Breastfeeding Diaries: Week 1 & 2

If I had any regrets with my 2 older kids, its that I wasn’t able to breastfeed them.

With my eldest, Cesca, I breastfed her for only a day. My milk supply was so low that unknowing to us, she has been drinking blood off my breast na pala. Imagine seeing your kid na maglungad with blood! With the pedia’s go signal we fed her formula milk and never looked back.

With Seven, I mixfed her with breastmilk and formula again thinking that my supply will not be enough. That totally stopped when I finished my maternity leave and went back to work.

You see, I was aware of the idea of breastfeeding and its benefits but I didn’t know enough to really push myself to commit to it. For me, feeding the kids with formula milk was more practical, more convenient. In my head I was thinking, “Hey, I tried and it didn’t work. It’s not for me.”

I was also looking forward to going back to work that I couldn’t be bothered with all the inconveniences of planning how to continue breastfeeding when I’m not at home. See, I told you I didn’t know any better.

But as you grow older, you begin to see the importance of these things, for yourself and most especially for your baby.

And so with my third child, I tried to educate myself as early as possible on ways and tips on how I can exclusively breastfeed my baby boy. I researched the net for blogs and mommy forums, I joined Facebook support groups and asked endless questions to friends who were breastfeeding their kids. It also helped that hospitals are now strict in enforcing breastfeeding of newborns that they altogether ban formulas and milk bottles.

At the hospital, I expressed my concern about my supply to the pedia and she assured me that Raven is being fed enough or else he’ll be fuzzy and crying throughout the day. At week 2, my milk supply still needs to be established but hey, I’m able to feed my child with it.

I’m supposed to pump only after 6 weeks as well but I’m so excited with the idea of breastfeeding that I already had hubby buy a manual pump for me to try.

Looney Tunes manual pump Php 699.75, Baby Company

I’m also learning the technique of hand expression since it really drains out the breast of milk that then signals the body that it needs to produce more since the general rule with breastfeeding is supply and demand. That is why since I’m just at home at the moment, I let Raven latch to me directly whenever he wants.

Unli-latched when we are at home.

I’m not claiming that I’m an expert now, I’m far from it. Breastfeeding is natural but its something that needs to be learned. I’m also fortunate that my family is supportive with my new advocacy. I think most moms , especially the new ones, fail to follow through with their desire to breastfeed because they lacked support.

To those who wanted to know more about breastfeeding and wanted to be part of a support group where you can ask questions and share breastfeeding stories, I highly recommend that you search for Breastfeeding Pinays in Facebook. I personally learned a lot from the threads that I follow.

My breastfeeding journey is just beginning and already it opened my eyes and mind to how complex this facet of motherhood can be. It can be tiring and time consuming, not more than once that we were tempted to resort to formula feeding (and we are just on our second week!), but it is at the same time rewarding. Because nothing beats the feeling of being able to provide only the best for your child.

Do you have any breastfeeding tips and stories you’d like to share? Feel free to leave a comment below!