Breastfeeding the babies ..

Guys, read with caution! Nasty breastfeeding story.
Gals, read on ..

For the 2nd time, my pumping session has started after 3 weeks postpartum. I didn't pump with Zara as I was SAHM at that time until she was about 14 months old. With Umar, I stopped when he was about 13 months. With both Zara and Umar, my targets were only to breastfeed both until they were 1 year old and alhamdulillah we achieved that.

For Hariz, I hope to breastfeed him until he is 2 years old. Insya Allah. The journey is still long and I pray that Allah will give me strength to persevere. From my experience, breastfeeding is not easy. When I had Zara, I was not prepared and very naive. Thus, it made me feel very incompetent and inadequate. Unlike some mommies who had colostrum leakage during pregnancy, I didn't. I've never seen a single drop of milk throughout my pregnancies. My milk only came in at 4th or 5th day postpartum. After delivery, I waited and waited in vain for the milk to come in but nothing. I hand expressed, I pumped yet I got nothing. However, I continued to put Zara to the breasts. Her strong suction at trying to get the milk accompanied by improper latching caused my nips to sore and break. Very painful! Every time I put her to my breast, I would winced and my toes curled in. I dreaded each time I had to breastfeed her. On the 3rd day at the hospital (yet with no milk visible!) the nurse advised that we supplemented Zara with formula and reluctantly we agreed. She didn't take much of the milk and would only sucked a little and fall asleep. With that, I decided to stop the formula since she wasn't interested and no reason at all to force her to supplement.

Once we were home, I googled and read that after delivery the breasts started to make colostrum in tiny amount that most of the time it is impossible for mummies to see them but babies could still reach them by their natural sucking. The colostrum are either translucent or thick yellow. I wished I had taken the time to learn about breastfeeding prior to labor. I always thought that breastfeeding was a natural choice for babies (I still do!) and thus when the time comes, I should be able to breastfeed her naturally. Big mistake (well at least to me!). With proper latching (please google for Dr Newman for video on correct latching), breastfeeding was more bearable. At the time, it was still painful since the nips were still sore, broke and bled a little. I've applied the nipple cream to help them heal but what really works for me was applying the breastmilk to the nips before and after each feeding. So, the first 3 weeks of nursing Zara was really a painful experience riddled with self doubt and guilt. No wonder some moms just give up on it.

With Umar, I was more relaxed. Although I had a c-section at about 37 weeks, Umar latched on like a pro when put to the breast. Yet my nips were still sore for the first 2 weeks from the vigorous sucking. So, there were still wincing and toes curling moments! This time around, my milk came in on the 3rd day. What I'd observed the nips were hard and tough during pregnancy. After 1-2 weeks of nursing, they became softer and more flexible. After that, the soreness will go away.

3rd time around, I already knew what was coming. No colostrum seen. Vigorous sucking then soreness sets in. My milk came on the 3rd day followed by very painful engorgement which only went away 2 days later. So, the first 2 weeks were tough and somewhat painful until the milk was well established. After that, we passed the test :)

This is my early breastfeeding experiences having nursed 3 babies. But bear in mind all mothers are different and thus went through breastfeeding differently. All I can say is, if you have decided to breastfeed your baby, there will be obstacles but do persevere as you will find that it is very rewarding. I'm always eager to go for my babies checkups especially when they were weighed in. I'll have a huge smile on my face each time I see them getting heavier and heavier knowing that the hard work really pays off :)

Hahaha .. entry ni sepatutnya nak cerita pasal pengalaman pam mengepam. Well, my pumping experience next.