Thanka2, congrats!! It is so amazing always to hear someone like you to be able to endure all the patience and pains of breast feeding. I only manage to breastfeed my gal for 2 months as I totally have no determination to continue even though I am a full time mom! And it is one of my biggest regret when comes to caring for my Gal.
Now that I am expecting my second child, I am really looking forward to breast feed again and wanting it to last as long as I can. Can you share some of your tips?? ESP when breast is engorged or when nipples became sore?? Did you engage any help from lactation consultant?
Thanks in advance!
For me with my second child it had a lot to do with her personality as well. She was simply easier to breastfeed in almost every way. So, I can't take credit for that. She just had good breastfeeding skills from the beginning and was more of a "snuggly" baby so it was easier to breastfeed her. She also had a good schedule from the beginning--sleeping through the night at a fairly early age.
Other than that, I think it's important to have the right attitude. In my case, especially, in the beginning, I had to take it "one day at a time" and not let myself get too overwhelmed--especially when I had pain and struggles. This time around I did get mastitis once. I basically went on
Dr. Newman's site as well as KellyMom.com and followed the suggestions for dealing with mastitis. I had a fever and had chills so I crawled into bed with my little girl and we basically rested and breastfed for two or three days. I also had to breastfeed her while on my knees rotating like a clock to unclog the milk ducts. That was really useful because finally got the clogged duct unclogged--it was SO PAINFUL but that was the only way. Basically I just told myself things like, "This too shall pass..." and "The only way over a problem is through it..."
Also, the lady who works for us as a domestic helper was of huge assistance. With my first child I didn't have any extra help so when problems like this came up and my husband was away in China at work I had to deal with everything on my own. It's always good to have people on hand to help, I think.
I knew a lot more about nutrition and herbal remedies this time around with this baby so I was on an excellent supplement and also had to get on a better vitamin D and calcium supplement which helped me a lot. For a time I used domeridone which was such a lifesaver. I've been really big on eating a lot of raw greens (spinach especially) this time around and that has helped a lot with my milk supply.
And this time around, I just know how to tune people out if I need to. I came to realize that not every breastfeeding mother or advocate is the best person to help me. Even if they happen to know a lot sometimes their approach may not be that useful or actually more frustrating, confusing and upsetting than it's worth. Instead, I got a lot of wonderful help from some of the leaders at La Leche League in HK. They are amazing and I highly recommend joining LLL if you can. The LLL leaders are really experienced but also respectful and unassuming. They seem to not come from a "lactivist" stand-point but are more interested in listening to you and really helping you suss out the solutions to your own problems. Usually us mamas do have the solution for our own problems already we just need someone to help us become aware of it. LLL Leaders in HK are great at this!
Hope you have a very enjoyable breastfeeding time this time around, Leta.
