It's June. And that only means one thing. Umar's turning one this 28th. Oh my gosh. He's ONE?? ONE. It's been a hell of a roller coaster ride, but I am so so so grateful of these things : - I managed to breastfeed him till he's one. (that was my goal. At least until he turns one.) - I managed to NOT get pregnant yet (without any contraceptive devices or medications - except breastfeeding) - He's well-fed now. Alhamdulillah. Ever since we moved, he eats at least THREE times a day now. But despite the happiness, i am also pretty worried and sad. Those who are close with me, they'll know. But in time, i hope these worries will disappear and everything will turn out alright. Umar's next checkup is a day after his birthday and i am just hoping that it'll be good. Happy 1st Birthday, my baby boy. You're one year old now. You've yet to walk, crawl or even feed on your own. But most people are telling Ibu not to worry and that you...
Hello! It's been quite awhile since I wrote, so I was inspired to write about my breastfeeding journey.
It is probably one of my greatest achievements. (haha)
When I first gave birth to Umar, of course I had difficulties adjusting and it was tough, as any other new mummies had went through. It was painful, frustrating and lots of tearing up in the shower. It got to the point where I bled. Yes. And you still have to breastfeed as per normal. What i read and found out was, the saliva from your baby's mouth has enzymes that will heal your cracked n. (mummies will know what the n. is for la ha...) Some mummies say use cream, some do this, some do that. For me, i tried cream but it didn't work... Plus, how you going to put cream and then let your baby nurse?? So i'd only put cream when Umar is sleeping and not nursing but personally, it did not help me at all.
Now, this is normal until you get used to it.
At that point of time, I did not think i will continue breastfeeding. While I was pregnant, I aimed to breastfeed until Umar is at least 1 year old. Better yet if I can nurse him up to 2 years. But in the middle of it all, I got really tired. I didn't know how to adjust to the schedule- if I have to wake Umar up, or he will just wake up when he wants milk. I was completely clueless, but i refused to really succumb to what other people would say. (haha stubborn old me.)
So when he was still new to the world, I let Umar sleep and sometimes I "dream feed" him. Umar nurses a lot and I just got tired of being engorged allll the time. (you may have nice, full boobs but it really is painful!!!)
Anyway, people told me to pump, so I did. But i didn't know what for.
"I am with Umar 24/7."
"Do i really need to pump?"
Those questions stuck in my head. So, being a new mum, i pumped anyway. Either via machine or manually in the shower. (because i thought like, i'm going to be engorged in the next hour, and Umar will be drinking again, so alas, no need to pump when i am lazy.)
I also gave Umar formula when he was a newborn, sometime around 1 month+? And he actually took formula milk very very easily, masha Allah. He was not fussy at all.
So since I also had night classes back then, I used to change between nursing and formula milk. Also, around 3-5 months, he was really difficult and kept waking up to feed. So what I'd do is, i'd feed him formula at night so he'd sleep longer at night. In 1 day, he'd get 2-3 feeds of 150ml formula.
(Note that whenever i feed him formula, most times he'd regurge.)
Then, we went to Abu Dhabi when he was around 6 months and that's when my sis told me that i can start feeding him solids (baby food). We tried and he accepted it. Alhamdulillah. When he started solids, I was told to stop formula completely. And so i did stop formula and continued breastfeeding him like normal. Now, at 9mths, when i tried to give him formula, he didn't want formula anymore.
So alhamdulillah, it was a tough journey but just a note to all to-be mummies out there......
Have patience and persevere. If you are not strong, Allah wouldn't gift you the gift that's in your tummies/hands now. The storm will only pass by. It is not permanent. That is what I can assure you.
It is probably one of my greatest achievements. (haha)
When I first gave birth to Umar, of course I had difficulties adjusting and it was tough, as any other new mummies had went through. It was painful, frustrating and lots of tearing up in the shower. It got to the point where I bled. Yes. And you still have to breastfeed as per normal. What i read and found out was, the saliva from your baby's mouth has enzymes that will heal your cracked n. (mummies will know what the n. is for la ha...) Some mummies say use cream, some do this, some do that. For me, i tried cream but it didn't work... Plus, how you going to put cream and then let your baby nurse?? So i'd only put cream when Umar is sleeping and not nursing but personally, it did not help me at all.
Now, this is normal until you get used to it.
At that point of time, I did not think i will continue breastfeeding. While I was pregnant, I aimed to breastfeed until Umar is at least 1 year old. Better yet if I can nurse him up to 2 years. But in the middle of it all, I got really tired. I didn't know how to adjust to the schedule- if I have to wake Umar up, or he will just wake up when he wants milk. I was completely clueless, but i refused to really succumb to what other people would say. (haha stubborn old me.)
So when he was still new to the world, I let Umar sleep and sometimes I "dream feed" him. Umar nurses a lot and I just got tired of being engorged allll the time. (you may have nice, full boobs but it really is painful!!!)
Anyway, people told me to pump, so I did. But i didn't know what for.
"I am with Umar 24/7."
"Do i really need to pump?"
Those questions stuck in my head. So, being a new mum, i pumped anyway. Either via machine or manually in the shower. (because i thought like, i'm going to be engorged in the next hour, and Umar will be drinking again, so alas, no need to pump when i am lazy.)
I also gave Umar formula when he was a newborn, sometime around 1 month+? And he actually took formula milk very very easily, masha Allah. He was not fussy at all.
So since I also had night classes back then, I used to change between nursing and formula milk. Also, around 3-5 months, he was really difficult and kept waking up to feed. So what I'd do is, i'd feed him formula at night so he'd sleep longer at night. In 1 day, he'd get 2-3 feeds of 150ml formula.
(Note that whenever i feed him formula, most times he'd regurge.)
Then, we went to Abu Dhabi when he was around 6 months and that's when my sis told me that i can start feeding him solids (baby food). We tried and he accepted it. Alhamdulillah. When he started solids, I was told to stop formula completely. And so i did stop formula and continued breastfeeding him like normal. Now, at 9mths, when i tried to give him formula, he didn't want formula anymore.
So alhamdulillah, it was a tough journey but just a note to all to-be mummies out there......
Have patience and persevere. If you are not strong, Allah wouldn't gift you the gift that's in your tummies/hands now. The storm will only pass by. It is not permanent. That is what I can assure you.
At the end of the day, it WILL be worth it.
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