The reality of breastfeeding

3:46:00 PM

So my breastfeeding journey started 2 months ago, the moment Isa was born. I was really, really lucky that I'm a oversupply mum. I'm blessed with abundant of breast milk and had to pump every 2 to 3 hours. So Isa has more than enough supply of milk for the next many,many months. I even had to purchase a 80 liter chest freezer to accommodate my expressed breast milk. Whenever I open the freezer, I see lights lit up as though you opened a chest full of gold (people don't call it liquid gold for no reason).

Ok, when I was pregnant, even BEFORE I was pregnant, I imagined myself as a mother, dressing up nicely, holding my son's hand, walking around the mall. Imagine Victoria Beckham walking with her children. Hot isn't it. Well, fast forward to 9 months and after Isa was born, I'm STILL clad in T-shirt and cotton pants with nursing bra on the inside even AFTER confinement. Not to mention my clothes smells of breast milk.

What society or men imagined breast feeding is, 'how hard can it be?'. The milk will always be there, all you need to do is get the baby into the correct position and latch on. DONE! How I wish it was that simple. Breast feeding is not easy let alone for working mothers. We have to juggle between pumping and getting your work done on time.  'Drenched' in breast milk, blocked duct, engorgement, mastitis, cracked nipple, etc.

It felt like yesterday when I gave birth to Isa. And now, 2 months has past. At first, I doubt that I could produce this much of milk. I don't really have friends or family members who exclusively breast feed their baby for 1 or 2 years, so it was a wee bit hard to actually learn. So my guru was YouTube. Thank God to the person who created YouTube -__-'

I prepared myself for breastfeeding way before Isa was born. I read, talk to experienced people, watching videos. It's a different experience for each individual. Some babies manage to latch on naturally (like mine) and some are hard. Breast feeding is not hard nor easy, It depends on how you take it in.

I'm still adjusting my new role as a mum. I hardly have enough sleep due to my pumping schedule but I'm happy to do it for as long as I can provide the best for my baby. Only at certain times, when you body starts to shutdown and tired, you just want to quit. But looking at how healthy your baby is after feeding on breast milk, it makes all the hard work worth it.

SUPPORT from you friends and family are definitely the main pillar in breast feeding. You can take any milk booster you want, see the best lactation consultant there is, massage as much as possible, but if you have lack of support especially your partner, it can't work either. I've seen many of my friends just gave up on breast feeding because they don't have support from family. It's sad to see this happen especially when your body has an abundant of supply.

Breastfeeding is hard work and determination. It all comes from the mind. It's amazing how God created women. They have the ability to carry a full term baby for 9 months and produces milk as source of food for the baby. It's just....pure amazement.



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