Sharing the goodness of breastfeeding

For those of you who know me, you already know that I am a breastfeeding (Bfg) fanatic. For those of you who do not know me, well, I am.

I did not start out to be one though. When I was pregnant with Ryan, I already decided to feed him with infant formulae and even researched on which was a better one. All things changed when a nurse at the hospital gave us a Bfg talk after our delivery. From that moment on, I decided that there will be no other milk but mine!

Hubby was a little confused because we had already decided on the type of milk to buy. When I got home, I just threw out the can, he was not very happy with me tossing out RM50!!

After 3 years of bfg, including 2 years of pumping, Ryan decided that he had had enough and weaned himself. After ending one journey, I started another one with Megan. This time, I knew for certain that she will not be fed infant formulae, although there were a couple of feedings done during the first night at the hospital - I was in too much pain.

From the third day onwards in the hospital, I had major engorgement and began pumping. While there were some feeds which I was too tired to do, the nurses used my expressed milk to feed Megan. Later I found out that the hospital charges infant formulae by the ounces fed - aiks, no wonder Ryan's bill came up a lot more than Megan's!

Anyway, I digress. This post was meant to say how I shared the goodness of bfg. In a visit to the ped some days ago, there was another couple there who wanted to know how to put the baby on a 4-hour feeding schedule. The baby was only a month old and I guess the mother must have been losing some sleep over feeding the baby.

The ped, seeing me there, asked me to talk to the new parents and share my experience. For a brief 10 minutes I felt like I was really helping the baby and his parents, for a brief 10 minutes I felt like I was making a difference to their lives.

The father asked how did I manage to bfg even though I was working, I said I pumped 3-4 times a day. He whistled in admiration. I also told them about my initially painful cracked nipples and the father buried his face into his hands, obviously trying to feel the pain his wife was suffering. But the good thing was, all these problems could be solved easily by correct latch-on positions and perseverance. Of course, the lactation consultant was invaluable too (who happens to me my kids' ped - how great is that?!).

After all the talking, the father was a little disappointed to know that we cannot schedule a bfg baby. They are the kings and queens and their little tummies are the rulers of OUR schedule. It's called feed on demand. With Ryan, he was demanding a feed every 2 hours. Megan is a little further apart although there were times I was feeding her 2-3 times in an hour. But I take these as times I bond with them, times where I look into their tiny faces and wonder about their future.

I feel very blessed to have been able to breastfeed successfully and I would like to share its goodness in every way I can. The best thing about it is, it's free and it is custom made to my babies!!