My Little Jen started to sprout his first tooth when he was 3 months old and following that, it was nightmare as more new teeths came. He fussed alot and nursing him was never easy at that time. He would cry out of hunger and then latch on to nurse but almost immediately after that, he would let go and start crying again. I tried to latch him on again and after a few times, he started to bite! Ouch, that was really painful, well, I shrieked in pain. And, that frightened him...
So, this went on and on until he finally started to refuse nursing and there my milk supply started going downhill. The worst part was, I only realised it when I tried to pump for him to drink. He was only about 4 months plus then. It really broke my heart and after so much pain and effort, I was far from ready to stop nursing my Little Jen.
So, again, day and night, without fail, I pumped every 2-3 hours. It was really tiring as pumping took about 30 minutes and then within 1 1/2 hour or so, I was pumping again. This went on even at night. I had to wake up and pump! Normally, I would easily get about 3-4oz from each side in less than 10 minutes but this time, I could barely collect more than 1-2oz.
Determined to continue nursing, I went to get a bottle of Fenugreek pills from GNC store in Berjaya Times Square. I read that to really make it help increase milk supply, you will have to overdose yourself on the pills. Afraid of potential side effects although reportedly there was none, I only took about 2-3 pills in a day. Not much help as the milk supply was still very low.
By this time, my Little Jen was already fussing every time I tried to nurse him for an entirely different reason - lack of milk supply. Had to keep nursing although there was no milk during pumping sessions and even if he bit me. Babies work best to stimulate the production of milk.
I cried and even told Hubby that I might really have to start pshyching myself that it wsas okay to stop breastfeeding. It was that difficult...
Thankfully, within about 4-5 days of intense pumping, I managed to stimulate milk production to the normal level. Oh yes, intense pumping did cause soreness but then, it was all worth the effort pumped in as long as my Little Jen got the best from Mummy. Pumping works.. *smile*
Hi Buzzy Mummy,
ReplyDeleteI totally get what you mean by having to tell yourself over and over again that it's ok to stop breastfeeding. But on the other hand, i would also like to point out that that it IS REALLY REALLY OK to stop breastfeeding and don't overly stress oneself because of it. Bonding (other than BF) with one's child is in fact more important... doubt we can 'bond' properly if one is super stressed up, right?
I mean, if one can increase their milk supply, by all means, thumbs up but if we can't, then it is totally ok. i abhor breastfeeding mummies who gives other non-breastfeeding mummies the strangest look when the latter choose not to BF for certain reasons.
don't get me wrong, i'm still breastfeeding my little boy now but just for the benefit of all readers who chances upon your blog... i would really like to say that as important as breastfeeding is, there is really no need to stress upon having to 'challenge' oneself/others to a breastfeeding race.
sorry to ride on your blog, buzzy mummy... pray all is well on your side and hugs and kisses to Little Jen :)
Yes, you are right, if you can't save it, you might as well just learn to enjoy it in other manners i.e. bonding with your baby. Eventually, the baby will always know how much you care for him/her and it does not matter, really.. :)
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