I have decided and prepared myself to breastfeed Mr. Abner way before he was born.
Spending time researching on breastfeeding, learning all the do's and don'ts, preparing my mind for the tiredness and stress, shopping for necessities, etc. Breastfeed is something so natural, yet it wasn't that 'natural' as so much preparation is required.
Breastfeeding knowledge doesn't come naturally with the baby.
The first breastfeeding equipment i bought is my Ameda dual pump. Bought it before I gave birth as I know that I won't have the luxury of time to go pump-shopping once Abner is here. The reason why I bought Ameda is because it is really affordable. I think i paid $399 for it. There are cheaper pumps out there but the reviews for those are not as good as Ameda. Manual pump is never on my mind because it is really troublesome. Single pump is also out as it means you require double the time to pump. So something mid-range with good reviews, Ameda is it. Was considering Medela PISA too but I find it not worthwhile to spend so much since I am not going to have a second child and I wasn't even sure if I am capable of breastfeeding my son. Reading about low milk supply doesn't help. Having my mum telling me that she doesn't have enough milk to breastfeed when she gave birth doesn't help either.
Next, i bought Organic Moringa Tea.
Read about how it has helped nursing mums with milk supply so i decided to give it a try. Started drinking it (replacing my normal water intake) when I was at week 35 since it is nourishing too. The other supplement i bought was Fenugreek from GNC. I made use of my birthday voucher from GNC to get 3 bottles, more than enough to drown myself with fenugreek pills after giving birth.
As for milk bags, I bought Nanny milkbags from an online seller after doing research that Nanny's quality is good. But after breastfeeding my boy for almost a year, I realise that some other milkbags are good too - like Avent (cheap!) and Farlin (cheap too). One thing I'm quite anal about is that I will avoid getting milkbags that requires you to write the date/time/etc of the stored milk directly on the bag where the pouch is. Call me paranoid but I don't wanna risk having ink seeping through the plastic and contaminate my milk. There are no issues with Nanny, Avent or Farlin as the details are written either on the extension or on a separate sticker.
Seems like I'm all prepared!
The day Abner is born, I didn't get to latch him on immediately as I went through emergency c-sec and i was on GA. After all the chaos and when I was back in my ward, I do remember one of the nurse came to ask if I want to start breastfeeding my son. I think it was around 2am? I was still weak and has not recovered from the GA. I can hardly keep my eyes open.. So i told the nurse that I will start breastfeeding in the morning. As much as I know how important it is to latch my baby on after delivery but I don't want to risk dropping or hurting him. To be safe, i decided to rest.
Milk supply did not kick in the next morning. Abner latched well, in fact, very well according to the lactation consultant. But within an hour after latching, he started crying for milk again. This is when stress kicks in. I was glad that I didn't have much visitors. I was glad that my parents only come to the hospital when I discharge (not because they don't care, but they were busy preparing at home and I stayed 1 day lesser than normal csec mummies as I gave birth at 11pm, so between 11pm to 12midnight it was considered a day in ward. My gynae asked if I want to extend 1 more day but I rejected. I just wanna go home.) so most of the time I was alone and have nobody to tell me "eh you got no milk ahhhh". I am okay with formula so I told the nurse to top-up Abner with formula if he cries for milk after latching, and bring him to me again when it is time for the next feed.
Back at home, I continued with the schedule when we were in hospital. 3 hourly feed, latch first and top up with formula after that. I was quite uncertain with the amount Abner is drinking from direct latch as I was still unsure with my supply. So topping up with formula gives me some sort like a sense of security that my boy is not starving.
The day I was discharged from hospital, i started taking fenugreek. 2 pills x 3 times a day. Ignore the dosage on the bottle (it wrote 1 a day if I didn't remember wrongly). To increase milk supply, you gotta UP the dosage.
I started pumping on day 3, after latching my son and feeding him with formula. He never fails to poo after every feed so while waiting for him to poo, I pump.
I did power-pumping (learnt it from other mummies), but before pumping, prepare a cup of hot milo/cereal. First, pump for 10 minutes. Start with a comfy suction on full speed, then slowly increase the suction to somewhat not as comfy but won't make you feel pain or uncomfortable. After 10 minutes is up, stop. Rest for 5 minutes and sip milo/cereal. Then pump again for 5 minutes on full speed at the increased suction. Stop. Rest for 5 minutes and sip milo/cereal again. Repeat this till you have pumped around 3 sets, roughly 30 minutes. It is fine if your initial yield is very little. I started with only like 30 ml per pump.
So after pumping, I will change Abner before washing his bottles and my pump parts. If I am lucky, I get to rest for 30 mins or an hour before it is time for his next feed again.
So basically, my life runs on a 3-hr cycle.
Latch Abner - Formula feed - Pump - Change Diaper - Wash Bottles & Parts (and rest if possible) - Latch Abner.... and the cycle repeats.
This cycle never stops. Even in the middle of the night, I will still pump every 3 hourly.
11pm, 2 am, 5am, 8am, etc etc etc.
I was pretty amazed by my determination, seriously.
And i guess drinking chicken essence everyday helps to give me energy.
By the 5th day of giving birth (3rd day of pumping), I am able to fully breastfeed Abner and slowly replaced formula with expressed breastmilk. Meaning I latch him and top up with expressed breastmilk instead of formula, and continue to pump every 3 hourly.
With perseverance and determination, I manage to pump 2L per day.
Definitely an oversupply as Abner wasn't able to drink so much.
So I started freezing them.
My 3-hour cycle goes on till Abner was about 2 months old. I have to return to work, so I gotta start dragging my pump to 4-hourly, then 5-hourly, then 6-hourly, to 3 times a day.
It wasn't easy with the schedule all mixed up and I have to factor in rest time too.
But I am glad that I did it.
To avoid fluctuation and confusing my boobs as to produce milk or not, I stopped latching him in the day.
So it became bottle-feeding expressed breastmilk (and everyone else can help to feed him so I get to rest) and latching on at night (so I can latch him directly without having to wake up to warm his bottle). Initially when i changed to this schedule, I will still wake up to pump after latching him at night. But slowly, I dropped my night pump too. My last pump was around 11pm and my next pump would be around 6am.
A month before I returned to work, I started introducing frozen expressed breastmilk (febm) to Abner so he is able to get used to the taste. Febm will taste a little 'fishy' and some babies will reject it. I started by mixing with ebm and slowly increased the proportion. Abner took it well.
Since then, I will use 1 pack of febm a day and freeze ebm that was expressed the day before.
Managed to drop to pump 3x a day when I return to work.
7am, 3pm and 10pm, yielding around 1.3L a day, which is enough for kiddo.
It was only till recently when I changed job that I started to drop to pumping 2x a day.
Supply dropped to around 700ml but as Abner's drinking dropped too, it is still enough.
Few more weeks to Abner's first birthday.
I am proud to say that I have succeeded in breastfeeding my baby for his first year.
I am glad that I am able to be so organised when it comes to this.
Even my mum was surprised by my milk supply and she is very proud to reply that Abner is a fully breastfed baby when others ask if he is on formula or breastmilk.
It wasn't easy. It is really hard work - even before the baby is here.
Mummies out there who are really keen to breastfeed your baby, be prepared.
In fact, be very well-prepared and do your research, etc.
And be really hardworking and determined.
It ain't gonna be easy. It is very tiring. It is very taxing.
But it is also very rewarding.
It is definitely a great bond to share with your baby.
No matter what, don't give up!
My stash when Abner turns 11 mth old.
My baby is growing so fast. Less than a month to his first birthday!
He is able to handle grapes really well, and yes, I let him self-feed with grapes.
He will either put the whole grape in if it is small enough or chew into half if it is too big.
Then he will spit the skin out after chewing off the flesh, like how adult will spit the seed out after eating orange, etc. Super cute to see him eat.
Brought him to swim this morning and he totally enjoyed himself. He even tried to imitate how adults swim by putting his head in and out of the water. Hahaha.
Shall end my post here.
Have a nice weekend!
:)
