Newborn feeding: Common issues
It may take several weeks before you and your baby settle into a comfortable routine and for you to feel confident about breastfeeding. The early weeks also have some challenges that are part of breastfeeding process such as sore nipple, engorgement, plugged ducts, mastitis..etc.
What is the best ways to prevent such causes?
Before I gave birth to my first baby girl, I'd already determined to breastfeed for a year. I told my own family and they are very supportive but they are not around here in Penang but in Sabah (too bad).My in law side is different.I told my sister in law that 'If can I want to breastfeed'.Immediately she said "impossible! Not that easy. I had no milk last time."My other sister in law also said 'No need to breastfeed. It’s a waste of time'. I kept to myself and didn't not start an argument because i thought, why my sister can feed all 4 of her kids?
ReplyDeleteAfter giving birth, my mind was set just want to breast feed her. BUT, prior to all these, I have no idea on anything about breastfeeding and my mum through the phone just keep telling me not to give the bottle, at all.My dad said at night be diligent, wake up and feed her at night as well. Plus, I do not know that many mothers had a hard time to be successful.
During the first 3 days, everybody in the house!including my husband (sad for me :() say I should pump and sleep at night so i get more rest, in my mind i was like WHY???I am responsible for her! Not YOU ALL!{thinking of dad's words}..I cried so hard and many times when I saw the formula is given to her instead of give me to just try to let her suck my nipple first. (i can still cry while writing this).
So,no fear,at that moment i refuse to speak to anyone(luckly i had a smartphone to online),i start reading all the breastfeeding materials online, every single hour. I read that i should not pump during the first week and let the baby train to suck the nipple.My mother in law n confinement lady said pump your milk out and keep for later at night, i said NO! Give the baby to me! But during the first few attempts, with the encouragement n help from my husband (aftr i have brainwashed him hehe), still the baby kept crying because she was so hungry already. Then I had no choice but to let the lady feed her (another crying session). Husband said never mind, later try again.Let's pump out the milk. i said NO. Well, after a few trials, the baby girl managed to suck my nipple and we were so happy ;")... But my milk gotten so much because the baby could not drink as much as i produce. Still, i insist no pumping! (because i fear that the expressed milk will be given via the bottle and thus less from the breast :()
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ReplyDeleteMy breasts got so big that it was so hard!Still i didn't feel the pain (yet) and not worry about it. 1 day, the government nurse came to visit n check on us for the first time,and she said."Wah your nipple cantik n besar, and banyak susu! you kena pump atau hand express them out,nanti demam" HUH?? demam?? I didn't know that. She thought me how to feed my baby and told my confinement lady to let me feed cuz BANYAK SUSU. still she insist me to pump sometime and keep in the fridge, no need to consume immediately.
After that onwards,i start pumping using a manual pump about 2 oz everytime after i feed her (cuz i read that more pumping session will increase milk,and to avoid all those bad things, moreover i am a working mum so i need to prepare my journey).I kept my milk in the freezer to stock up during my working days.because of my extra pumping sessions,i did not suffer from sore nipple, plugged ducts etc, but engorgement yes when i over slept! hahaha!still no fever and didn't fall sick.PLUS i had so much milk while at work pumping (using electric pump) until my dear baby refuse expressed milk but only solids and direct feeding whenever i am at home.Now she is 13 months and still feeding only in the morning and night.
The key here is to be persistent on the pumping sessions so that you won't over produced, thus avoiding the unnecessary problems.
Nevertheless,thank you to my confinement lady and husband because they had supported my 1 month journey without any giving negative attitude towards me.. thank you to all my in laws for understanding and encouragement up until today n moving on..thank you to my manager for letting me pump 3 times a day!!! 10.30am,2pm,5pm everyday!no miss.
baby Andrea, mummy loves you!
make sure baby latch correctly and always latch/express out milk ever 2-3 hours within the first 2 months after delivery.
ReplyDelete1. Be all prepared - mentally & physically. That includes tools for BF (fancy gadgets like breastpump for working mom) and mentally..READ and do a lot of research about breastfeeding.
ReplyDelete2. You can hear advices especially from the elderly but be wise on which one to pick. Information is just a finger click away and make sure you know which is right and vice versa.
3. Do not easily give up on what you are doing as you know breast milk is the best for your baby. Pain during feeding is nothing compare to what she'll get. Believe in yourself and be strong!
4. Get some help..or atleast support from your dearest partner or trusted family members who support BF. Stay awat as far as you can from those who is known to be the one who will 'destroy' your idea of BF..including your own mother. (Yes, I did that and I am glad that was a pretty good decision)
5. Join breastfeeding community such as susuibu.com or even follow this blog and you'll get a lot of support, ideas and even correct tools/products to make your journey to breastfeed a success!
I think family support is the most important of all. I only manage to breast feed my eldest for 4 months and I was staying with my-in-law and they do not support breast feed. I was very determine to breastfeed my younger son who is almost 2 for at least 1 year.I experienced sore nipple, engorgement, low milk supply...you name it. However, this round I am quite lucky.Melisa from Baby Paradise who is also my ex-collegue is very supportive. She gave me advice and most of all the encouragement. I have also moved out from my in law. I managed to breast feed Angus for about 9month+ and he is lucky as he has another 2'milking mum'(my ex-collegue that is blessed with over supply of BM). So he was on Breast Milk for about 15mths.:)
ReplyDeleteI think determination and preparation in advance is the most important. Sore nipple can be counter by nipple cream. We should seek advice from the has successful breastfeed and never give up. To me breastfeeding is not difficult at all. I have encourter a lot of pressure from business during the birth on my second son. But determination and friend support has make it possible for me to breastfeed my son even some people say it is hard to have milk supply if you are cecearean.
Just go online and join breastfeeding mother support group. Tons of advice and support from them. Why worry?
JUST DO IT if you are a mother!!!
This is what I learnt from being a first time mum; from my own mistakes.
ReplyDelete1. The baby is yours! If there's anybody, just anybody at all wants to direct your baby to formula, say NO! no matter whether the person is the hospital doctor/nurse, your mother or the confinement untie. You have the say. Make it clear to them. It's your right as a mother.
2. Get enough knowledge on breastfeeding. You have to start it out right. Search from the internet or talk to people with experience such as lactation consultant. I really hope I was able to meet up with SuLi earlier!! However, I still thank God it's not too late to get to know her.
3. Never give up! I started out with only drops of milk when my boy is several days old. At that time, he'd already being supplement since the day he was born. Of course my supply is not enough to feed my little boy. So I had to continue supplement him which actually hurt to see this but I had no choice. At the same time, I express with my hand to remove milk according to demand-supply. Then, I found SuLi, met up with her about 2weeks ago and got some really good advice from her. Now I got an average of half an oz to 1 oz per session; and my boy is 2 mths n 1week old. It's still not enough to fully supply my boy but I'm slowly working my way up! So wish me luck!
Last but not least, I want to thank my husband for supporting me all the way.
:)
Sorry to ask..i'm just wondering if there is any winner for this contest?
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