My Breastfeeding Story: by Yensri Y.
I'd like you to meet Breastfeeding mama, Yensri Yen. She is the mother of two wonderful children. A 7-year-old son and a 9-month old daughter. Yensri, wants to share her journey to show that you too can be successful on your journey. And, although her journey isn't the "perfect" breastfeeding story, she is doing it and you can too! This mama wanted me to also share that English is not her first language so she has done her best to tell her story as clear as possible. ( I think you did a GREAT job =))
READ ALL ABOUT HER BREASTFEEDING STORY ↓. AFTER FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET US KNOW IF YOU CAN RELATE.
My Breastfeeding Story:
Breastfeeding has never come easily to me... I was so confident about breastfeeding my LO. I thought it would be super easy. Just get the baby to latch onto your breast right?! I was so wrong. Information about breastfeeding was just so little, I could only rely on my own parenting experience.
I never thought that it would be so hard for me to BF my son when he was born. *both via c-sect*. I gave birth to him at 6 pm the next morning I had engorgement. The nurse brought him to me, and I was left with NO FURTHER INFORMATION... I had no idea what to do. I didn't know what the "correct latch" looked like or where to even start. It was so bad...so so so bad that I wished my baby would stop sucking at times. When I told my mom that it was painful, she said its NORMAL for the first time..and I just believed that. No matter how painful it was, I didn't want to give up.
Days passed by and my son still couldn't latch on well, every time I bf, my nips would bleed. There was a point where I was so afraid to BF my baby, but I was way too stubborn to give up. One day my sister told me that I shouldn't bf him directly. I could pump my milk and feed him from a bottle. I agreed and I felt so much relief afterwards. Trying to get him to latch correctly was just too painful. But, another thing came up. I could only pump when my breasts were full and it became a NIGHTMARE...I got engorgement, clogged duct and a mastitis on BOTH BREASTS. My fever had reached 104. I tried to BF my baby, but he refused to latch. I tried to pump and nothing would come out. I tried massaging my breast, but I couldn't bare the pain. I also tried getting under a hot shower and that didn't help much either. This happened when my baby was just 40 days old. I called my mom and she told me to put cabbage leaves on my breasts and it worked and after that, my fever broke.
The next day, I went to see the doctor. He told me that I shouldn't feed my baby while I have plugged ducts and that I have to throw away my milk. I did it each time I pumped. I would always get around 8oz and I would pour my milk out. I was so stressed and I went into postpartum depression. I cried each time I had to throw away my milk. I cried whenever I saw my baby. I felt like a failure. I couldn't be a good mom. I was so down that my milk dried up and it's all because I wasn't given enough information about BREASTFEEDING.
7 years later, I gave birth to my baby girl. Since I had a very traumatized experience with breastfeeding before I decided to research and find out more info about bf. I prepared my self with a good pump. This time I bought a double electric pump. I didn't want to fail this time. I watched many videos on how to get baby to latch. I followed many bf accounts on IG and I'm in love with @thelactatingmama. I am so happy that I found her account.
Everything was going well, I BF directly from my breast and pumped. My milk came on the 3rd day after c-sect however it was only 5ml at that time. I pumped and pumped until so I could feed my baby with only breastmilk. The 5th day after she was born..she was completely on breastmilk. I only had 40 days of maternity leave so I needed to keep up with my milk stash. This time, my battle was with my mom. She told me that if I pumped my milk that it would dry up my production. Like what happened to my eldest child, but she should have known that it was because I was too stressful that dried up my milk. (And oh..I banned that doc, and if you are wondering why I went to gp..its because there wasn't any lactation consultant)
My mom said I wouldn't be able to bf my baby for a long time and how could I store my milk in the fridge? It will ruin the milk, as it gets rotten. But I simply ignored her and just explained what I had learned and it worked. I manage to bf and pump for a month and I take care of my babies by myself..no nannies and no helper..i only got my mom to help me cook. After I explained more about bf myth she is now more aware of it and she is very proud telling everyone that yes..my grandchild is taking breast milk and my daughter pumps too.
When my baby was 3 mo, she started to refuse to latch and then I thought, okay it's time for me to completely become an eping mama. Then came the problem... plugged duct after plugged duct and mastitis..only that this time, we have got a lactation consultant in the town. When mastitis attacked my milk went down like crazy. I used to be able to get 1400 ml/ day to only 700 at that time. I was so down and I shared a lot with @thelactatingmama. She was so kind. Whenever I was down I wrote her and she replied. Unlike other accounts that I follow. I swear she's the only one who replies. I love her. She's the best.
With continuous plugged ducts, sore nipps and blisters, many of my friends suggested me to give up. Even my husband because he pity me for not having proper sleep since I was in the last trimester of pregnancy until now..yeah mama's until now. But I don't listen to them as I know bf won't last forever. I need to give the best to my baby. I never set any goal of how long I will bf my baby. I keep telling myself, today I have succeeded and tomorrow is just another day. Now my baby is 9m and I couldn't keep up with how much I produce before. My milk is down to 500-600ml/day. I couldn't manage to stock any of my breastmilk. I was pumping 12 times a day and I am down to 4 times a day now. At first, I was in denial, I refused to accept the reality of how much was able to pump per day. I tried so hard by pumping more often, but the result is just the same. My husband told me that, if its time to stop breastfeeding, don't be too hard on yourself. You have done the best that you could. Now, I focus on feeding my baby instead of my freezer. And she is also eating solid.
So mama...Breastfeeding won't come easy. Everyone in my country says that we are PEJUANG ASI (BREASTMILK FIGHTER) thus there's no easy way because we are a FIGHTER. Don't give up. Believe in yourself and that you can do it. Be stubborn. Follow accounts that support bf. Join the forum and get some support. I never thought I could come this far, but mama I did. came from 5ml to a permanent breastmilk donator to the hospital until October. And until now, I still suffer from blisters in both nips but if I fought mastitis...a blister is nothing!! Stay positive mama! If you're lacking sleep, get energy from seeing your LO smile. You can do it...this mama @thelactatingmama ROCKS. Love you max 😘 I can never thank you enough. *hatsoff*
Notes from @thelactatingmama: It has been a pleasure helping you, Yensri. I'm so happy that I could be a help to you. You have come so far. You ROCK!!! GREAT JOB MAMA.