🤍 7 Weeks Postpartum As High Risk Triplet Mom: The Symptoms I Refused to Ignore 🚑

Breastfeeding & Pumping
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If there is one thing I want another postpartum mom to take away from what I’m currently going through, it’s this:

Not every symptom is “just part of postpartum.” Please listen to your body.

I’m currently in the hospital after having a stroke caused by postpartum hypertension. I experienced numbness throughout the entire left side of my body, along with slight drooping on the left side of my face. I was admitted to the hospital and am currently receiving medical treatment while my doctors monitor me and work toward getting me safely through this.

I never imagined that at only 7 weeks postpartum, I would be recovering from something this serious.

My triplet girls are only 7 weeks old, and they are currently being cared for by family while I’m in the hospital. As difficult as it is being separated from my babies, I made the decision not to have them come visit me here. They are still so little, and with all of the germs and illnesses that can be present in a hospital, I feel that keeping them home and safe with family is the best decision for them right now. :heart:

But even while I’m dealing with all of this, one thing I’ve been determined to continue is feeding my babies with my breast milk. :baby_bottle:

I am still pumping every 2–3 hours around the clock, just as I would at home. A family member who is caring for my girls comes to the hospital twice a day to pick up the milk I’ve pumped so she can bring it back to my babies.

The hospital staff has also been incredibly supportive of my breastfeeding journey. They have offered me the use of their employee refrigerator to safely store my pumped breast milk until my family member comes to pick it up. That small act of support has meant so much to me during an incredibly difficult time.

Pumping in a hospital bed while recovering from a stroke and postpartum hypertension certainly wasn’t how I pictured my breastfeeding journey going. There have been moments where I’ve been exhausted, scared, overwhelmed, and emotional. But having a pumping routine, knowing my milk is going back to my babies, and having family and hospital staff support me has helped me feel connected to my girls even when I can’t physically be with them.

For me, whathelpedme has been taking things one pump at a time. :baby_bottle:

It has been having people around me who understand how important this is to me. It has been my family making sure my babies receive their milk. It has been hospital staff supporting my decision to continue pumping. And most importantly, it has been reminding myself that taking care of me is also taking care of my babies.

Please, mamas, don’t dismiss something because you think it’s “normal postpartum.” :heart:

Postpartum recovery can be uncomfortable, exhausting, emotional, and unpredictable—but you know your body better than anyone. If something feels wrong, unusual, or different from what you’ve experienced before, please speak up and get checked.

I am still in the hospital, still fighting, still pumping, and still praying for a fast and full recovery. :folded_hands:t3:

My babies are home being loved and cared for, and I’m doing everything I can from here to keep giving them what I can.

One pump at a time. One day at a time. One prayer at a time. :folded_hands:

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whathelpedme #exclusivepumper #tripletmom Breastfeeding & Pumping #Momcozy Pregnancy & Postpartum #stroke #postpartumhypertension

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Sending you aaaaalllll the good energies momma, wishing you have a speedy recovery and can soon be reunited with your babies, I can’t imagine how hard all of this is on you. Your babies are so lucky for having such a strong, loving and wonderful woman like you by their side.

You are 100% right on that, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY always, listen to your gut and settle for nothing less than health care providers that listen to you. I work with kids and that’s something I always say to the nervous parents that come into my office. If you have a feeling that something isn’t right, it doesn’t matter how silly that may sound to the provider hearing it, it’s our job to be impartial and if we think that something that’s being said to us by parents (or any patient really) isn’t true, then it’s my job to extensively investigate it and prove “my point”. Just as a brief exemple: once I had an 11 years old boy complaining about mild headaches the past two weeks, his father attributed it to a head bump he had with a friend by then, and he was also tired of going from ER to ER and being told what was obvious for the healthcare workers, the head bump wasn’t the cause of it! But no one had tried to really “prove the dad wrong” (not in the bad way, but meaning to really find the source of the issue with his boy). Turns out that he had a brain tumor causing his headaches, and all that was needed to reach a proper diagnosis was to simply pay attention to the family’s “gut”.

Sorry for the long rant, but your words are so true and so important, we absolutely need to trust ourselves! Sharing stories that show how much that matters can hopefully help others to do the same

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Thank you so much, mama. :face_holding_back_tears::heart_hands:t3: Your message truly means more to me than you know, especially right now. :two_hearts:

And that story about the 11 year old honestly gave me chills. It really puts into perspective how important it is to listen when a parent…. or a patient…. says, “Something just doesn’t feel right.” Sometimes we can’t explain it, we just know something is different and wrong from what is the normal for us. It’s like it’s almost a supernatural superpower of sorts. Truly a gift tbh. :folded_hands:

That’s exactly what I hope sharing my experience can remind other moms of. Postpartum comes with so many changes that it can be easy to convince ourselves that something is “normal” or that we’re just exhausted, overwhelmed, or recovering. But we know our own bodies, and when something feels different, we deserve to be heard and taken seriously.

I’m incredibly grateful that I’m receiving the care I need now, and I’m taking things one day…. and honestly, one pump….. at a time. :baby_bottle: Knowing my girls are home being cared for and that I’m still able to send them my milk has been such an emotional comfort while I’m here. :face_blowing_a_kiss:

Thank you for sharing your story and for reinforcing the message. If even one mama reads this and trusts her gut enough to get checked, then sharing my scary experience will be worth it. :heart:

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Thank goodness you decided to get checked!!! I’m so glad your okay!!

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We are all praying for you Angelica!

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