Breastfeeding for the Not-So-Lucky Mommies
A Literally Painful Experience...
It's great how millennium mommies are very aware on the benefits of breast milk for their babies. Sharing of pictures of frozen breast milk is nothing unusual on my Facebook wall. Most of them are lucky to be able to direct feed their babies with no problem whatsoever. This lucky ladies often wonder why some mommies are not breastfeeding their children. To them, it is simple: Put baby's mouth near the breast... and wallah..! Hmmm... If this is the case, be very grateful. God has given you powerful nipples!
Those other unlucky ladies, however, may not be as blessed as you are. Babies who cannot latch on or painful breastfeeding experience, may be some of the problems faced. To me, seeing my baby for the first few days of his life really scared me. The nurses were bringing him to me and saying, "Mommy, baby is hungry~" And I would be like (silently),"Oh NO!!!"
Cracked nipples, which sometimes can cause bleeding is very veeeery painful. Imagine there is a cut on your finger, and having someone pulling at the injured skin constantly with no time to heal... You would definitely try to avoid that person, right? So, to the mommies who are currently facing this problem, do not give up! There is still hope!
I was determined to BF my baby not because of the nutrition and such, it was just because I wanted to save money from buying formula milk... Haha! I wasn't well educated on this sort of things back then. So although I was in crazy pain (which I caused quite a commotion at the hospital), I was really afraid that my milk supply was going to decrease. So I pumped, a lot! 80% of my activity during confinement was dedicated to pumping but I was never able to stock up much because my baby would drink them all up. **The other 20% of my activity was playing The Sims on Facebook!**
However, by reading some articles on the internet, I found out that direct feeding will have a higher chance of lasting milk supply as compared to expressing. I got panic! So I bought nipple shields, which I don't think was effectively shielding already injured nipples. This meant only one thing, I have to endure the pain and direct feed my baby! Once it is unbearable, I would pump instead by reducing the suction power to the lowest level, and then bottle-feed my baby. Quite an elaborate process, I would say. And when I felt that the cracks were a bit healed, I would direct feed again. This cycle was repeated until one day, the pain became less and less, and it was gone altogether! It seems like the breast can finally adapt to the baby's suction. It kind of metamorphose into powerful nipples...! This took about 1 to 2 months... I know, quite a long process but very rewarding in the end. Baby had the best milk in the world, I save loads of money but didn't get rich, andddd I maintained my weight while eating like a construction worker.
The reason I am writing this is to help others who may have the same problem and feels like giving up. Maybe you guys can try the same method and hopefully, the metamorphism may also occur for you =)
Good luck Mommies!~
Beware of biting baby!!!
It's great how millennium mommies are very aware on the benefits of breast milk for their babies. Sharing of pictures of frozen breast milk is nothing unusual on my Facebook wall. Most of them are lucky to be able to direct feed their babies with no problem whatsoever. This lucky ladies often wonder why some mommies are not breastfeeding their children. To them, it is simple: Put baby's mouth near the breast... and wallah..! Hmmm... If this is the case, be very grateful. God has given you powerful nipples!
Those other unlucky ladies, however, may not be as blessed as you are. Babies who cannot latch on or painful breastfeeding experience, may be some of the problems faced. To me, seeing my baby for the first few days of his life really scared me. The nurses were bringing him to me and saying, "Mommy, baby is hungry~" And I would be like (silently),"Oh NO!!!"
Cracked nipples, which sometimes can cause bleeding is very veeeery painful. Imagine there is a cut on your finger, and having someone pulling at the injured skin constantly with no time to heal... You would definitely try to avoid that person, right? So, to the mommies who are currently facing this problem, do not give up! There is still hope!
I was determined to BF my baby not because of the nutrition and such, it was just because I wanted to save money from buying formula milk... Haha! I wasn't well educated on this sort of things back then. So although I was in crazy pain (which I caused quite a commotion at the hospital), I was really afraid that my milk supply was going to decrease. So I pumped, a lot! 80% of my activity during confinement was dedicated to pumping but I was never able to stock up much because my baby would drink them all up. **The other 20% of my activity was playing The Sims on Facebook!**
However, by reading some articles on the internet, I found out that direct feeding will have a higher chance of lasting milk supply as compared to expressing. I got panic! So I bought nipple shields, which I don't think was effectively shielding already injured nipples. This meant only one thing, I have to endure the pain and direct feed my baby! Once it is unbearable, I would pump instead by reducing the suction power to the lowest level, and then bottle-feed my baby. Quite an elaborate process, I would say. And when I felt that the cracks were a bit healed, I would direct feed again. This cycle was repeated until one day, the pain became less and less, and it was gone altogether! It seems like the breast can finally adapt to the baby's suction. It kind of metamorphose into powerful nipples...! This took about 1 to 2 months... I know, quite a long process but very rewarding in the end. Baby had the best milk in the world, I save loads of money but didn't get rich, andddd I maintained my weight while eating like a construction worker.
The reason I am writing this is to help others who may have the same problem and feels like giving up. Maybe you guys can try the same method and hopefully, the metamorphism may also occur for you =)
Good luck Mommies!~
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