Liquid gold- the journey

Having had a number of young cousins, I had always known breastfeeding was one of the most natural things ever and was absolutely sure everything would go miraculously smooth once the baby was born. Boy, was I in for a shock!

The colustrum is the first milk that comes out as soon as the baby is born and must be given to the child within an hour of delivery. Apart from the mandate six months of exclusive breastfeeding, this was the only other piece of information I knew.

I had read a lot about the deep latch and had assumed every baby would invariably latch deep soon!

I had conveyed the breastfeeding bit to my doctor and when V was born, he was put to my breast. Oh, not at all the way one would want the baby put to breast! The baby was held by a nurse who pinched my nipples and brought him close to my breast, where he frantically searched and placed his lips, for a few seconds barely, before he was taken to the NICU.

He was given to me three hours later and by then, already been fed some formula 🤦🏻‍♀️

Once he was given to us, we had ample amount of skin to skin and he latched. All I knew back then was that he had to latch deeply, but no matter how many attempts, he would still not latch deep enough. At the end of every feed, my nipples would either be creased or flattened. Having close to flat nipples did not help either🤦🏻‍♀️ I thought it would get better with time but as time progressed, it only got worse with extended hours of nursing and blanched nipples. My condition became so worse that I had milk blisters and insurmountable amount of pain every time I fed! All this within 10 days of his birth. We booked an appointment with a lactation consultant and met her when V was 15 days old. He was suspected to have a tongue and lip tie, and birth trauma(think induced delivery coupled with the baby taken away from the mother soon after birth!). We went in for a couple of sessions of craniosacral therapy but it wasn’t getting any better. At 30 days, we met a preventive paediatric dentist and V was diagnosed with tongue and lip ties. We got them released the same day and breastfeeding has been a smooth journey then on. There are glitches here and there but we manage to wade through it all the time. We successfully completed 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding and started baby led weaning, and it has been going well so far!

This is my breastfeeding journey with Vishwa. Having gone through a number of hurdles, there are a few things I wish expecting parents knew, which would help them deal with the whole thing a lot better.

Be informed
Read up and learn about breastfeeding, and be prepared before childbirth. Learn about the golden hour, the deep latch, and various breastfeeding positions. There are a lot of online classes out there for this as well!

Join support groups
Groups like “Breastfeeding support for Indian Mothers”, “La Leche League” are wonderful platforms to get credible information. Being in a support group also helps you immensely in dealing with issues, while giving you the confidence and courage to tackle them.

DO NOT GET STRESSED.
Very rarely, especially for first time mothers, one can see milk flowing out on day 1 itself, if tried to express. But don’t worry or get stressed, the baby will be able to extract milk.

Don’t doubt your supply. Babies need very little milk in the initial few days of their life(their tummies are only that big!) So a baby not drinking as per your expectation or being latched on doesn’t necessarily mean milk is not enough. A sleeping baby could be a well satiated baby(post regaining birth weight) and a baby latched on for quite long could be cluster feeding/ comfort nursing which are both normal. N.b. this is when a baby latches well and there are no problems whatsoever in feeding! As long as the pee and poop count is fine, please don’t worry!

A good latch needs learning, both from the mother and the baby. Like all processes, this comes with time and practice. Keep trying to get a deep latch every time you feed!

Do (not) watch what you eat!
This works both ways. As long as it’s not galactagogues, you can eat anything in moderation. Taking galactagogues in the early stages may lead to oversupply and engorgement issues. But if you crave some spicy chicken, please go for it! Stay hydrated and stick to a nutritious diet.

Do NOT set schedules

Do you eat at the same time everyday,and do you eat the same amount everyday??! No, right? Same goes for babies. They are smart and they know what they need. Trust the baby! Once the birth weight is regained, feed on demand, without timing it and worrying yourself.

Do not compare your breastfeeding journey with anybody else’s. This is the most unique and special relationship for you and your baby to cherish, and is going to be different for every mother, with every baby. So, please revel in the moments you get!

Meet a trained professional. Breastfeeding should not hurt. Don’t “adjust” and let it be. It might be okay for you but if breastfeeding is painful for you, the baby might be finding it as hard too. Meet a lactation counselor, someone who is trained to help you have a smooth breastfeeding journey.

There’s nothing more empowering than being better informed and taking decisions based on well researched information. Breastfeeding forms the foundation of all the child’s physiological, psychological, and behavioral functions, so it’s imperative that we try our best to protect it!

Have a happy Breastfeeding journey, dear mommas! And dear daddies, please be supportive, hand her a cuppa, give her a massage, prop a pillow behind her back, and stand by her when nobody else does. This is your journey as much as it is the mother’s (well, almost👻)!