, I am going to do all I can to give my baby what she needs. So here is my story:
Since I was going to be nursing I had to explain to her how her sister was going to eat. I am very modest and I didn’t want her telling everyone where the baby was going to eat from. I took the advice from a friend who had recently had a baby and also has a 4 year old girl. She had told her daughter about how the new baby was going to drink her special milk that God gave her and it was called nursing.
After teaching this to her we went to visit my Father in Law. The story she told my Father In Law, “…When the baby is born she is going to have nurses give her special milk from God.” The stories continued after she met her sister at the hospital, “..the baby is eating from mom’s tummy..” She still calls it Mommy’s Tummy milk and I am okay with that (even though I have told her where the baby is eating and that it is also called breastfeeding.
Nursing has been very difficult for me. (Much easier with this one than with my oldest, but still very tough.) The hardest part is the lack of sleep since nobody else can soothe her except me. My husband WOULD try to feed her but he doesn’t produce milk (darn!)! So I knew that I had to start pumping if I wanted any help or even just wanted to get out of the house for an hour without feeling guilty that my daughter would cry the entire time.
I go back to work in a couple of months so it was time to start practicing how to pump and eventually I will need to build up a stockpile. I was most excited to have my daughter and husband feed the baby. I believe they need to be able to help nurture her too. I couldn’t wait to see my daughter give her sister a bottle for the very first time. I was going to have my camera ready to start snapping!
Big sis picked out the bib too.
Using a pump for the first time is very discouraging. The first time I used it after feeding my baby I was only able to get .25 oz. I remember it being hard at first but I forget how discouraging it could be. The problem was me. I wasn’t relaxed and felt the pressure to make my a bottle. I had enough for a bottle after using it a few times. I was surprised that it didn’t hurt and it was more comfortable than the previous pump I had years ago!
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- This bag is SO much smaller than the pump I had years ago! This will be WAY less embarrassing when I go back to work! Looks like a laptop bag!
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- Pumping for the first time! I have to get my body use to it! I know she is eating because she gained 1 lb and 6.5 oz in 2 weeks!
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- It doesn’t hurt at all! Very comfortable! Even better than my last Avent!
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- The small bag fits everything I need. It has room for me to increase to a bigger bottle once I pump more. I just will need a freezer bag for storage. (Which I would use anyways.)
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- All the stuff to make feeding and working possible!
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- I LOVE that daddy and big sis can help nurture!
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- She is so proud of this moment!
Big Sister’s PROUD MOMENT Recap:
Disclaimer: This Phillips Avent Pump was provided to me for a review. All opinions are my own and I REALLY do love the pump and the size and how light weight it is! I would recommend this to a friend!
Laura D says
I love that your little girl is helping out! Good to hear that Philips has a great pump!