Our Breastfeeding Journey: Going 3 years!

C is currently feeding as I write this intro. I am thrilled to begin another chapter of my blogsite with topics about parenthood and family! My final entries were about the wedding preparations that we were doing leading up to the actual wedding day. And now, here we are! 5 years later, breastfeeding my toddler who is turning 3 next month, amidst a global pandemic. 

I would like my come-back entry to be about a topic that is really close to my heart, literally and figuratively.  Let us talk about BREASTFEEDING.

If you are a new parent struggling to breastfeed, and you have landed on this page, let me tell you that everything you do matters, and everything is worth it. I promise. Keep going.

Padede mom anywhere :)

Breastfeeding struggle in the early days

I gave birth via C-Section, and breastfeeding C for the first two weeks of his life has been one of the most challenging periods of my life, aside from the awful sleep deprivation. Our main problem is his latch. He couldn't latch properly. Fortunately, I am blessed with an abundant milk supply, but improper latch made it difficult for C to feed properly. 

C's baptism, 3 mos old

With situations like this, do not be afraid to seek the help of professionals. The earlier, the better. We sought the help of a lactation consultant and it was one of the best decisions ever. 

I was already engorged with milk at that time, and the LC gave me a lactation massage to express the milk. That helped a lot, it like "decongested" my milk ducts and made it easier for C to learn to latch and get some milk.

As an alternative when C couldn't really feed, we cup fed him. We cup fed him when I couldn't anymore soothe his cries of hunger, when he couldn't latch properly. It was the most awful feeling when your baby is hungry and tried to feed, but ends up crying and crying because he couldn't get milk. I cannot emphasize enough how stressful that was for me, and for most moms who experience the same. I will post more about the cup feeding topic soon.

My mom was instrumental in my success to breastfeed C. She would help me when she visited at home, and would also storm the Heaven with prayers. As well as my husband, who was very hands-on with C, and his cup feeding - he can even do this by himself.

After two weeks, we finally made it out of the tunnel!!! C was finally latching easily, it was the most normal thing. I am thankful because I have never experienced cracked or sore nips from breastfeeding, even up until now.

Working Mom x Breastfeeding Mom

Fast forward to the time that I have to get back to work after my maternity leave. I was determined to provide C with only breastmilk even when I had to get back to work, so I purchased all the gadgets and stuff I need to collect milk in my work place. I express milk twice while at work, in the morning (because I used to go to the office really early) and during or right after lunch time. I am fortunate to be able to do this at work, and I am really really grateful for that.

Everything I have used and how I did it I will discuss on a separate post. It took commitment, hard work and patience to breastfeed your little one while working, and I salute all fellow moms who are trying to do the same. Really, it's something you cannot put a price on. 💗

Diamond Boobs Award

My goal was to exclusively feed C with my breastmilk for at least the first 6 months of his life, but I was able to go on until his 1st birthday until we needed to supplement him with formula milk for 2 months. After this short period I was able to bounce back in my breastmilk collecting game, and we never looked back to formula milk since. I have never imagined that I would be able to breastfeed him for this long, given that I was working full time when he was born. "Diamond Boobs" is the highest award for breastfeeding 2 years and up - just for fun! I am sure you've read about this funny breastfeeding award system before. Now C is almost 3 years old, and I am still breastfeeding him - in fact right at this moment as I end this post. 😊 Diamond Boobs it is. ⟢

If you are struggling with breastfeeding and you think that what you've been doing is not enough, it is enough. If you have tried your very best, no matter how long you were able to breastfeed, you did enough, Mama. 💝

What breastfeeding topics do you want to read about?

Got some questions about breastfeeding? I will try my best to answer them based on my own personal experience and learning. Comment them down below 😘