Every new mother yearning to have the grandest preparation for their coming bundle of joy. In my retrospect, I prepared and planned a lot on welcoming my Dinky Aeisyah. I even made a checklist on things to buy which I assume that every mother did with their first baby :) One thing that went pass my checklist was my breastfeeding checklist. If I could turn the time back, I would surely prepared more on this because of all mothers who breastfeed their child know that breastfeeding is the most time consuming effort ever. Alright, so how could you prepare for your first breastfeeding journey?
1) From physiology part, first you need to determine whether or not you have a normal nipple, a flat nipple or an inverted nipple. If it's normal, you don't have to correct it because that is the perfect shape for a breastfeed mother. However, with both flat and inverted nipple, what you could do is to wear a breast shells inside your bra during your pregnancy time. From what I read, breast shell could help to extend the nipple outward. I've seen Avent Nipplette but I don't know how it works :)
2) Gain as much knowledge as you can. If there is a breastfeeding support group near your area such as provided by mamalink, by all means, GO!. If there is a forum on breastfeeding such as susuibu or mymombest, register as a user and get active! (I encountered susuibu a week after I gave labor, poor me). Get to know anyone who are still nursing their babies. Lucky you if your sister also nurse. By knowing these mothers, it will help you to get the big picture of breastfeeding because trust me, you will be clueless when the time comes. It also great, having this niche of friends, that we could talk these breastfeeding thing without being interrupted. Whenever I'm having this conversation with other mothers who still breastfeed their toddler at my workplace, and mind you they are all ustazahs (Mr Vediaz always says that THEY PREACH WHAT THEY SAY!), other teachers would sink into silence. How weird is that? Ahh, maybe they just shy. Another thing is, get a breastfeeding book. Mine are The Nursing Mother's Companion and The Milk Memos. I read The Nursing Mother to gain insight into breastfeeding and The Milk Memos for a good laugh during pumping :)
3) Talk to your doctor about you plan to breastfeed, if your doctor is pro-breastfeeding, good for you. This is because your breastfeeding success can be influenced by your doctor. In my case, I did talk about my plan with my gynae. However, after I delivered Dinky Aeisyah at a private hospital, I suspected that the on duty nurse gave Dinky Aeisyah with some formula because I noticed her bassinet was positioned upright twice, signaling that the nurse just fed her. How could they? On Dinky Aeisyah's bassinet there was a card stated that "I'M BREASTFEED". Maybe I wasn't being persistence enough :(
4) Round up your very own support system. The first person would be your husband. As for Mr Vediaz, he is supportive with my decision to breastfeed Dinky Aeisyah. Even we both come from a non-breastfeeding families, we muddle through our best. For our next baby, we'll definitely put in our effort more (Mr Vediaz, are you reading this?) Without the support system, there is no doubt that your breastfeeding effort would be crumbling down at the slightest provocation. Have you ever heard these kind of phrases, "Your milk is not enough", "She's crying because she is starving", "You need to mix with formula because you are a working mother". " She will be a clingy baby". A lot huh...As said by Kathleen Huggins, mothers frequently give up breastfeeding in the learning stage because they have little information, guidance, and support. How true is that. Even one of my colleague stopped breastfeeding her baby because of what her mother said to her. So, persevere ladies!
5) You could consider few purchases that could help you breastfeed better. As for me, My Brest Friend nursing pillow is my the most indispensable item ever. Dinky Aeisyah couldn't latch well during the first 4 weeks. With the nursing pillow, I could comfortably positioned her during every feeding. With every feeding took up around an hour to two hour, having something to prop your elbow is good enough. Another item is a nursing bra. You could start shopping for your nursing bra in your third trimester. I bought mine when I was 37 weeks pregnant. I bought a cheapo one :) It doesn't hold my milk dud very well. Right now I'm using an Emma Jane nursing bra which has a good support, stretchy material with nice colour. Mine is Lilac! You could also buy a nursing shirt to wear during you confinement. If you choose to wear your daily shirt, it's fine but it would be hassle a bit. I bought two short sleeve and long sleeve nursing for starter. A box of breastpads also help if you always leak. I think the cheapest one could be Pureen's breastpads. I don't wear breastpads because I seldomly leak. My biggest regret on non-purchased item was a breastpump. Actually, breastpump is not a necessity. But, in my case it was. After my labor, my milk wasn't coming in. It was day 5 when the milk started coming in. Dinky Aeisyah was starving at that point. If I had a breastpump, I could pump in order to give the milk dud more stimulation. I found this on ask moxie and in The Nursing Mother's Companion that if you had and IV fluid during labor, which I had, it would cause an edema to the breast, and edema delays or reduces milk production. I don't know if this fact is being back up by a medical research or not. Since it make sense in my part, I might opt not to have an IV fluid for my next labor and see how it goes :)
Ok, I think that's all from me. If there is something that I forget about do let me know. All these suggestions are purely base on my unbiased experience.
1) From physiology part, first you need to determine whether or not you have a normal nipple, a flat nipple or an inverted nipple. If it's normal, you don't have to correct it because that is the perfect shape for a breastfeed mother. However, with both flat and inverted nipple, what you could do is to wear a breast shells inside your bra during your pregnancy time. From what I read, breast shell could help to extend the nipple outward. I've seen Avent Nipplette but I don't know how it works :)
2) Gain as much knowledge as you can. If there is a breastfeeding support group near your area such as provided by mamalink, by all means, GO!. If there is a forum on breastfeeding such as susuibu or mymombest, register as a user and get active! (I encountered susuibu a week after I gave labor, poor me). Get to know anyone who are still nursing their babies. Lucky you if your sister also nurse. By knowing these mothers, it will help you to get the big picture of breastfeeding because trust me, you will be clueless when the time comes. It also great, having this niche of friends, that we could talk these breastfeeding thing without being interrupted. Whenever I'm having this conversation with other mothers who still breastfeed their toddler at my workplace, and mind you they are all ustazahs (Mr Vediaz always says that THEY PREACH WHAT THEY SAY!), other teachers would sink into silence. How weird is that? Ahh, maybe they just shy. Another thing is, get a breastfeeding book. Mine are The Nursing Mother's Companion and The Milk Memos. I read The Nursing Mother to gain insight into breastfeeding and The Milk Memos for a good laugh during pumping :)
3) Talk to your doctor about you plan to breastfeed, if your doctor is pro-breastfeeding, good for you. This is because your breastfeeding success can be influenced by your doctor. In my case, I did talk about my plan with my gynae. However, after I delivered Dinky Aeisyah at a private hospital, I suspected that the on duty nurse gave Dinky Aeisyah with some formula because I noticed her bassinet was positioned upright twice, signaling that the nurse just fed her. How could they? On Dinky Aeisyah's bassinet there was a card stated that "I'M BREASTFEED". Maybe I wasn't being persistence enough :(
4) Round up your very own support system. The first person would be your husband. As for Mr Vediaz, he is supportive with my decision to breastfeed Dinky Aeisyah. Even we both come from a non-breastfeeding families, we muddle through our best. For our next baby, we'll definitely put in our effort more (Mr Vediaz, are you reading this?) Without the support system, there is no doubt that your breastfeeding effort would be crumbling down at the slightest provocation. Have you ever heard these kind of phrases, "Your milk is not enough", "She's crying because she is starving", "You need to mix with formula because you are a working mother". " She will be a clingy baby". A lot huh...As said by Kathleen Huggins, mothers frequently give up breastfeeding in the learning stage because they have little information, guidance, and support. How true is that. Even one of my colleague stopped breastfeeding her baby because of what her mother said to her. So, persevere ladies!
5) You could consider few purchases that could help you breastfeed better. As for me, My Brest Friend nursing pillow is my the most indispensable item ever. Dinky Aeisyah couldn't latch well during the first 4 weeks. With the nursing pillow, I could comfortably positioned her during every feeding. With every feeding took up around an hour to two hour, having something to prop your elbow is good enough. Another item is a nursing bra. You could start shopping for your nursing bra in your third trimester. I bought mine when I was 37 weeks pregnant. I bought a cheapo one :) It doesn't hold my milk dud very well. Right now I'm using an Emma Jane nursing bra which has a good support, stretchy material with nice colour. Mine is Lilac! You could also buy a nursing shirt to wear during you confinement. If you choose to wear your daily shirt, it's fine but it would be hassle a bit. I bought two short sleeve and long sleeve nursing for starter. A box of breastpads also help if you always leak. I think the cheapest one could be Pureen's breastpads. I don't wear breastpads because I seldomly leak. My biggest regret on non-purchased item was a breastpump. Actually, breastpump is not a necessity. But, in my case it was. After my labor, my milk wasn't coming in. It was day 5 when the milk started coming in. Dinky Aeisyah was starving at that point. If I had a breastpump, I could pump in order to give the milk dud more stimulation. I found this on ask moxie and in The Nursing Mother's Companion that if you had and IV fluid during labor, which I had, it would cause an edema to the breast, and edema delays or reduces milk production. I don't know if this fact is being back up by a medical research or not. Since it make sense in my part, I might opt not to have an IV fluid for my next labor and see how it goes :)
Ok, I think that's all from me. If there is something that I forget about do let me know. All these suggestions are purely base on my unbiased experience.
3 comments:
i notice some private hospital mmg akan kasi formula kat baby even stated kat situ breastfeed baby.. tapi hospital gomen akan sapot kite breastfeed..sbb time i deliver dulu, susu i x kluar n arsyad x minum dh 2 hari & i ask nurse kat situ kasi sket formula tp nurse on duty tu x kasi but instead ajar i camne nak breastfeed my baby..dia siap lecture i pasal kebaikan breastfeed! so kene watch out jugak hospital private ni..
yeah.. betul i got such negative comments as well.. tak supportive sungguh.. but the thing yg buatkan i'm able to ebf is strong support from my husband... and about bg formula kat sepital tu, they i singed a form mintak nk breastfeed, tp susu takde, so diorang bg sket, guna sudu supaya baby tak lapar sgt
private hospital memang macam tu. Next delivery memang nekad nak mintak rooming with baby and gynae sign letter stated yg baby kita ni fully BF. Dah ada black and white lain sket harap2 nye.
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