Breastfeeding has always been a top priority, something that I had set in my mind. With many good friends and relatives breastfeeding their babies exclusively, I consider myself as really lucky since I have a very strong support system.
I think being well-prepared mentally in this matter is the most crucial of all. I told myself that as much as I wanted to breastfeed my baby exclusively, I should be prepared if things don't go as planned and it would still be okay if I had to resort to FM. This I think might somehow help to alleviate some pressure which new mummies might feel once they give birth.
Apart from mental preparation, I had also read a lot about BFing so I knew what to expect once I gave birth. BM is not going to come right away in most cases, but colostrum would. And knowing that the size of your newborn's tummy is only that of a pea, you know that you don't need a lot of BM to actually feed your little one's needs! And again, I assured myself not to worry if I was not producing a lot.
As in an earlier post, my breastfeeding journey began wonderfully, with Haikal latching well straight away once they put him on me. The nurses actually had to feed him with a little bit of FM though since his glucose level was quite low, but I was okay with that. At least he was still breastfed most of the time. And we conquered the breastfeeding room at the ward most of the time since it was warm and cosy. My Bs infact started to feel full and engorged on the second day and I had to put Haikal next to me in bed every night at the ward so it would be easier to nurse him.
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| Bilik Lepak :D |
Now on the 24th day, I have to admit that there are times when I feel that my BM supply might be inadequate since Haikal has been hanging on the Bs round the clock. Most of the time he would spend around 1-2 hours feeding, every 30 minutes to 1 hour if he doesn't fall asleep. I normally would let him go of the nips himself and let him have it as long as he want, and then burp him. If I'm lucky he might stay asleep for 2-3 hours. If not, he would stay awake for 30 minutes, then cry for more.
At the moment we are still trying to establish a routine but I don't think he's settled already. Let's hope that he will, soon. So I can finally really start thinking of stocking up EBM. What I do now is just hand-express and put them in the freezer, shall the needs arise for me to leave him at home (especially once the 40-day pantang is over) :p
Something I would like to share here jua. I remember when I was pregnant, DH would always, at the end of his prayer, pray for all the good things for baby and me, AND also for me to have lots of BM! I laughed for the first few times when I heard him saying them pasal cali, especially since he said them in Brunei Malay, but yeah that's the power of du'a.
And to my dearest BFing relatives & friends, if any of you are reading this, thank you so much for all the support! And alhamdulillah for my beloved family who have been supportive!
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