In May, we were honored to share Glenis and her family's story as they navigated the road to co-breastfeeding and induced lactation. Now, five months later, we're equally as excited to share an update, and pictures of their beautiful family (including the newest addition, Orion.)
Q: Tell us about your new baby!
Orion Eric Decuir was born on September 2, 2018 at 8:26am, weighing in at 8lbs 2.7oz and was 20.5 inches tall. He was born via a vaginal delivery. Labor went great, it was 14 hours long and in the end my wife and Orion were both healthy!
Q: How are you and your wife doing?
My wife and I are doing great! Orin just turned 2 months old and weighs 14lbs already. The first month we basically were home and just ">perfected breastfeeding. Now that Orion is a little older we are able to get out of the house and do things together as a family.
Q: Now that you are a few weeks into your co-breastfeeding journey, have there been any surprises?
We have not encountered any surprises honestly. Orion came out the womb nursing like a champ on both of us, he has the perfect latch. I guess the only surprise to me is not having any time to pump the first two months. It was hard for me to take care of my wife, the baby AND pumping. I was only able to fit in 1-2 pumps a day but honestly most days I couldn't pump at all. My supply did decrease as a result because I was producing more than what he needed in the first few weeks. Now that I am back to work and have a pumping schedule my supply is increasing everyday.
Q: What kinds of questions have your kids asked?
When I first started the process of inducing I explained this to my children in great detail. I even showed the pictures for them to better understand what we were discussing. The kids have been a part of this journey from day one and kept me company during many of my pumping sessions. Their only questions now are about Orion developing favoritism to one of his mommies. I must admit that I worry so much abut this happening but I have a feeling that Orion will associate both of us with different things. My wife and I will follow Orion's needs/wants and we plan to work together to overcome any future obstacles.
Q: Part of your original goal was to take turns nursing for the first two months. How is that going?
Its going according to plan! Since I was home on parental leave for two months we were able to alternate feeds once my wife's milk came in and it was heaven. Not only did it alleviate stress from my wife us both nursing helped me bond with my son. Now that I have returned to work and my wife has another month left in her maternity leave, I am pumping at work and nursing in the evenings.
Q: Has your advice to moms considering induced lactation changed now that you and your wife have gone through the entire process?
One thing that I really regretted was starting to pump 9 weeks before Orion's due date. The Newman Goldfarb protocol suggests starting 6 weeks before the baby's due date but I was so sure that 6 weeks wasn't enough time. WRONG. Pumping is so tiring and to be honest my supply quickly increased and plateaued around 5-6 weeks. SO my advice is to start pumping 6 weeks before the baby's due date.
Q: What breast pumps are you and your wife using?
A: I am using the Spectra 1 pump and my wife will be using the Ameda Finesse pump when she goes back to work.
Information provided in blogs should not be used as a substitute for medical care or consultation.
About the Author
My name is Glenis Liz-Decuir. I am 33 years old and happily married to my wife, Tiffany Decuir. We have 3 beautiful children ages 12, 10 and our newest edition, a two-month-old boy! I was born in the Dominican Republic, raised in NYC but recently moved to Atlanta, GA about 4 years ago. I currently work full time, am a student at Herzing University to obtain my degree in Legal Studies and I own my own small Business. I am passionate about breastfeeding and am a big advocate! I am super excited to share my experience with women everywhere.
