Nowadays, we are now more exposed to the benefits of going natural. From natural birth (without painkillers) to natural food (make your own baby food). Which brings us to one of the biggest challenge of being a mom, breastfeeding. As much as I hate to admit it, providing my daughter with the sufficient amount of milk is a huge challenge. Yes, I do envy those who post pictures of their freezer filled with milk storage and I hate discussing about how much my supply is every time I pump. I also get super stressed when my mom keeps saying that I was unable to provide enough to my daughter that i might have to resort to formulas. Knowing that breast milk from the mother is made especially to cater the baby's need, formulated milk is of course out of the question for me as I want to provide the best for my daughter.
Preparation to Breastfeed
During pregnancy, I was one of those who had colostrum leaks every now and then. I was then told that I'll be one of the lucky ones with the potential to have a lot of supply. Under a tight budget, I invested on a single electric breast-pump (Medela swing to be exact). Also, I splurged myself on about 2 sessions of prenatal massage sessions which included a preparation for breastfeeding treatment. Along the road, I was also asking around on how to provide sufficient amount of milk. Since we spent a lot on our hypnobirth class, Hubster didn't think that we needed to take the breastfeeding workshop considering that it's pretty much a natural thing. The baby will automatically know how to latch on during our skin to skin session. So, I pretty much had a rough idea of how it was going to be like when the baby is out. I've planned to start storing milk when the baby is about 1 week old. I was told that it would be the best time because the body has just started producing milk and the baby doesn't drink that much.
My Fortunate Start
I was very lucky that we chose a hospital (Pantai Medical Center) which supports 1st hour breastfeeding and skin-to-skin session with our newborn after delivery. 1st hour ensures that the infant receives the colostrum (“first milk”), which is rich in protective factors. Right after the baby came out, Dr Idora straight away (without cutting the cord.. We requested to delay the cord cutting) put my lil Chica on me for our intimate skin-to-skin session. Hubster and I both had our hands on our lil budle of joy while she adjust to the new environment. It really was as if Dr Idora wasn't there doing what she was doing to my Hoo-ha. Zara was such a natural expert that she didn't waste anytime and straight away latched on. Alhamdulillah, Zara did not get yellow fever and what not.
What I wasn't prepared for
Being a new mom is well, new to me. I wasn't really sure what to expect with so many people telling me all sort of things.
My mom gave me these advices:
"Make sure you feed your baby 10 mins each breast. If not, your boobs will be loop sided"
"What? No, you don't need to start pumping your milk yet. It's too early. Learn to adjust and make sure you know how to tidy up your room"
"Confinement period is the time you are supposed to lose weight." I was then given about 2 forks worth of mee hoon.
I didn't know what to do, so I just followed what she said. Well, I'm quite certain that she means well with the expectation that I will have the ability to be a supermom like she was. She could discipline both my sister and I, work and still manage to have a household that was tip top perfect in every way (tidy and clean). However, it is not the same for me because she had the help of formulated milk and I had every intention to breastfeed exclusively for a longer period of time (at least 6 months).
Fyi, electric breastpumps were not introduced when I was a baby. That was like about twenty*ehem*eight*ehem*one years ago.
The Correction to the Misconception
- You are supposed to let the baby drink one boob at a time and the pump the other one. Why? So if your baby drink lets say 3 ounces at a time, each of your breast will produce 3 ounces of milk at a time. That way, you have enough for storage.
- First week is not too early. In fact, it is the best time as it will help the flow of your supply.
- Sure, we are supposed to monitor our diet during confinement period. However, diet does not mean eating scarcely. It means that we need to eat nutritious food (HEALTHY) food at the sufficient amount. That is at least 1600 calories a day.
Regardless how initially you had an abundant supply and kept on leaking, it is important to cultivate the supply by constantly pumping every 3 hours (emptying each boob) and powerpump (pump for 10 minutes with 10 minutes resting period for one hour in the middle of the night) everyday. That pretty much takes a lot of time. So, really, we do need help from our partners to assist us in order to achieve this because like it or not, breastmilk extraction and storage takes a lot of time.
Growth Spurt
When your baby is approximately 6-8 weeks old, he/she will undergo growth spurt. During this period, your baby will cry a lot and latch on to your boob almost all the time. This does not mean that the baby is not getting enough. In fact, it is a way for the baby to tell us (our body) to produce more milk to fit their supply. Of course, I didn't know that. Instead, my baby was given storage milk to meet her requirement. Another mistake I did.
Confinement Lady
It is also very important to get yourself a good confinement lady. I had 2 confinement ladies. The first didn't do much in order to ensure there wasn't any disruption in my milk supply. I wasn't told that I'm supposed to count the number of milk darts on each nipple and she didn't help untangle my twisted milk vassels which had the milk stuck. As a result, I could only get like 20ml of milk after pumping for half an hour on both sides.
Confinement Lady
It is also very important to get yourself a good confinement lady. I had 2 confinement ladies. The first didn't do much in order to ensure there wasn't any disruption in my milk supply. I wasn't told that I'm supposed to count the number of milk darts on each nipple and she didn't help untangle my twisted milk vassels which had the milk stuck. As a result, I could only get like 20ml of milk after pumping for half an hour on both sides.
Reward of Breastfeeding
The inability to diet in order to accommodate your baby's demand of milk is not really a bad thing. Do you really think that God is so mean that he will let you look fat and appalling while you selflessly sacrifice you vanity in order to provide breastmilk to your baby after all the damage your body went through delivering your baby? Breast feeding is hard work for your body and, as such, you burn extra calories while doing it. The more milk you produce and extract, the more calories you burn. Only now I understand what Kak Fara meant by breastfeeding was what it takes for her to get back her figure. Breastfeeding is in fact the best way to jump-start your pregnancy weight loss.
Price of My Mistakes
Well, every mistake comes with a price. As a result, *take a deep breath* as much as I'm ashamed to admit it, my milk supply is not as abundant as I hoped for it to be. I did manage to lose some of my pregnancy weight but not as much as I was hoping. There were times when I start feeling sad when I overhear people talking about how they were able to pump about 8-10 ounces at a time. Yes, the pressure was in fact affecting me. I got so worried that my lil Chica won't have enough that I couldn't sleep. So, I turn to supplements to boost my supply. At first, I tried Elken's Spirulina. However, I then decided to try Shaklee's ESP, Alfafa Complex and Lecithin after recommendation by my colleague, Hakim who is now running Oppa Vitamins selling Shaklee's supplements with his wife. His wife, Nas is a mother herself and has been breastfeeding for over a year. She's easy to talk to and is not stringent in sharing her breastfeeding experience. If you are on a tight budget, I guess the Alfafa Complex is sufficient but I opted for the set since my supply is badly affected by my mistake. For more information, you can contact them via their website. Alhamdulillah, now I may not have abundant supply but at least I've sufficient amount with a little extra for my baby. So, now, I've to spend about RM250-300 a month for the supplements and have to wake up at night to powerpump. Sure, that does sound like an expensive price to pay but if it is for the well-being of my daughter, I'ld be more than glad to spend every penny.
p/s: Kindly note that I am not saying that Shaklee's is better than Elken's Spirulina but I chose Shaklee for convenience with Hakim being in the same office and his wife being in the next building (and also available for advise). Please go to this link for more information on why I chose Shaklee.
Anyway, I am now an independent distributor of Shaklee. Here are my details:
Shaklee ID: 1094108
Contact Number: 0196506186
Email: nadra186@gmail.com
Feel free to contact me, should you have any inquiries.
Commitment
I'ld say, with a whole lot of requirement, breastfeeding is a commitment every mother makes for the well-being of their babies. It is definitely not an easy task. Milk doesn't magically flow out whenever we want it to and it does drain out a lot of energy. Yes, it takes a whole load of determination so that I wouldn't give up. And I couldn't have done it without the support from my husband; and help from my mother and in laws to entertain Zara while i'm extracting milk. Thank you for making it possible for me to provide breastmilk to my little rascal. In the end of the day, she is what matters most.
Well, every mistake comes with a price. As a result, *take a deep breath* as much as I'm ashamed to admit it, my milk supply is not as abundant as I hoped for it to be. I did manage to lose some of my pregnancy weight but not as much as I was hoping. There were times when I start feeling sad when I overhear people talking about how they were able to pump about 8-10 ounces at a time. Yes, the pressure was in fact affecting me. I got so worried that my lil Chica won't have enough that I couldn't sleep. So, I turn to supplements to boost my supply. At first, I tried Elken's Spirulina. However, I then decided to try Shaklee's ESP, Alfafa Complex and Lecithin after recommendation by my colleague, Hakim who is now running Oppa Vitamins selling Shaklee's supplements with his wife. His wife, Nas is a mother herself and has been breastfeeding for over a year. She's easy to talk to and is not stringent in sharing her breastfeeding experience. If you are on a tight budget, I guess the Alfafa Complex is sufficient but I opted for the set since my supply is badly affected by my mistake. For more information, you can contact them via their website. Alhamdulillah, now I may not have abundant supply but at least I've sufficient amount with a little extra for my baby. So, now, I've to spend about RM250-300 a month for the supplements and have to wake up at night to powerpump. Sure, that does sound like an expensive price to pay but if it is for the well-being of my daughter, I'ld be more than glad to spend every penny.
Anyway, I am now an independent distributor of Shaklee. Here are my details:
Shaklee ID: 1094108
Contact Number: 0196506186
Email: nadra186@gmail.com
Feel free to contact me, should you have any inquiries.
Commitment
I'ld say, with a whole lot of requirement, breastfeeding is a commitment every mother makes for the well-being of their babies. It is definitely not an easy task. Milk doesn't magically flow out whenever we want it to and it does drain out a lot of energy. Yes, it takes a whole load of determination so that I wouldn't give up. And I couldn't have done it without the support from my husband; and help from my mother and in laws to entertain Zara while i'm extracting milk. Thank you for making it possible for me to provide breastmilk to my little rascal. In the end of the day, she is what matters most.
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| Isn't she just precious? That's my Lil Chica! |
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