If there was and is one thing that kept putting me off this whole motherhood thing every now and then is breastfeeding! so here i am just putting across some breastfeeding travails etc!
Breastfeeding is best for your baby for sure! But...
1) Breastfeeding DOES NOT come naturally to all women. it can take you anywhere between 1 day to 2 months to actually get the hang of it.
2) Please understand that sometimes your supply may be low or you arent able to breastfeed properly and you will HAVE to depend on supplements. DO NOT feel guilty about it. You ARE doing your best for your own child! :)
3) You might have thought that you have perfect boobs with those perfect nipples. Trust your child to shatter that myth! At times when the baby is not able to latch on chances are you have what they call "flat nipples". In such cases the contraption called "nipple sheild" available at all chemists is a godsend. It not only helps you feed your baby, but also elongates your nipples over a period of time for you to be able to do without one.
4) Nipple sheilds also take time time to get used to and to get rid of! So dont worry too much if it takes you maybe as much as 4 weeks too! The point is you can feed your baby.
5) Sadly there is no Boob-O-Meter to tell you if your baby has got enough from breast and if he needs supplements. Its something we all learn from experience. If your baby isnt crying post feed and seems to be satisfied you are doing fine! just in case he/she starts crying immediately after feed or say after jus 30-45mins it means they havent got enough and need some more! :)
6) Do NOT breastfeed forever because babies dont have the strength to suckle for say a total of 20-25mins during one feed. So chances are that if you are feeding for like 45mins, you are just breaking your back in vain!
7) If you are not sure whether your baby is being under fed, make sure you keep checking their weight say every 2 weeks. Ideally the baby should gain 25gms-30gms per day. If its not then consult your kiddos doc! :)
i went through horrible first month where i could not breastfeed comfortably and then had to keep giving supplement. no one tells you its normal and that its ok! even today my baby is on a combination of breast milk and supplement and i dont feel guilty about it anymore. you cannot, afterall, leave your child hungry because someone told you, you HAVE to breastfeed! so just relax and breastfeed as much as you can and for the rest comfortably use the supplement reccoed! :)
more stories later!! :)
10 comments:
Hey mama...
First post as mom! :)
Lot's of info there... and the best part is that it's from a first hand experience...
Welcome back! :)
hey Iti!!
good to see you here too!!! :p
well its just that mayunk kept giving me dilaasa by reading otha moms blogs and how they suffered similar or worse probs!! am trying to do my bit of someone with those doubts comes across my blog!!
hugs
abha
it is so amusing to see the schizo mom. just a few weeks back, you were completely shattered at the way you thought you handled the baby. in just 2 months, that feel like an eternity, you have gone on to become a beacon of hope to suffering moms!! that's the power of a child :-)
Baby Boo's blog was a mega support for us to get over the feeding thing. she is linked over at my blog and JLT is an equally huge fan of hers. she said it takes 2-3 months for the baby to learn suckling-- and it does!
thank god for Blogs
nice useful and cute blog, mommy. welcome back
hubby
LOL. Was reminded so of my feeding travails!
I had the same problem the first few days. Even tho' baby wasn't suckling, milk wouldn't stop flowing, and MAN! does it hurt to have breasts full of milk! Had to have it expressed with that weird contraption that looks like a bus horn at best..!
Ever since then, I wince when I see those cows wandering with full to bursting udders. Poor creatures! Wonder what they do....And they can read no blogs either;-p;-)
BTW, you're back in good ol' namma bengalooru! Shall call you some time soon. :-)
hey abha me late
:-)
such a lovely post! and so thoughtful of you to share the info with others. i think its time you updated the blog na
m lurking here fir the very first time.. a good post i must say..
Helloooo Abha
Congrats on your lil bumpy boy!!
So the phase of feeding troubles, eh? Boy, do I feel seasoned or what, having gone through the worst possible initiation into bf myself....only seven months back. Ahh...the joys.
I was really touched that I could make you smile, dude. I went through the worst possible post-natal depression myself and still have some of the after-effects....so I know what it can be like...you hang in there. It will get better. And soon. I promise.
Won't write more now...but hope to see you often out here.
LOL, this was so funny 3 years later. Funny because I commented about Boo, as if I was one of her rare readers (she is like the Rajnikanth of blogging mummies). Funny because I never even noticed the boob and nipple description the last time, it is such a fantasy-deflater!
One of those posts that chronicle how we took baby steps (pun?) in the world of blog and came all the way to a baby shower exclusively organized by blogging pals!
Awesome
I like M's comment. Seriously, this whole world of blogging means more to us than we ever thought it could be :) :)
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