What Breastfeeding Taught Me

When Yanna was born, I decided to exclusively breastfeed only for the first 6 months to give her ample nutrition that she needs. The first 2 weeks were difficult. Yanna's latching was poor and so I had cracked nipples and it was VERY painful feeding her. I remember myself crying and practically begging my hubby to permit me to stop breastfeeding. He got mad and told me to endure it for the sake of the baby. My exact thoughts that very moment: "OMG he loves the baby more than me! Siya kaya ang mag breastfeed!!!" As usual, the obedient wife that I am, I endured the pain. I was crying helplessly whenever Yanna feeds. I felt pity for me. I thought breastfeeding is supposed to be a very lovely moment between mom and baby but why is it so difficult???

Then I realized, this is what Motherhood is! Being able to sacrifice for the sake of your precious little one. Gone are the self glorifying days from Day 1 of Motherhood. As soon as I learned that lesson, it lessened the pain until we were able to breastfeed smoothly. Now I am very glad that hubby insisted on it because at 5 months, Yanna was hospitalized for pneumonia. I remember how stressed I was when hubby called me at work to let me know of the diagnosis. I immediately left the office to take care of her. I was puzzled thinking that I have been exclusively breastfeeding her but why did she get pneumonia? Doctor said that it's not 100% illness-free with breastfeeding but a breastfed child's illness will only take a shorter time. This was true since Yanna was only hospitalized for 2.5 days and she was still very energetic during her hospital stay. It could've been worse if she was not breastfed.

So I continued giving her breastmilk beyond 6 months. At work, my breastpump is my best friend. Pumping milk is such a task especially if you're always busy at work! I had to squeeze it in my busy schedule. I'm glad that my boss and officemates then were supportive of it. A support group like that is very key for a working mom to continue milk pumping.

I'm glad to say that I have been breastfeeding her for 13 months now. I consider that as my achievement as a mom because I know how difficult it is! I'm just really lucky to have a very supportive husband, family and friends who kept me inspired to continue on. So what lessons have I learned from our breastfeeding journey? I learned patience, selflessness, time management and I learned to love this demanding, biting, clingy and chubby little sucker :)

For breastfeeding tips, you may read: http://www.askdrsears.com/?q=topics/breastfeeding.

Mommy May