Why Not to Give-up Breastfeeding Soon?

Breastfeeding a baby is one the safest and wisest decision you can take for your child, but don’t let the initial hitches make you change your mind. Here a mother shares her own experience.

With a new baby comes new challenges, and a lot of times young moms especially first-timers like me, face a challenge or should I say a “choice” called breastfeeding. When I was pregnant, I had a lot of questions and curiosity on the topic of breastfeeding. How will the first time experience be? What would I feel? And most importantly. Should I or should I not Breastfeed? If I do then should it be exclusive/non-exclusive? For how long should I breastfeed? On and on and so on – Super confusing! Phew! [Know - Breastfeeding Benefits for Baby and Mother] 
 

How Do You Decide Not to Give-up Breastfeeding Soon?

I was lucky enough to attend pre-birth classes, which gave me a complete insight into the real deal behind breastfeeding. Until then I believed that Breastfeeding comes super-easy to any new mom. The first thing that I learned was that while feeding your baby is completely natural, it may take you some time and requires mastering and setting the rhythm with the baby.

This is where I come to the most important part of this article, which is, a lot of times moms give up breastfeeding after a disappointing start, not realizing it is a hasty decision that may have long-term repercussions. [Read - How You Can Actually Plan Breastfeeding?]

I was a new mom and the first two nights breastfeeding my daughter was not only exhausting since I was tired from being in labor but also extremely frustrating. So frustrated that I was tempted to give up the idea altogether. However the third night I took advice from a lactation expert in the hospital and things started picking up.

Breastfeeding is a learning process at which you get better only with time. You have to give yourself and your baby "TIME" and "PATIENCE" to learn how to breastfeed and make it a cherishing experience for both of you.

Tips to Help Breastfeed Your Child Longer

If you do choose to breastfeed, I am enlisting below a few tips from my own experience, which might help you in making an informed decision and of course, breastfeed your child longer -

1. You may not get it right the first time – the baby will not latch on you like a magnet! Try getting help from a nurse, elder one in the family, or a lactation expert if you are struggling. Make sure you do not stress and just be patient with your baby. There will be times when your baby is howling with hunger and you won’t be able to help him latch. Just take a deep breath and try again.

2. Exclusive v/s non-exclusive – This simply means whether or not would you be supplementing your breastfeed (bf) with top feed (tf) or formula feed (ff). After a few initial glitches, I was very confident to bf my child for the first six months. I also learned that If you want to avoid tf or ff, you can easily give your own expressed milk. There are plenty of manual and mechanical breast pumps available in the market. It’s a solution that many moms are adopting since it’s a solution which gives you flexibility and doesn’t devoid your baby from your feed.

3. Don’t shy away from breastfeeding in public- When I first asked my doctor if I could introduce ff to my child since I wanted to go out, he told me “ ask your hubby to buy you a stole !” I was taken by a surprise and when I thought about it, his statement gave me a lot of confidence. Feeding your child in a public place is nothing to be shy of. And people who have a problem can simply just mind their own business. I have managed to bf my baby in a flight, malls, hotels, cars, beach and most public places you can think of.

4. Breastfeeding helps you bond and relax - after the first few days, I started to actually look forward to breastfeeding my daughter. It gave me a chance to be alone with my baby, giving her undivided attention. The door was shut and suddenly we were alone without the typical hustle-bustle of a house when a new baby is born. I used to often play soothing music or a simple Gayatri mantra while feeding my daughter. Remember stress decreases your milk flow.

5. Don’t be scared of sore breasts - Initially, there might be days when you are going to end up having sore breasts. I had this funny painful lump under my underarm due to swelling of milk ducts. I got really nervous but surprisingly a gentle massage helped in decreasing the swelling. There are many home remedies and over the counter stuff to help moms relax their sore breasts. Just call your doctor and find out what suits you best.

6. Breastfeeding helped me in losing weight- One of the many surprising effects of breastfeeding was that I lost a lot of my pregnancy weight. I am not sure of the medical details but this is something I noticed especially in the initial 2 months. A bit of small advice - Make sure you drink tons of lukewarm water while you feed your baby. I always had my thermos at the bedside. This will keep you hydrated. [Read - How to Breastfeed Longer With Ease?] 

There are no two thoughts over the fact that breastfeeding our baby is one of the best health choices we can make for our little ones. We are lucky we belong to a generation where there are so many options available that equip a mom to make this wonderful choice and sustain it for as long as possible.