Breastfeeding - Keep It Up Mothers, You Can Do It

Assalamualaikum..

Sharing my 1st note on breastfeeding (dated 9 January 2011) :-

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The family started our 2011 at PCMC, with nurses and doctors, tests and x-rays, and after 5 hrs chaos in ER, we were finally given our own room to rest.

The misery not end there. My lil' princess was diagnose with 3 infectious viruses, one of which was the killer H1N1. Yes,its attack mostly the vulnerable group i.e children, pregnant ladies. To our surprise though, till now, no proven medication to cure the virus, the best my Pediatrician Doctor (PD) said, he will try to cure the symptoms and hope my lil princess's body would do the miracle.

We were left to pray.  I remember signing lots of papers, one was for the blood transfusion but I could not remember any details of them, none. And truthfully, I never pray that hard, and wish Allah will help us, will bless us this one time. And Allah does listen to us,my lil princess finally woke up and asked for food, and Alhamdulillah, everything goes well after that.

However, this is not the story I wish to share, it is what we discovered then, that I wish to dedicate to all mothers and fathers:out there.

My PD and I had this long discussion. He never expected the recovery would be this soon, considering this was the first time (for him) a 2 years old had all the deadly 3 viruses, and he said we sent her very late, the lung was in terrible condition, its affected almost the whole respiratory system. Nevertheless, when the last antibiotic worked, its just proved him one thing. My lil princess's antibody is tougher than what was originally expected, and he said only one natural way to develop it, through colostrum in breast milk (BM). He said don't feels sorry for being the looser mother (ok..i was crying almost for the whole duration we were warded :p), instead, I should be proud as I gave my lil' princess the only gift that was rightfully hers.  

To my friends, the mothers:

I breastfed (BF) my lil princess in full-term for one year. Forced to stop as I needed to take medication that would possibly harm her. I still continue the BF , though not fully until my lil princess reached 2 yrs and 6 months. It was not an easy task. Trust me. I remember working 7-10, and also studying for my MBA. I remember needed to excuse myself in interval to express the BM. Needed to do extra hour to recover the time I used to express. I still remember I carried the cooler bag in my backpack, transit at one airport to another when I was on business trips. I had one time,placed my cooler bag in the refrigerator at Starbucks, Bangkok, since my flight was delayed and I don't want to spoil my BM.I remember planning my diet, and ate everything that people said will increase the milk supply. I also remember the remarks, and the looks whenever they know that I was actually BF my lil princess (surprisingly, there are still few orthodox that think BM is cheap and low status). My point is, please do BF your baby. Yes, you will find it difficult. You will think your milk supply is insufficient, you will feels your baby is still hungry, or worst you think the baby favor bottle milk than your own. That are all ONLY challenges.The mind game.You can overcome it.You can work around it. Have the determination. Have the will power.Please do.

To my friends, the fathers:

Well, its all about morale support. Understand when to chip in, knowing when to lend your shoulder, and when to just sit down and listen. Don't be kid yourself, think that your wife loves your baby more than you, or that she gives more attention to them. It just a psychology's trick. Encourage your wife to BF, and help her throughout the process.Please do.

Good Luck buddies !! :)