Breastfeeding Adam

When I was pregnant I did a lot of reading on breastfeeding. I was really determined to exclusively breastfeed my baby no matter what comes my way. Masa tgh pregnant mmg tak sabar sgt nak breastfeed Adam. Now that he’s here…I found that breastfeeding is more rewarding than I imagined it would be. But not without a few obstacles.

After I gave birth to Adam, immediately I dpt breastfeed him for the first time. A nurse was there to “help” me latch him, but unfortunately all she did was pinch my ni**le and shoved it in his mouth. Sakit! But Adam pandai suck as though he’s done it before. Afterwards they let me keep Adam in my hospital room for rooming in. I fed him whenever he looked hungry but masa tu my positioning still a bit awkward.

Adam's first breastfeeding session in the labour room

Lps dah balik rumah, within the first week tu I had sore ni**les. Sampai bleeding. I tried ice, applied milk, lanolin cream, corrected his latch and positioning etc. Lama2 it got better and dah tak sakit lagi. I read that it’s common to get breast engorgement when your milk starts to come in. Fortunately I didn’t have that problem, maybe because Adam was feeding frequently.

My lanolin cream

At some point I had another problem lak. Hyperactive letdown. Bila milk starts to flow in tu, terlaju sgt sampai baby tersedak2. Adam akan let go and milk will flow out like Niagara falls. Lama2 Adam jadi frust, sian dia. Tapi nowadays alhamdulillah, Adam pandai control. Dia suck laju2 and dpt contain all the milk without letting go of the latch. Takpayah minum sampai ½ jam-1 hour lagi. Within 10-15 mins he can empty the breast. Terrer la anak Mummy minum skarang…

Awal2 dulu ada gak problem with my arms. Lenguh sgt sampai takleh lift up. Walaupun Adam ringan. Tapi dah pegang lama2 esp time breastfeed mmg tak cukup endurance gak. My hubby tolong urut then lama2 ok dah. Thank you sayang..i bought a nursing pillow – from MyBrestfriend- which really helps. My arms pun dah banyak muscle dah skang..hehe

Adam, Mummy and My Brestfriend

Masa I start to practice pumping breastmilk pulak, langsung takde milk kluar. Panic jadinye. Salah beli pump ke? Salah guna pump ke? Milk sikit sgt ke? Mcmana nak gi keje ni? After many attempts barula dpt itu pun sikit dlm 1oz camtu je. Bila dah byk kali barula boleh increase to about 3oz. Later I read a good website on pumping – workandpump.com- barula I understand why. I was pumping when I was still fully breastfeeding Adam, that means I tak bagi Adam botol lagi masa ni. So my milk supply has adapted to cater for his daily needs. Supply according to demand la. But when I start pumping I was basically asking my body to produce extra milk. That’s why susah nak pump byk. Once I start giving him bottles, masa time dia minum botol tu I pump, so bolehla dpt byk sket.

I’m lucky families and friends bukan jenis yg condem breastfeeding. I heard mcm2 stories about moms yg terpaksa resort to formula sbb pressure from their momla, MIL la, makcik2la. Cakap tak cukupla etc, so kene supplement. My husband and my family semuanya supportive of breastfeeding, alhamdulillah.

To me breastfeeding is one of the miracles of life. The intimacy I feel every time I hold my baby close to me is unbelievable. I could really feel the bond between mother and child strengthening. I feel needed. I feel loved. Aaaa…tak cukup words la nak explain. It really is amazing. To all breastfeeding mothers or mommys-to-be who are contemplating whether or not they should try formula, pls, keep on breastfeeding. It’s the best gift you can give – to both your baby and yourself.