This is my breastfeeding story with my first child, I hope you enjoy reading it. This post is about my personal experience and it is not a substitute for medical advice.
Women should own the fact that we are superheroes for the first however many months of your child's life. It is your opportunity and your duty to feed your baby should you choose to breastfeed and be proud of it - Kristen Bell
Breastfeeding your baby is nature's way of providing nourishing and life-giving sustenance for proper growth and development until the baby is weaned. One would think that since breasts are not store-bought, lactation would come easily to every mom. Unfortunately, this is not always the case as many mothers are forced to bottle-feed their babies because they won't latch, latching is a painful experience for the mom or because the milk did not come on time. Just like being pregnant and birthing babies, no two breastfeeding experiences are the same.
I always assumed breastfeeding would come naturally to me when I have a baby, that it would be a simple process. I've seen babies being breastfed countless times and I thought it was not a big deal. That was until I visited a childhood friend who had a baby. She had cracked nipples and each time the baby latched, she winced in pain. I had never seen that before, she however continued to feed her baby until the nipples healed. I sent a fervent prayer towards heaven not to have such an experience, I will not be brave enough to push through the pain of breastfeeding my baby with cracked nipples.
You can read about my first pregnancy and miscarriage here and my second pregnancy and first birth experience here.
My first experience with breastfeeding
Towards the end of the year 2020, in December precisely, I had my first baby. After we were both cleaned up, my baby was given to me to breastfeed. I thought to myself, this should be easy. My baby latched on pretty well but the breast milk was not forthcoming. By this time, I was experiencing breast engorgement. They felt like the skin around them would burst open any moment and were painful to touch. Needless to say, as my baby latched on it hurt, a lot.
Children don't just get milk from breastfeeding, they get our energy too - Stephen Gaskins
I was so confident that I would have no trouble with breastfeeding, so much so that I did not buy baby formula. My husband went to the supermarket that night to get one and the nurse on duty graciously gave us a cup and the littlest spoon I have ever seen to feed our baby. My son was formula-fed for close to a week before milk came.
Before breast milk came, I drank coconut juice, a river of water 😂 (just kidding) and even palm wine but breast milk did not come and all the while I still put my baby to suck. I could not get lactation cookies where I live and I also massaged my breasts with warm water and a towel. By the second week, the milk had come, hallelujah! The quantity was not enough to satisfy my baby so I breastfed him first before giving him formula. By the end of the month, the flow of milk was more than sufficient and sometimes I would wake up to find my breast pad completely soaked because milk leaked out.
A newborn baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts, and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three - Grantly Dick-Read
While our feeding was in full swing, I suffered from backache and the back of my neck hurt too. My mom was on hand to offer
after-birth care and when I complained of the pain, she said my sitting posture was wrong. I had to get a nursing pillow and it felt a whole lot better than sitting with my body curved over my baby.
There was also the matter of feeding my baby in a public place. Some women have no qualms about bringing out their breasts in full view of everyone to feed their babies. It's a common occurrence, especially in hospitals but I knew I was not going to toe that line. A nursing cover or cape was an uncomfortable option because of the heat in the tropics which could cause your baby's tender skin to suffer from heat rashes. I resorted to always feeding my baby just before I leave the house, looking for a quiet and private area when we are away from home to feed him and using a face towel to cover the exposed parts of the breasts while feeding.
Breastfeeding also required a shift in choice of clothes. It turned out that there was a lot more to it than I first envisaged, whether you stayed at home or went out, the ease of feeding your baby influenced your choice of clothes. Shirts with buttons and a zipper in front and blouses with overlapping necklines also came in handy.
I weaned my baby at six months and I continued breastfeeding him until he was one year and four months old. At that time, I was three months into my second pregnancy. It was another hurdle and a story I will tell shortly.
Breastfeeding is indeed a journey with careful and thoughtful considerations. I am happy I got to breastfeed my baby. It does not mean that mothers who could not breastfeed their babies are less of a mom. Know this and know peace, you are a great mom and you rock!
The natural power of breastfeeding is one of the greatest wonders of the world. It is about real love. It is about caring and celebrating the wondrous joy of nurturing a new life. It is about being a woman - Anwar Fazal
What was your experience with breastfeeding your baby?
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