I met Paula during my recovery from having my first child. My new daughter and I had a rough start. It was my dream to breastfeed my child as that is what I believe to be best for her. Unfortunately due to preexisting conditions, not only did it take three long years to become pregnant, now that same illness was making us all unsure if my milk would ever come in.
Paula came to me as a lactation consultant and never let me think about giving up my dream of breastfeeding. She helped me learn how to latch S, who did not want to since I had no milk to give. She helped me hand express for hours. She showed me how to pump. We spent five days around the clock latching, expressing, and pumping hoping my body would respond. I was exhausted emotionally and physically from major surgery, extreme stress, and zero sleep.
Paula held my hand, let me cry, and never ever let me feel unsupported. She literally came to help my morning, noon, and night for an hour at a time if I needed it. Never rushing off or making me feel like one in a crowd of patients. We always felt we had her full attention and we were her priority. Four days later my daughter had lost almost 13% of her birth weight and the doctors were very concerned.
Again, Paula never left my side or let me feel my dream was impossible. The pediatrician was pushing formula at this point, which was understandable due to the weight loss, but Paula helped me advocate that it was my priority and wish to breastfeed. I was discharged on day four but due to my daughter's extreme weight loss, the Pediatrician kept her another day. He told me to nurse all day long to see if we could help her gain weight or have my milk come in which it finally did. Paula and I celebrated as old friends when it did! Her enthusiasm truly matching mine.
Again Paula's skill and devotion to helping me nurse was invaluable. My daughter was discharged on day five with a feeding plan that included supplementing with formula. Paula made herself available to me along with a pediatrician outside the hospital and for the first several weeks of my daughter's life as we alternated every other day between Glens Falls Hospital having consultations with Paula and another provider. With Paula's help, we only had to supplement for 48 hours before we could exclusively breastfeed. This was the most terrifying situation, especially for a brand new first-time mother. Feeling as though your child isn't getting the nutrients they need to grow is terrifying.
Each visit I was holding my breath waiting for someone to say that's it, she has to be readmitted she's not gaining and growing. I'm not sure how many times over the next weeks we saw Paula, but each visit she encouraged our breastfeeding journey. She was a true support system for me and my husband. We asked questions, we learned on her for emotional support and most importantly we trusted her opinion of how to move forward with our feeding plan. What I mean to say is we trusted her with what felt like the survival of our child. This is the amount of trust and respect we have for Paula.
Paula has followed up with the weight gain even after we met birth weight and no longer needed 3 visits a week between the hospital and pediatrician. We truly miss her. To hear my daughter is not only surviving but thriving is something a mother doesn't take lightly or for granted. I one hundred percent attribute the success of our breastfeeding journey to Paula and her unwavering dedication to helping me succeed and helping me literally keep trying even when it felt insurmountable.
There will truly never be enough words to express my gratitude to Paula for everything she did, the hours she spent, the never-ending compassion she showed, and the care she gave during absolutely the hardest time in my life. She will forever be in our prayers and considered part of our family.