I breastfed my eldest for only 2 and a half months. I found it painful and tiring. My husband kept insisting that i feed her with my milk but it was too painful for me. Nobody taught me anything. So my milk dwindle.
When I got pregnent with my second child, K, i was determined to breastfeed for as long as I could. I read and read and read thru the internet, thru books and thru blogs. When K finally came it wasn't easy. My milk didn't come out till she was 4 days old. So i fed her formula for the first few days. When my milk came, it wasn't enough to satisfy her. For a couple of weeks with a day or two intervals, i had to pump every 2 hours to increase milk production. I was taking many supplements. It wasn't easy but we breastfed for more than 6 months.
When I got pregnant with G, i decided that I wasn't gonna breastfeed for long. I initially thought that being out in the field often, it would be difficult to pump. But i think Divine Intervention got in the way. While I was on twitter, a lot of whom I was following kept talking about breastmilk and breastfeeding. This got me interested... Again. So a lot of blog post and a few realizations later, here I am breastfeeding and pumping my almost 3 week old son and I've never regreted doing it again.
Sure it's costly at first. I had to buy a new breastpump, more breastfeeding accessories and it takes a lot of your time, day and night. But knowing that he's having the best food I could give coupled with love and affection, and looking at him gobble up all that magic milk, that's the best feeling in the world.
You're right, breastfeeding was never discussed thoroughly in med school, probably because it was taken for granted that women would know all about it instinctively. Remember those breastfeeding lectures we had to give at the DMC OB ward? Well, that's just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteA year ago, I had the chance to attend a breastfeeding seminar conducted by DOH. And would you believe that it was a five-day affair? Up until that moment, I didn't realize how much there was to know about breastfeeding.. and how little I knew about it.
From that point on, I resolved that I would breastfeed my future child as best I can. And as a mom-to-be, I am looking forward to that day when I can put that knowledge to good use. :)
So true doc tet. That was also the first time I talked about breastfeeding. I was thinking to myself then that I wasn't informed enough about it yet I was giving lectures to these mothers.
ReplyDeleteI heard about thaDOH lecture from Patty last year. I wish I would have attended the event.