Perhaps my experience in breastfeeding my son isnt really much tougher than other moms out there. Nevertheless the experience (should i express in past tense?think no...coz I still do breastfeed!) bears so much feelings : at times I was happy, some other time I was stressed.
Like any other moms, I once thought that every mom naturally would be able to breastfeed their baby without much effort been put towards it. It appeared that I was wrong. I still remember the moment Umar was brought to my chest while I was lying on the bed getting the stitching process done by the doctor. Nurse gently pulled my shirt up and let Umar suckle for the first time in his life. She then gave a good remark on how good Umar was at it. Alhamdulillah! The next best thing is when I was shown that yellowish gold liquid called collostrum, the best immunity Allah has ever created. And Umar got the chance to have that, very lucky lil boy!
Before delivery took place, I bought several items in preparation of receiving our BOJ. Among others was of course the breast pump. I always thought that breastpump is one of the must haves during confinement, I always see it during mom's and my aunties' confinement period. So I brought myself a very basic Pureen manual BP that cost RM17.90.
Like normal preggers, I gained over 10kg during pregnancy. I read somewhere that BF can expedite loss of weight. So I ate and ate without counting how many calories that I took under pretext that nevermind I eat a lot , by BF the extra calories would be burnt just like that. It turned out that I was totally wrong! On the other hand it help me producing more than enough milk for Umar (yes, when I eat, milk will come out aplenty. If not, it turn the other way round).
When going back to work was imminent, I started to think about getting a better BP. I googled and bumped into an online forum where BF moms unite. I searched through every topic especially on good BP. I decided to buy Medela Mini-E, a single breastpump with lower-than lawnmower noisy sound. The urge to upgrade my BP became intense as the office workload became heavier. At last I opted for Medela Freestyle after considering the double pumping and mobility it offers.
Ever since Umar was born, I never had my proper sleep pattern. Forget about the undisturbed sleep with such a wakeful kid. Every now and then Umar would wake up and ask for booby thing. The difference is, while he was a baby he rose to fill up his growing tummy whereas in his current toddler age, he does so just for comfort (other form of bantal busuk i guess). Ohhhh how I envy my snoring hubby!
I consider myself lucky as I never had those bf related disorder such as mastitis or the likes. Alhamdulillah. I cant imagine how could I go through if I were to have that. There was time when I was so busy in the office I couldnt have a chance to pump out and my B got awfully engorged it caused unbearable pain. It turned into lumps at certain area and I tried to subside it with hot towel every now and then. It dint work so the doctor prescribed me some medicine and Alhamdulillah it relieved not long after that.
What is the secret of successful breastfeeding? Communication. Moms should communicate what are their needs and concerns to husband, family or relatives and also the EMPLOYER. I practised that. I explained to my superior that Im bf , and i pump at the office and that I do concern about my privacy. Due to space constraint, most of the officers got to share rooms with each other. I pleaded not to be stationed in the same room as male officers and my superior gave a nod to my request given the above reason.
Sometimes I was given an excuse not to attend certain event or programme just because I couldnt keep distant from my baby. Even without my prior request. Most of the times when a programme was made compulsory the secretariat would allocate a room for me in case I'd bringing my family along though I have to bear extra charges. In one occasion, upon the end of a programme all participants were made known that late checkout was allowed by the hotel management subject to limited number of rooms. I begged that my room would be included as I badly need the fridge to store my EBM. Eventually the secretariat decided that priority should be given to senior officers thus my room wasnt in the list. Of course frustation came in. But with Allah's will and power, one of the room was by mistake couldnt be held in such extension and hence substituted with my room. Syukran Ya Allah!I could think nothing but a hikmah Allah showed to His servant.
My point of writing this is nothing related to showing off or causing jealousy to others. My true intention is to inspire all moms out there to bf their kids. BFing means you are giving the best for your baby, one of the many best creations Allah has bestowed His mankind. Practise a positive mind, and align your intention just for the sake of Allah as He encouraged in the Furqan. InsyaAllah, Mommy boleh!
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