Im 33yrs old mother of 3 kids Alhamdulillah. My breast feeding journey is not just a story of success but a story od failures, struggles disappointments, feelings of guilt and what not! All because despite all the efforts i failed to BF my first two kids..! I used to watch dozens of YouTube videos on latching..positions..and what not..i paid close to 90k (pkr equivalent) just to get the right guidance of breast feeding and yet i failed twice!
As the saying goes when you succeed you only know one way of doing something but each time you fail, you know how many ways NOT to do smth..so the 3rd time around i gave myself no room..i made it a do or die situation..”no matter what it takes im going to bf this child”
Things i did differently based on previous failures:
1. Invested in a good pump
2. Made sure no bottle is given in the hospital
3. Made sure baby is brought to me and i nurse within the golden hour
4. Made sure i am.ready to.give a shut up call even to my husband and mother ! Yes cos its the family memebers first abd later the doctors who discourage u to continue bfing. So even before the 3rd was born i was told agaib and again that my less than 2yr old will feel neglected. “New born ko tou koi bhi sambhal lega..tum betay ko ziada time dena”
“Bachi raat ko tang karegi..aik feeder zarur dena”
“Bachi bar bar bhooki hai..pait nhi bhar raha..feeder dedo”
Tumharr neend puri nhi hoti..dusray bachay ke liye time nhi milta..har waqt isko lagaye rakhti ho” The list continued..
But i was so firm.this time i listened to no one…thank god to the lockdown my mothers flight got cancelled too and she stayed to give much needed support to me..
However there were moments i was breaking down…
maybe i cant do this..i bottle fes the first two maybe im not making enough..
maybe im not meant for this..
how can this seemingly most natural thing be so exhausting and challenging??
I did not know about Hareem Sumbul at that time..it was on another group that i posted i query anonymously and the admin told me about Hareem. My first question to her was why i felt something was not ok with the latch this was after i had spent a big amount getting consultation from midwife ..a totally futile effort as she did not tell me anything I hadn’t known earlier…
This group was under formation at that time perhaps…but Hareem was very very supportive..even at the wee hours. Her tips helped me and most importantly encouraged me and made me think its all doable…
Fast forward…2 months later my MIL was shocked im still bfing my baby (there are 6 babies in the family and all were bottle fed) so it was a big achievement for me!!
4months into this journey..im still coping..still learning..reading all your posts and comments gives me strength and im totally loving this blessed time im having with my baby! And the cherry on top..im able to give some expressed milk to my 2yr old son too better late than never…
