Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding was something that I probably should have given a little more thought to prior to giving birth to Jory. While I had gone to a breastfeeding class, I still felt like I probably should have taken it more seriously and prepared myself better. It was so overwhelming that as soon as I gave birth, it was expected that I could nurse him automatically. There I was after having gone through the whole ordeal of giving birth, and having not slept for basically a couple of days, facing the fact that I had to feed this baby and he was counting on me to provide him with what he needed.

Thankfully, I could probably be seen as a mother that actually didn’t have too many problems with breastfeeding although it was something that didn’t come as naturally as I had hoped. Many mothers that I have talked to, reported having much more problems with their babies latching as well as milk production issues. For me, I mostly had a frustrating first night, but by the second day, baby and me started to get the hang of it and we haven’t had any problems since. I have also been lucky in terms of milk production since I continue to have lots of milk for baby and it is now over a year now to date.

Medela Swing Pump

Medela Mini Electrip Pump
Relating to breastfeeding, pumping has basically been the bane of my existence for the last year. It pains me to think of the countless hours that have been spent sitting around watching my pump doing its work. The pump that I have been using is the Medela Swing. I’m quite happy with it although it did start malfunctioning a bit in the last little while: shutting off on its own randomly. I have a feeling that it may have been a tad overworked though in this last year. Originally, a friend had given me a Medela Mini Electric pump, and it was horrible. I couldn’t believe the lack of power and its noisiness. Considering the small price difference (the Swing retails for approximately $200, and the Mini Electric is approximately $135), it seems foolish to even bother with the Mini Electric. I think that hand expressing is probably as effective or maybe even more effective than using the Mini Electric!

For the last little while, one of my main concerns is weaning particularly since I am now back at work. I was hoping that my breastfeeding days would be over or finishing up, but it doesn’t seem that baby is ready at this point. We have been trying to give him regular homo milk on occasion but he does not seem to want it, so I am left feeling like I need to breastfeed to ensure he gets enough milk. Such as with everything else that comes with motherhood, I guess I have to play it by ear. I have learned that every child is different and I cannot have expectations about what is supposed to happen at a certain time. Many people will tell you their beliefs, but only you can decide what is right for your child. For my sake, I can only hope that it will happen sooner rather than later.