I have always wanted to start blogging from a long time ago but could never really get my lazy ass to pen down something on an ONLINE Pseudo Diary- aka blog. Never in a million years would i have guessed that my first ever (unforgotten) blog page will be about "Breast....i mean breastfeeding & Pumping breastmilk"!!!
This is an account of how I prepared for one of the biggest challenges I am facing as a busy working Mom. - providing breast-milk for my baby despite the crazy work schedule, not having any time at work or a comfortable private place to pump.
After (not so)Little O was born, I was painfully bedridden for the first few weeks with a 4th degree tear that involved ~20 stitches over an inch into some of my muscles (yup the ones i never realized existed where they apparently did, until that day). As painful as those weeks were, it was still a luxury in terms of breastfeeding my baby exclusively. So I unintentionally and ignorantly failed to utilize the science of pumping excess breast milk in those initial few days when my bosom was overflowing with the so-called 'Liquid gold'- yup I am talking about breast-milk! Oh yes,ask any new mommy & she would know what i mean, the rest of you....wait until you reach that stage. And having an Indian mom & Mother-in-law later under the same roof also didn't help as I keep giving them minor heart attacks, every time I mentioned freezing breast-milk. "The poor baby needs to be breastfed and don't you dare cheat the little guy with a bottle", "People do what? Store breast-milk in the fridge?!?! For how long?!? That would be stale milk! Wouldn't it be like food poison", my mom would say and I would just succumb to it with no energy to argue.
After my Mom went back to India and after I was left with just 3 or 4 weeks before I had to resume work, I started panicking! 'What will I do once i go back to work? And NO! My BABY is NOT going to get any FORMULA!!! He deserves The best & if Breast-milk is the best, that's what he is going to get....no matter what', I decided. And so began the my quest. I equipped myself with madela breastpump, lactation cookies recipes, multiple youtube videos on various topics like 'How to create your own freezer stash of breastmilk', 'how to increase your milk supply' etc. All this started on April 1st 2014 "0-ZERO" breastmilk packs in the freezer.
Today is 29th April 2014 and am back to work already. I have managed to fill 3/4th of my deep freezer with the " Magic liquid"- ~80+ packs of 5Oz each.
(to be continued)
You may ask why? Why go through the trouble if it is as painful & challenging as i have portrayed it here. The simple answer is "I WANT THE BEST FOR MY LITTLE ONE....no matter How hard it is. I at least need to know that I did my best and God can take care of the rest.
But again, that would just be one of the million other things that I would have never guessed myself doing....including the biggie today - Pumping breastmilk while driving! Oh yes, go ahead picture the funny scene all you want : the 2 yellow Madela bottles dangling near the steering wheel with the seat belt awkwardly passing between them, occasionally moving to one side & putting pressure on one of the funnels. Poor little me trying to hide it all with my black leather jacket, atleast from the sideways from the stares of fellow drivers especially the ones in those mammoth trucks, looking down on us- the little minion-like drivers. My mind flashed images of many embarrassing possibilities...including the one in which i had to explain to the trooper/highway patrol what in the world was i upto!?!
Anyways, that pretty much sums up the most fruitful part of my first day back to work after my 'not-so-long' maternity time off. But hey, I Did it! Yup yup yup. I managed to find time & space to pump amid-st the impossible work routine I have. Unlike most working Moms who have a 9 to 5 job and a comfy office space, I have the pleasure of running around frantically all day long from one hospital to another, many miles apart with a crazy unpredictable schedule that is different everyday. So basically,my car is my pseudo office space with a non-existent privacy compartment for pumping.
And the good news is that 'If I could do it, then so could any of you strong mommies out there out there can too. But of-course you will need a little bit of preparation and some major equipment(s) to aid. Without further ado, I shall share with you all that i researched in a "one page-all-info-page". Here we go:
This is an account of how I prepared for one of the biggest challenges I am facing as a busy working Mom. - providing breast-milk for my baby despite the crazy work schedule, not having any time at work or a comfortable private place to pump.
After (not so)Little O was born, I was painfully bedridden for the first few weeks with a 4th degree tear that involved ~20 stitches over an inch into some of my muscles (yup the ones i never realized existed where they apparently did, until that day). As painful as those weeks were, it was still a luxury in terms of breastfeeding my baby exclusively. So I unintentionally and ignorantly failed to utilize the science of pumping excess breast milk in those initial few days when my bosom was overflowing with the so-called 'Liquid gold'- yup I am talking about breast-milk! Oh yes,ask any new mommy & she would know what i mean, the rest of you....wait until you reach that stage. And having an Indian mom & Mother-in-law later under the same roof also didn't help as I keep giving them minor heart attacks, every time I mentioned freezing breast-milk. "The poor baby needs to be breastfed and don't you dare cheat the little guy with a bottle", "People do what? Store breast-milk in the fridge?!?! For how long?!? That would be stale milk! Wouldn't it be like food poison", my mom would say and I would just succumb to it with no energy to argue.
After my Mom went back to India and after I was left with just 3 or 4 weeks before I had to resume work, I started panicking! 'What will I do once i go back to work? And NO! My BABY is NOT going to get any FORMULA!!! He deserves The best & if Breast-milk is the best, that's what he is going to get....no matter what', I decided. And so began the my quest. I equipped myself with madela breastpump, lactation cookies recipes, multiple youtube videos on various topics like 'How to create your own freezer stash of breastmilk', 'how to increase your milk supply' etc. All this started on April 1st 2014 "0-ZERO" breastmilk packs in the freezer.
Today is 29th April 2014 and am back to work already. I have managed to fill 3/4th of my deep freezer with the " Magic liquid"- ~80+ packs of 5Oz each.
(to be continued)
You may ask why? Why go through the trouble if it is as painful & challenging as i have portrayed it here. The simple answer is "I WANT THE BEST FOR MY LITTLE ONE....no matter How hard it is. I at least need to know that I did my best and God can take care of the rest.
2 comments:
Really appreciate the efforts taken as a working mom... great... I m staying at home and tried all means to increase my supply even wen many of the people around stopped me from doing so. And yeah I agree with u that we are trying hard to give our little ones the best. Continue posting ka.. all the best..
Thanks Niranjana. Keep trying...it eventually works. Its sad that even a lot of our elders tend to be ignorant in this issue and advice wrongly. If there is anything i can help with, let me know. My son is almost a year and am so happy that we have successfully accomplished exclusive Breastmilk feeding! Yaay! Good luck with your journey too.
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