I am like a walking zombie these days
At 3 weeks old, the little baby is wearing me out with his 2 hourly feeding.
And I thought having breastfed Malcolm for 2 years had trained me well, I realised that it is not the physical fatigue that I couldn’t bear but more of the montonous and unchallenging chore of feeding, burping, changing that have wore me down.
Malcolm was a breast fed baby
He was breast fed till he was 2 years old and nothing could soothe him more than mummy’s breast
He rejected the pacifier
He rejected the bottle
He rejected ALL baby formula
Tins of baby formula went down the rubbish chute as nothin could please his discerning taste bud
When he was about a year old, we gave him fresh milk, in a cup
He started drinking from a cup since a young age
In fact he started using cup when he was born
something recommended by the breastfeeding experts
nipple confusion was what they feared
And because we had done EVERYTHING RIGHT, like what a breastfeeding expert would recommend
I was the SOLE caregiver for my first child for a long time
My baby was totally dependent on me for food and nourishment
The good thing that came out of this dependence was
Our first born went EVERYWHERE we went
We went for our first holiday when he was 3 month old
We dipped him in the pool and he tried swimming for the first time
It was relatively easy to pack for trips as he was a breastfed baby
All we needed to do when he was hungry, sleepy, thirsty or edgy was to WHIP out my ‘weapon’ and he would be soothed, almost immediately
We saved hundreds of dollar on milk powder
Iron fortified infant formula was new to me
DHA and ARA supplemented milk powder was foreign
The downside to this was
my life revolves around my baby
Nobody could take over the feeding job even when there were eager helpers around
Now with my second baby, I choose to do things a little different.
I am expressing my milk
I am introducing bottle to my new baby
I am handing the baby over to whomever eager to help with the feeding
I am not going to monopolize this feeding job
I started expressing on Day 1 with less than 10 ml of colestrum
then on Day 2, I hit 10 ml
on Day 3, I was getting abit more than 10 ml
and on Day 4, I was pumping 40 ml
By the end of week 1, I was getting 150 ml
and soon I was getting a whooping 1 litre a day!
The baby was happy
I was happy
I felt like a milking machine, literally
and it felt GOOD
I packed my precious extract in bags and bottles
hand the baby to anyone eager to help while I run errands, send Malcolm to school, drop by grocery stores and go for my checkups
I need not have to worry about rushing back in 2 hours’ time because the baby needs to be fed
I was enjoying the freedom
something which I never had before with my first born
Then I got a little lazy, a little complacent
perhaps even a little too smug, for my own good
I started expressing less as if to test the Theory of Demand and Supply
Within a few days of slacking, my supply dropped drastically
I began to panic
I began to stock up on baby’s first tin of infant formula
I reverted back to my 3 hourly milking schedule hoping to regain my supply
Sure enough, the theory proved itself
Within a couple of days, I was getting back part of my supply
As I wrote this, I am still working towards the 1 litre/day
Despite the fatigue, I am not about to give up breastfeeding as I believe that breast milk, time-tested for millions of years, is the best nutrients for babies as it is nature’s perfect food.
And if you ask me, as a mother, breast milk has to be the best thing that I have given to my children so far.
what i am worried about breastfeeding is, i might not take in enough nutrients during my confinement month, as there are certain foods which i cannot take while nursing my body to health… *shake head*
Rachel : hey shirley, if u r considering bf, I think it is recommended to start asap after the child is born. I am not too concern about not having enough nutrition, I take almost everything. I guess so long it is a balanced diet, it should be ok.
Fang, Caleb is EXACTLY like Malcolm! How come you didn’t warn me haha… It’s coming to almost a year, full latch on! The next time if I do have a second one, it will be like you and Marcus now hehe…
Jia you mummy! Breastfeeding rocks!
Rachel : hey ophe, I think u r coping well! I think it is worth everything when you see them grow big and strong, striving fully on breastmilk! Breastfeeding does rock! but the night feed is damn shack! I really need to JIA YOU
i probably will also do some different things from first born
…
but definately will breastfeed.
cheers to mamahood!
Rachel : hey pc, have a smooth pregnancy and hope to meet your little one soon
Rachel,
I am going to do exactly u are doing for your second child. (If I do have a second child. hehe)
Yvette is exactly like Malcom. Everything you went thru with Malcom, I am facing the same upsides and downsides.
I am the only ONE can handle the feeding job and the worst part is, Yvette does wake up to suck for comfort in between the night.
Rachel : hey shirley, thanks for sharing. It can be quite tiring when the mummy is the only one doing the feeding, even more so if you need to take care of another child. I am thinking, perhaps this time round, I may not be able to breastfeed so long.
Keep it up! I fully agree with you that breastmilk is the best gift for our children. My baby rejected the bottle after I fed him directly 100% for a mth, then we tried cup-feeding which works. The closeness we share is indeed precious as kids grow up real fast. You’re welcomed to visit my blog at MummysReviews.com.
Rachel : hey mummytobabyv, welcome and thanks for dropping a note. Very interesting site u’ve got there, will drop by to check on your product reviews
I totally agree..Breastmilk is the best thing we as mothers can give…it has been 8 mths now….I praying I can at least hit 1 yr..
For me, the initial 3 mths…it seems like I’m never producing enough for Samuel…So everytime esp nights, I would latch him, after 20-25 mins on each side, I would pass him to Daddy who would give him formula to supplement while I continue to pump to for another 5-10 mins on each side) The good thing out of this is, Samuel now drinks EVERYTHING!..I do give Samuel formula once in a while..like just 60ml in a week or two…just to test if he would take them….and this boy would empty the btl!!.hahaha)
Rachel : hey dawn, good that he takes everything now. Maybe i should start training him to take formula as well
Breastfeeding…this unique experience wih my child has created such a fond memory in my life…
Hey….read your post and need some advice. You say you pumped…does that mean you didn’t let him suckle much at all? I failed the first time bf and I thought it was becuase I didn’t let the bb suckle as often. I did pump often, though don’t know how often….and felt like a miserable failure!
breastfeeding is mama’s greatest gift to any child after giving birth! Jia you on the feeding and milking! it’s great though to let someone else feed. i think you worked out a great schedule! And the joy on Daddy’s and Mal’s face!