All about BF

When I was pregnant, the midwife asked me whether I intended to breastfeed or bottlefeed. When I told her I wanted to try breastfeeding, she was so happy and started giving me all kinds of brochures to read up on. See breastfeeding is not common in Ireland. Mum's prefer to bottle feed as babies stay full longer on formula milk than breast milk, giving mummy that much needed nap time!

Immediately after Yasmin was born, the midwife helped her latch on to me and Alhamdullilah, she had no trouble at all. But later that day, she was borderline jaundice so the doctor told me to supplement her with formula to ensure she has plenty of wet nappies. Everyone was supportive of me wanting to breastfeed so they said offer her the breast first then only offer her the formula. When my milk came in on day 4, the midwife said I could stop feeding her the formula and just continue breastfeeding. Alhamdullilah, Yasmin was not too attached to the formula and made the transition to exclusive breastfeeding easily.

In the early days, Yasmin fed slow and often. It felt like I was always feeding her! But now, at 2 months old, she spends about 10 mins on each breast and feeds from both breasts each time. She's still feeding on demand but I intend to start her on a 3 hour schedule soon.

She had a cold after her 2 month vaccination and her nose was congested. She refused to breastfeed so I had to start expressing milk regularly. Up to this point, I barely expressed milk because I am with her all the time (don't really have the option to leave her with other people) and am not due back at work until she's 6 months old so no need to build up supply yet. After doing it for 2 days, I now have full respect for mums who have to express milk. The expressing, storing, and sterilising takes so much time! Couple that with a sick crying baby and I had a mini meltdown. Poor husband thought I was having post natal depression. Thankfully Yasmin is getting better and is now back on the breast. No more pumping milk for me yay!

Breastfeeding when going out is always a challenge. Yasmin gets distracted easily when in the nursing room so she ends up not really feeding. This means an hour later she'll be crying from hunger. It's really hard to feed a crying baby so everyone ends up getting stressed, including daddy! I am considering bringing a bottle of expressed milk when we go out to make sure she gets her milk.

Breastfeeding in public is a bit easier. Mainly because I put her under the nursing cover so she's not easily distracted!

The thing with breastfeeding is you don't really know how much she's drinking. You depend on the number of wet and dirty nappies and her weight gain. Yasmin feeds so quickly nowadays that I'm worried she's not really getting enough but I've learned that babies get more efficient at nursing as they get older so don't really need to nurse as long as before. If feeding her from the bottle, she takes in about 80-100ml at a time.

I love how convenient breastfeeding is. Not to mention its health benefits to both mum and baby. I just need to get the hang of feeding when out and about, then I would be fully comfortable with breastfeeding.

Breast is best y'all!