As I mentioned in my previous post, I only manage to bf umar for 1 month. This due to few reasons;
1. Distance -umar went back to malaysia earlier than me
2. Lack of knowledge
3. Stress as I had my final year 3 exam 2 weeks after umar's birth thus my milk production reduces tremendously. I put very few effort on boosting the milk production..sigh~
4. I had very bad cracked nipples and breast engorgement again due to poor knowledge and support
But now, with Thariq Ziyad is my golden oppurtunity to start Breastfeeding again! I have this long holiday since before labor so I had enormous time to read and gather information on bf in addition to what I've learned in my O&G and peads posting. This is to prepare for the challenging time to come in my bf journey especially during confinement e.g. bought breast pump, how to prevent cracked nipples, how to deal with breast engorgement, how to boost milk production, how to store EBM etc.
However no matter how prepared I am, there are still challenges in the process. I had cracked nipples again but alhamdulillah it was not as bad as previously. I applied some breast milk on the cracked area, let it dry instead of 'keeping' it inside the bra. The easiest thing is to be topless (at the right place ok:) )
The cracked is quite deep so it takes time to heal. While healing I still bf Thariq directly on this breast. So what I did was feeding Thariq using different position e.g. From craddle hold to football position so that I can avoid the wound. It still painful but less coz baby hard palate not touching the cracked area. Every time I will pray to Allah to heal the cracked area. Alhamdulillah so far it works for me.
I already starts pumping for EBM stock for my working and oncall days. But still could not pump from the cracked breast coz need to allow some times for it to heal. So the milk stock not as much as expected but I'll keep working for a better amount...:) Alhamdulillah..
It is a challenged to be firm on my stand to bf as some relatives suggest to give formula. The rational why I want to bf besides the health benefit etc, is I want to have exclusive time with my baby when I start working. By hook or by crook I need to bf him even I am tired back from work. So I will have 'special' time with him. And for umar I will find time to be with him too. I know this is the best gift for my kids..Pray for me please..
8 comments:
Ana, from my experience, if you have the will, there's a way. Few times I wanted to give up, but think of the long term result, at least for the first 6mths, it will be WORTH it!!!! Alex never fell sick within the first 6mths, Alhamdulillah. Tuhan tolong kite bila niat kita suci :)
One more thing, milk will increase by baby's nature, if he drinks more, there'll be more milk =) Jangan bimbang kalo awal2 xde susu sangat. Nti banyak la tu..
rin: thanks for the advice;)
btw the amount of milk produces is abundance but the EBM stock is less because I could only pump from one side only..hopefully sooner I can start pumping from it too:) insyaAllah..
Ana, all the best. Alhamdulillah Layth also (like Alex) did not fall sick for the first 2 years.
Try ubat gamat for the cracked nipples. InshaAllah it will heal really quickly ~1 day! Kalau baby termakan pun takpe. And keep feeding from that breast - mmg sakit tapi kene gigit bibir (metaphorically) and tahan. usually masa nak start suckling tu pedih pas tu bila dah steady and nipple dah deep into palate, dah tak sakit dah.
it takes average 6 weeks (or more) to establish a good supply. it's sad when ppl give up before that or supplement with formula. lack of knowledge is a bad thing. some ppl say kalau nak kumpulkan EBM before 6 weeks pun mcm agak susah jugak. but u can accumulate bit by bit. would it be possible to pump milk at work? you should be able to. it's your right. it would be discrimination if you couldn't. especially since we work in health care! sibuk suruh moms breastfeed tapi tak galakkan doctors breastfeed? apakah
good on you for supplying yourself with knowledge. now you are empowered. what you need next is patience, determination and people to support you. don't listen to ppl who tell u to give formula. keep on standing firm!
p/s dah urut lps bersalin? sometimes they can massage the breast too.
aliya: alhamdulillah dah urut lepas bersalin. kadang2 mintak family member tolong urutkan belakang badan utk bykkan susu..memang berkesan..after urut belakang in circular motion rasa susu lancar..:)alhamdulillah..
umar alhamdulillah dulu memang susah nak demam even dia xdpt full bf..Allah permudahkan:)
Tuhla memang xkira..nak jugak pump kat spital. Dah beli pump yg suitable. Cuma the challenge is to find the solid 15-20mins utk pump in a busy hospital kat malaysia ni.
Totally agreed with you aliya, masa mula latch on the cracked nipple memang sakit sampai bersimpul kaki menahan..hehe.. but lama2 rasa cam biasa..alhamdulillah..I applied the breast milk and it works..ni petua dr pakar lactation..its getting better and dah mula pump from that breast and alhamdulillah sekali pump 7oz..sehari at least boleh pump 2times.gembira tgk my fridge mula dipenuhi EBM:)
doa memang penting selain usaha..trust me!
sama cm akak la ana, ms first child sebulan lebih je bf cos kene blk melb semula sorng2 huhu..n xtau pape psl ebm etc..so next babies baru lah pandai sket psl bf n pumping ...all the best to u! (pnah bc magazine psl sorng doc yg pam susu penuh satu freezer (freezer yg sebijik tu) mase pantang cos nti keje dah busy =)
salam ana
apa khabar? akak baca blog ana ni...akak mmg very much interested in EBM issues.
congratulations on the hard work.. sama jugak..akak masa first dulu pon x reti sgt bab2 EBm ni.. baca tp payah nak practice...masa mula2 pon famili mcm x berapa faham hence byk galakkan menyumbat susu formula. but alhamdulillah, my sister faham n byk support.
cuma challenges nyer di sini ialah kerja. anak 1st akak sempat BF smpai 5 bulan ja...itupun sbb 4 bulan pertama, akak duk umah, so leh direct feeding n buat stok susu. by the time start kije, no more time for BF+ pumping. akak try jugak...bilik oncall yg kadang2 blackout pon, akak belasah pum susu dalam gelap...sigh.. tp masa x banyak mengizinkan...
mmg kalo diikutkan, masa O&G, siap bg ceramah kat patient psal exclusive BF n EBM tp ironically, sendiri as health care personnel payah nak amalkan..becoz of time...nasib kita doktor jarang terbela...pregnant as HO pon payah...kalo x, masa kan zaman dulu byk kes miscarriage..
tp time changes..now a days, superior lebih alert....well, at least lebih alert.
cuma, now, dah masuk second nih, kena try sekali lagi...what ever it is..atleast, we try..kan...
p/s- dulu akak pakai single electric/battery pump, skang kena upgrade to double pump so atleast, leh save some time.
ana, buku itu mmg sgt berguna :)
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