Awh, this is wonderful!
A mum has spread a message of hope after sharing an image of her premature little girl suckling contentedly on her breast at four weeks old, despite doctors telling her she would be at least 6-8 weeks old before she would be able to.
“She’s proving them all wrong!” said her proud mum in a joyful post shared on the Breastfeeding Mama Talk Facebook page.
Little Dahlia (love the name) was born at 28 weeks after her mum Keri Barcellos-Putt’s waters broke at 21 weeks. Although doctors offered her a termination, after two weeks of hospital bedrest and five weeks of home bedrest, she came into world, clearly a fighter from the start.
“Doctors still thought she wouldn't survive because she had no water for her lungs to develop,” said Keri in the post. “She's here and so healthy. Never needed oxygen. 32 weeks gestation and trying to breastfeed even though they told me she wouldn't be able to until 34-36 weeks gestation. She's proving everyone one wrong!”
Sadly, Keri blamed herself for ‘failing’ Dahlia (which of course isn’t true, but us mamas can’t help with the guilt, can we?) but says she has found a joy in breastfeeding her daughter that has helped her ‘redeem herself’.
“Throughout this whole process I've blamed myself and felt like my body failed Dahlia,” she told The Huffington Post. “So although everything is still out of my hands, I feel like I have some control over her nutrition. I pump and plan to breastfeed because I owe it to her and it has helped me to redeem myself in a sense. I missed out on half of my pregnancy, and breastfeeding is a way for me to bond and feel needed by her.”
While we certainly don’t think Keri failed her daughter, we are so happy that she is taking such joy and happiness from breastfeeding her gorgeous little girl. Dahlia is obviously a strong little mite and we wish her all the best in life as she bonds with her mama and family and gets stronger and stronger.
Thanks for sharing Keri.
