I fed my baby on donated breast milk & formula

In 2020, I had a massive postpartum hemorrhage and emergency hysterectomy after the birth of my son, River. As I recovered in the ICU, I did not see my baby until 24 hours after he was born.

My sister, who was breastfeeding at the time, pumped and bottle fed him while I recovered from surgery and gained strength back. Once I felt up to it, I started to try to nurse him.

My milk hadn’t come in yet so we continued to use donated breast milk & formula and feed him at my breast using SNS to try to stimulate lactation. The doctors told me with all the trauma it may take a week or 2 for my milk to come in. Many folks donated breastmilk and I continued to feed him using donated milk & SNS.

After 3 weeks, I was becoming very discouraged and decided to see a lactation consultant who advised that I schedule an MRI as well as blood tests to rule out pituitary damage. This is when I was diagnosed with hypopituitaryism (Sheehan’s Syndrome).

Knowing that I wasn’t going to produce milk was devastating, but I was relieved to have answers and the clarity to take the next steps forward. We found a formula we loved and he’s now a happy, fun, energetic 2 year old! I’m so grateful to those who donated their breastmilk as that gave him a great start while we were figuring out what was happening with my body & researching formula.

I’ve had 3 very different feeding journeys with my children. Every circumstance was unique and required a different approach. Breastfed or bottle-fed, my kids were fed with love and care.