scratchhead
Member
I have 2 beautiful terrors. Both had differing drinking patterns..this post states some of the learning experiences that I had with them. And I am sure their are other experiences from other moms out there that can be shared.
When I conceived my first child, I was determined to breastfeed(bf) my child for as long as I could. The pro-bf community has certainly made their voices heard. And so in preparation for the times ahead, like most first time mom, I went to attend pre-natal classes. They advised the types of foods that are nutritious, what foods to avoid, the science of bf (e.g 2 layers of milk, hormones involved, etc), what to do when engorged, you have inverted nipples, etc. So, I went off thinking if this is a natural thg ppl do in ancient days, certainly I could pull it off and thought nothing more of it. I then got myself fixated on the pains of delivery throughout my 20+ weeks of pregnancy instead.
I had a rather smooth first delivery. And though it was smooth, I was tired out by the lack of sleep and the whole delivery process. And so after giving birth, I decided to let the nurses wheel my child to the nursery to give me time to "recover" before embarking on bfing. That happened to be my first mistake as a mom. 2 hrs aft delivering, I decided that I have recovered and time to bite the bullet and do the "natural thing". That was then that it struck me that my baby would prefer sleeping over milk. No matter what I did, my baby juz slept. And so I tried this, that and nothing worked. Wat had they said in pre-natal class? Nvr let baby go 3 hrs or more on empty stomach ( tho they also said something like they have reserves to last for a day wo milk. So yes, I listen to what I wanted to listen). My baby will b hungry. And started blaming myself for deciding to rest earlier. In the end, I called in the nurses to my assistance. This was a difficult thing for me. Asking a stranger to guide the nipple to my baby was humiliating and a humbling experience for me. But if it is what it takes to master the skill, just do it at all cost. No sane nurse will look at your breast and remember it for life( I think). My first kid took about 2 days before tummy was rumbling for milk and opened mouth willingly. Amazingly, the reflexes for drinking of a child is instinctive. So no worries from day 2. And by end of day 3, my nipples were screaming in pain. My nipples cracked, I apply breast milk to soothe the pain! Tried the nipple creams too to no avail n so I juz tolerated the pain for 2/3 days and soon I got used to it and was on route to recovery.
The first month of bfing was a challenge on its own. I had both kids who drank on a consistent basis of 2 +/- hrs gap. I had no time to even begin thinking about expressing milk and bottle feed. And with my first, I only began bottle feeding when she was 2 months old. I had so much issues with cajoling her to take to the milk bottle and drinking from it. I think it took 2/3 weeks to break out from the latching on pattern. So, to all fellow moms who intend to bottle feed some day, pls start at about 1 month. Do not drag too long to introduce the bottle.
With my second kid, I had to go to US (~24 hrs journey flight). So I lugged my whole bf apparatus with me on the flight eg pumps, cooler box, coolant etc. and my hand carry luggage was a nightmare on its own. There were 2 transit flights in total. And during the first flight, I was diligently trying to pump. And then I realized that the plane on board was 110V AC power source with 2 strips flat adaptor socket. And so I went to get the adaptor head to convert from the sg source socket. Btw our sg socket is 240V. And so, I was happily grinning at myself for bringing the adaptor, I switched on my pump and realized that the suction didn't seem to match up to what I am used to. So lesson learnt, always bring batteries with u on trips. Anyway, somehow I manage to express some of the milk but as I transited between flights, I was "caught" in possession of liquids. So tho as it can be seen on the markings of the milk bag that it is obviously less than 100ml, it wouldn't cross their scrutiny. Simply because the volume of the bags exceeded 100ml. Seriously, I wonder what is the rationale of this. I could just bring empty milk bags and top it up with water or smthg if I really had intentions of manufacturing weapons. So yah, I had to painful part with my milk.... I guess if u had a baby with u, they may be more lenient to let the milk through, but the customs certainly looked as though what I carried was for real...
When I came back to sg, my milk supply was at an all time low. I think it was due in part cos of the change in time zone so rapidly, the stress of the whole trip etc. though I was stressed during that time period when supply was low, I guess if u stick to schedule to continually express your milk supply, it would eventually improve. At least that was the case for me.
To end off, I will talk about how I ended off my bf experience. I coincide this whole experience with a "traumatic" period eg. Work stress, menstruation etc. I also expressed only when I feel engorged and I express only small quantities to relief the stress. Hope this helps...
I am sure other moms have their own experience to share.... Hope this thread can serve as a good guide for first time mom-to-be.
Enjoy your breastfeeding journey
When I conceived my first child, I was determined to breastfeed(bf) my child for as long as I could. The pro-bf community has certainly made their voices heard. And so in preparation for the times ahead, like most first time mom, I went to attend pre-natal classes. They advised the types of foods that are nutritious, what foods to avoid, the science of bf (e.g 2 layers of milk, hormones involved, etc), what to do when engorged, you have inverted nipples, etc. So, I went off thinking if this is a natural thg ppl do in ancient days, certainly I could pull it off and thought nothing more of it. I then got myself fixated on the pains of delivery throughout my 20+ weeks of pregnancy instead.
I had a rather smooth first delivery. And though it was smooth, I was tired out by the lack of sleep and the whole delivery process. And so after giving birth, I decided to let the nurses wheel my child to the nursery to give me time to "recover" before embarking on bfing. That happened to be my first mistake as a mom. 2 hrs aft delivering, I decided that I have recovered and time to bite the bullet and do the "natural thing". That was then that it struck me that my baby would prefer sleeping over milk. No matter what I did, my baby juz slept. And so I tried this, that and nothing worked. Wat had they said in pre-natal class? Nvr let baby go 3 hrs or more on empty stomach ( tho they also said something like they have reserves to last for a day wo milk. So yes, I listen to what I wanted to listen). My baby will b hungry. And started blaming myself for deciding to rest earlier. In the end, I called in the nurses to my assistance. This was a difficult thing for me. Asking a stranger to guide the nipple to my baby was humiliating and a humbling experience for me. But if it is what it takes to master the skill, just do it at all cost. No sane nurse will look at your breast and remember it for life( I think). My first kid took about 2 days before tummy was rumbling for milk and opened mouth willingly. Amazingly, the reflexes for drinking of a child is instinctive. So no worries from day 2. And by end of day 3, my nipples were screaming in pain. My nipples cracked, I apply breast milk to soothe the pain! Tried the nipple creams too to no avail n so I juz tolerated the pain for 2/3 days and soon I got used to it and was on route to recovery.
The first month of bfing was a challenge on its own. I had both kids who drank on a consistent basis of 2 +/- hrs gap. I had no time to even begin thinking about expressing milk and bottle feed. And with my first, I only began bottle feeding when she was 2 months old. I had so much issues with cajoling her to take to the milk bottle and drinking from it. I think it took 2/3 weeks to break out from the latching on pattern. So, to all fellow moms who intend to bottle feed some day, pls start at about 1 month. Do not drag too long to introduce the bottle.
With my second kid, I had to go to US (~24 hrs journey flight). So I lugged my whole bf apparatus with me on the flight eg pumps, cooler box, coolant etc. and my hand carry luggage was a nightmare on its own. There were 2 transit flights in total. And during the first flight, I was diligently trying to pump. And then I realized that the plane on board was 110V AC power source with 2 strips flat adaptor socket. And so I went to get the adaptor head to convert from the sg source socket. Btw our sg socket is 240V. And so, I was happily grinning at myself for bringing the adaptor, I switched on my pump and realized that the suction didn't seem to match up to what I am used to. So lesson learnt, always bring batteries with u on trips. Anyway, somehow I manage to express some of the milk but as I transited between flights, I was "caught" in possession of liquids. So tho as it can be seen on the markings of the milk bag that it is obviously less than 100ml, it wouldn't cross their scrutiny. Simply because the volume of the bags exceeded 100ml. Seriously, I wonder what is the rationale of this. I could just bring empty milk bags and top it up with water or smthg if I really had intentions of manufacturing weapons. So yah, I had to painful part with my milk.... I guess if u had a baby with u, they may be more lenient to let the milk through, but the customs certainly looked as though what I carried was for real...
When I came back to sg, my milk supply was at an all time low. I think it was due in part cos of the change in time zone so rapidly, the stress of the whole trip etc. though I was stressed during that time period when supply was low, I guess if u stick to schedule to continually express your milk supply, it would eventually improve. At least that was the case for me.
To end off, I will talk about how I ended off my bf experience. I coincide this whole experience with a "traumatic" period eg. Work stress, menstruation etc. I also expressed only when I feel engorged and I express only small quantities to relief the stress. Hope this helps...
I am sure other moms have their own experience to share.... Hope this thread can serve as a good guide for first time mom-to-be.
Enjoy your breastfeeding journey
