Since August is dubbed as
National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, let me take this time (and blog space)
to share with you my breastfeeding story/journey...
Ever since I was little, I always knew I wanted to breastfeed my babies. I can still clearly remember my mom breastfeeding my younger sisters and my sister in law breastfeeding my nephews so to me, it was a no-brainer. I didn't even buy a bottle or sterilizer or breast pump before I had Annika. I assumed it was something that would come naturally to every woman... Haha! How wrong I was! Little did I know that the road would be difficult, bumpy and excruciatingly painful at times. When I was pregnant, I never had a chance to ask my mom about breastfeeding nor attending breastfeeding class. I just relied on an online community on Facebook known as Breastfeeding Pinays. I've been a silent reader of that group, always reading posts, gathering information.
After I gave birth via CS, my baby was immediately made to latch to my breast. She did not feed straightaway. I think she was too tired and dazed with the whole birthing thing that she’d rather rest than eat. Lol! :) Annika didn't end up in the nursery and no feeding bottle has ever touched her little lips. We were together from the delivery room, to recovery room up to our suite room. Whether or not she got milk from me that very first time, I had no idea. I never saw milk coming out. But I always made her latch for her to get the colostrum. As what I read before, for the first few days after baby's birth, our body will produce colostrum, a nutrient-rich "pre-milk". Colostrum contains many protective properties, including antibacterial and immune-system-boosting substances that aren't available in infant formula. For more details about the definition and importance of Colostrum visit La Leche League International. It usually takes 3 days before the actual milk comes out. Milk will come out eventually because the baby will be the one to stimulate it. All mothers apparently have the ability to produce milk; you just have to commit to nursing altogether. I just continue on nursing. Whenever Annika would cry, I would just offer her my breast and she’d latch, then after an hour or so, she would fall asleep. I knew she was getting something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stopped crying when she’s hungry.
The first few days, I suffered from cracked & bleeding nipples, it hurts a lot and I would scream, shake, squeeze Percy’s hand and cry when she latched on. And since we're not using bottle, every other hour I fed her alternately on each breast. And the struggles continues.. Three days after I gave birth, Annika became as yellowish as squash, her skin, eyes, gums even her tongue. At first, doctors thought it was jaundice and ABO incompatibility (Percy's blood A+ and my bloods O are not compatible). We were advised that we need to admit her on NICU. Percy and I were so afraid and as first time parents; we really don't know what to do. Since my mother in law was working on Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC), a specialized hospital for children, we decided to transfer Annika from QMMC to PCMC. Upon our arrival there, she was admitted directly to NICU. My mom in law took care of everything while I and Percy went home since I have reports that I need to send to my supervisor and also to get some things and take a bath. Maybe we take so long at home because we are paged many times at NICU according to my MIL, Annika might be hungry then. By the time we were at the hospital, visiting hours was already cut off. Good thing PCMC as well as their doctors is pro-breastfeeding so they fed her breastmilk (thru medicine droppers) from their milk bank. Still no feeding bottle has ever touched her little lips! It was a loooonnnnggggg night for us since that was the first time that Annika was not with us. Even though we were too far from her, it’s as if I can hear her cry.
Afternoon of the next day, she was released from NICU and we were transferred from a private room. After some tests done to her, it was discovered that a certain bacteria grew in her blood. She suffered a lot, from blood transfusion to daily shots of antibiotics to phototherapy. It was truly heartbreaking. We were not allowed yet to direct latch her so I needed to pump for her to have milk. It is not advisable to pump if it is less than 6 weeks, but for special cases like us, it is exempted. Since I we don't have breast pump, we borrowed pump from their milk bank. Praise God, my milk supply was already steady and strong and I was able to get 6oz of milk at one pumping session. We feed her every 1-2 hours still thru medicine dropper and by the time we were allowed to feed her directly on me, my baby already got so used to dropper-feeding that she didn’t want to feed directly from me or she find it hard to latch on me. They say it’s called nipple confusion. According to Baby Center, “a baby is said to have nipple confusion when he finds it difficult to latch on and breastfeed because he’s previously had a dummy or a bottle teat to suck on… sucking on a dummy or a teat will feel quite different from sucking at your breast.” I was crying a river that time, but I never give up. I kept on trying to help her latch and Praise God after a few hours of trying she made it. And I promise to myself and to Percy that even if my nipples got sore, crack and bleed, even if its hard, even if it hurts, I will never ever complain and I will never ever stop breastfeeding her. I keep going, and after about two weeks we finally got it right, my nipples healed and suddenly I LOVED it. :)
I wish I had prepared myself more on nursing the baby, but then I just learned along the way. I guess maternal instincts just kicked in! Breastfeeding takes a strong will, an open mind, and a ton of commitment. You have to prepare your mind and body into becoming this nourishing vessel for your child. You and your child learn together as you develop a routine. Breastfeeding, as it turns out, is also a special bonding moment between mother and child.
It's also important to get a support group while breastfeeding, because sometimes you'd want to give up because of the stress and sore nipples to boot! Or in my case, I am happy to have a very supportive husband. We were in this together from the very beginning. He even bought me a reliable breast pump, so that I can store milk before going back to work, and pump milk at office too.
When I got back to work, I had about 30-40 oz milk stash in the freezer. Annika was bottle fed during that time, but Praise God she never experienced nipple confusion. I still direct latch her at night and in the morning before I left for work. When her appetite grew bigger, my stash was all used up. I needed to pump milk every 2-3 hours in the office. Good thing my company and my bosses are mommy-friendly. They allow me to pump milk on my scheduled time. The milk I produce for the day is for tomorrow's feeding. But eventually, office work deemed tiresome for me, which I already stated in my previous post. I resigned from my work because I was committed to nursing my daughter fulltime!
Ever since I was little, I always knew I wanted to breastfeed my babies. I can still clearly remember my mom breastfeeding my younger sisters and my sister in law breastfeeding my nephews so to me, it was a no-brainer. I didn't even buy a bottle or sterilizer or breast pump before I had Annika. I assumed it was something that would come naturally to every woman... Haha! How wrong I was! Little did I know that the road would be difficult, bumpy and excruciatingly painful at times. When I was pregnant, I never had a chance to ask my mom about breastfeeding nor attending breastfeeding class. I just relied on an online community on Facebook known as Breastfeeding Pinays. I've been a silent reader of that group, always reading posts, gathering information.
After I gave birth via CS, my baby was immediately made to latch to my breast. She did not feed straightaway. I think she was too tired and dazed with the whole birthing thing that she’d rather rest than eat. Lol! :) Annika didn't end up in the nursery and no feeding bottle has ever touched her little lips. We were together from the delivery room, to recovery room up to our suite room. Whether or not she got milk from me that very first time, I had no idea. I never saw milk coming out. But I always made her latch for her to get the colostrum. As what I read before, for the first few days after baby's birth, our body will produce colostrum, a nutrient-rich "pre-milk". Colostrum contains many protective properties, including antibacterial and immune-system-boosting substances that aren't available in infant formula. For more details about the definition and importance of Colostrum visit La Leche League International. It usually takes 3 days before the actual milk comes out. Milk will come out eventually because the baby will be the one to stimulate it. All mothers apparently have the ability to produce milk; you just have to commit to nursing altogether. I just continue on nursing. Whenever Annika would cry, I would just offer her my breast and she’d latch, then after an hour or so, she would fall asleep. I knew she was getting something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stopped crying when she’s hungry.
The first few days, I suffered from cracked & bleeding nipples, it hurts a lot and I would scream, shake, squeeze Percy’s hand and cry when she latched on. And since we're not using bottle, every other hour I fed her alternately on each breast. And the struggles continues.. Three days after I gave birth, Annika became as yellowish as squash, her skin, eyes, gums even her tongue. At first, doctors thought it was jaundice and ABO incompatibility (Percy's blood A+ and my bloods O are not compatible). We were advised that we need to admit her on NICU. Percy and I were so afraid and as first time parents; we really don't know what to do. Since my mother in law was working on Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC), a specialized hospital for children, we decided to transfer Annika from QMMC to PCMC. Upon our arrival there, she was admitted directly to NICU. My mom in law took care of everything while I and Percy went home since I have reports that I need to send to my supervisor and also to get some things and take a bath. Maybe we take so long at home because we are paged many times at NICU according to my MIL, Annika might be hungry then. By the time we were at the hospital, visiting hours was already cut off. Good thing PCMC as well as their doctors is pro-breastfeeding so they fed her breastmilk (thru medicine droppers) from their milk bank. Still no feeding bottle has ever touched her little lips! It was a loooonnnnggggg night for us since that was the first time that Annika was not with us. Even though we were too far from her, it’s as if I can hear her cry.
Afternoon of the next day, she was released from NICU and we were transferred from a private room. After some tests done to her, it was discovered that a certain bacteria grew in her blood. She suffered a lot, from blood transfusion to daily shots of antibiotics to phototherapy. It was truly heartbreaking. We were not allowed yet to direct latch her so I needed to pump for her to have milk. It is not advisable to pump if it is less than 6 weeks, but for special cases like us, it is exempted. Since I we don't have breast pump, we borrowed pump from their milk bank. Praise God, my milk supply was already steady and strong and I was able to get 6oz of milk at one pumping session. We feed her every 1-2 hours still thru medicine dropper and by the time we were allowed to feed her directly on me, my baby already got so used to dropper-feeding that she didn’t want to feed directly from me or she find it hard to latch on me. They say it’s called nipple confusion. According to Baby Center, “a baby is said to have nipple confusion when he finds it difficult to latch on and breastfeed because he’s previously had a dummy or a bottle teat to suck on… sucking on a dummy or a teat will feel quite different from sucking at your breast.” I was crying a river that time, but I never give up. I kept on trying to help her latch and Praise God after a few hours of trying she made it. And I promise to myself and to Percy that even if my nipples got sore, crack and bleed, even if its hard, even if it hurts, I will never ever complain and I will never ever stop breastfeeding her. I keep going, and after about two weeks we finally got it right, my nipples healed and suddenly I LOVED it. :)
I wish I had prepared myself more on nursing the baby, but then I just learned along the way. I guess maternal instincts just kicked in! Breastfeeding takes a strong will, an open mind, and a ton of commitment. You have to prepare your mind and body into becoming this nourishing vessel for your child. You and your child learn together as you develop a routine. Breastfeeding, as it turns out, is also a special bonding moment between mother and child.
It's also important to get a support group while breastfeeding, because sometimes you'd want to give up because of the stress and sore nipples to boot! Or in my case, I am happy to have a very supportive husband. We were in this together from the very beginning. He even bought me a reliable breast pump, so that I can store milk before going back to work, and pump milk at office too.
When I got back to work, I had about 30-40 oz milk stash in the freezer. Annika was bottle fed during that time, but Praise God she never experienced nipple confusion. I still direct latch her at night and in the morning before I left for work. When her appetite grew bigger, my stash was all used up. I needed to pump milk every 2-3 hours in the office. Good thing my company and my bosses are mommy-friendly. They allow me to pump milk on my scheduled time. The milk I produce for the day is for tomorrow's feeding. But eventually, office work deemed tiresome for me, which I already stated in my previous post. I resigned from my work because I was committed to nursing my daughter fulltime!
I never would've thought I'd have much success breastfeeding my baby. I'm happy I "stuck to the program!" Because of breastfeeding, Annika is rarely sick - even when I, Percy or my sister is sick, she remains strong and protected. I will continue breastfeeding her as long as I produce milk, or when she has naturally weaned. Annika is now 21 months and we're still happily nursing! :)
Proud Breastfeeding Mommy
Blessed,
