Some random lessons about breastfeeding that I learnt (or re-learnt) recently…

1. Although total (or exclusive) breastfeeding means you nurse your baby on demand, there are some exceptions to the rule. One is if you are trying to “sleep-train” your baby ie training him to go to sleep by himself instead of being rocked or fed to sleep (which they can come to depend on). Although it was tiring for me at first, alhamdulillah ‘Umar does sleep in his own cot, and I bring him to the bed only for feeds, but one thing he hasn’t been able to do is to soothe himself to sleep. Either D would carry him and rock/zikr him to sleep, or on days when we are not blessed with as much patience, I’d take ‘Umar from D and feed him till he falls asleep (bad baaad habit). InsyaAllah, hope to heed the tips from BabyCentre and train ‘Umar, now that he’s turning 3 months soon and therefore may be old enough to start soothing himself to sleep.

2. Total breastfeeding means not giving your baby water, which is a WHO recommendation. In the early days, my elders sometimes suggested that I give ‘Umar water, especially when they see him get thirsty and cry soon after being fed. I always refused, cos I read before that its not recommended, but I didn’t realy know why. Supplementing breastfeeding with water is a common practice in our community, elders often citing that it is “good for baby”. I read this article recently that states that on the contrary, giving water to babies can be harmful and cause diarrhea and illness. Also, because the infant’s stomach is small, when the baby drinks water, there is less room left for the nourishing breastmilk that is necessary for the baby to grow strong and healthy. This practice will also mean you produce less milk, as the baby’s suckling needs is meant to help your milk production. Less stimulation means less milk.

3. Total breastfeeding does not necessarily mean you won’t ovulate. Ovulation is less likely to occur only if you are feeding your baby round the clock. For babies who has started to sleep through the night (5 to 6 hours straight) like my Lil ‘Umar alhamdulillah, mothers may start to ovulate again. Last week, I mistook my menses for istihadah and solat-ed. Oops.

4. This milk storage thing always confuses me. I just learnt that EBM that has been frozen and thawed in a fridge is only good for 24hrs. Yikes! Okie this is the thing, when I get home, all I want to do is nurse ‘Umar, but sometimes, my helper still has thawed EBM in the fridge. I always tell her to keep it for the next day. Sometimes ‘Umar doesn’t finish the milk that I leave him (he’s saving himself for me!) so I tell her to keep the thawed EBM for another day. Cannot cannot! I just saw this table below and have called my helper to ask her to throw that bottle of thawed EBM that is older than 24hrs. I’m pasting this (translated to Malay) on my fridge from now.

Breastmilk Room Temperature Refrigerator Freezer
Freshly expressed into a closed container 6–8 hrs (26ºC or lower). If refrigeration is available store milk there 3–5 days (4ºC or lower) Store in back of
refrigerator where it is coldest		 2 weeks in freezer compartment inside refrigerator.
3 months in freezer section of refrigerator with separate door.
6–12 months in deep
freeze
(-18ºC or lower).
Previously frozen— thawed in refrigerator but not warmed 4 hours or less
(ie the next feeding)		 Store in refrigerator
24 hours		 Do not refreeze
Thawed outside refrigerator in warm water For completion of feeding Hold for 4 hours or until next feeding Do not refreeze
Infant has begun feeding Only for completion of feeding, then discard Discard Discard

5. The most important lesson I learnt (and recently re-learnt during my work trip) is that you need to be stubborn when on the road to total breastfeeding. The first few weeks are the toughest; exhaustion, sore nips, engorgement can definitely get the better of you. For me, as if learning to breastfeed around a c-section scar was not bad enough, there were nights when ‘Umar just wanted to be fed for hours… and days when he would feed every hour on the hour. I was exhausted, but I was stubborn too. It was once remarked that many women who go on to have successful breastfeeding relationships after rough starts have legendary stubbornness. I agree, in those first weeks (and beyond), stubborn determination and self-belief can be all that gets you through, and its so worth it!

[Note to Juls: Stay stubborn! InsyaAllah you'll make it through these challenging days... you're doing very well already :) ]

InsyaAllah, may He bless our efforts and help us persevere. Btw folks, I think its no coincidence that both WHO and the Quran recommend breastfeeding for up to two years… but I’m only taking one month at a time for now… many more lessons to be learnt I’m sure! Fellow mommies, share your lessons learnt too!