Episode 5 – Breastfeeding

Hello again, and welcome to the 5th episode of Mom Haven.

I'm not quite sure how to start this episode. I've had different paragraphs pop up in my head randomly, but I can't seem to pick which should go first. If it wasn't already obvious, I have a lot to write about!

It's going to be more storytelling than ranting today. First, I would like to share a few things about my breastfeeding journey so far, but before that, I'm sending hugs and kisses to my returning readers – y'all are the main reason I'm still doing this.

Now...

Thinking back to my early days of breastfeeding, I remember having issues with lactation, and it took the whole village to solve those issues. Of course, I can laugh about it now, but I kid you not, it was not funny at the time.

I remember the day I was to be discharged from the hospital – the nurse on duty came to me and said, "once your breastmilk starts flowing, make sure you are exclusively breastfeeding her. No water or formula for the first six months". I felt like I was being ordered around, and in my mind, I was like, "my dia, no be you go tell me wetin I go do."

"Exclusively breastfeeding" is easier said than done. You can't imagine the mini-surgery performed on my breast only a few days before she said that. It really pissed me off, and I was this close to expressing my anger all over her. I had tried so many things to get myself to start lactating – I drank kunu, pap, and oat, and my nipples were scrubbed like the floor of a danfo bus, and that was only just the beginning. I'm not going to scar you with some details that included a syringe and intense soreness.

Nobody told me breastfeeding could be so difficult and painful.

If I had decided not to breastfeed after everything I went through, no one would blame me. After all, my baby took formula for the first four days while I went through hell trying to produce milk for her. I decided to practice what I preach, and I was determined to breastfeed my baby, and eventually, it happened.

But then, that was not the end of the struggle.

I wanted to do more because, for some reason, I felt my baby was not getting enough milk. This was where I fully turned on research mode – I started spending so much time on Google and YouTube looking for what dinnor lost. I saw women on Instagram pumping and storing milk, and I wanted to be like them.

I started taking oat every morning, trying to increase my supply – and it worked, but it still wasn't enough for me. I went as far as getting a milk booster smoothie mix and adding it to my oat. I also tried yogurt and a few other things. Thankfully, I couldn't get my hands on breastfeeding cookies, otherwise, it would've suffered in my hand too.

Shout out to my hubby, who approved and funded every single one of my crazy experiments – you're the best!

Eventually, I came across this channel on YouTube where a lady spoke about affirmations and taking lots of water and fruits, so I started doing the affirmations after my morning prayers. After a while, I realized that I had stopped worrying about milk flow and quantity – I began to accept that the milk I was producing was just the right amount for my baby to grow. I also realized there was no point in trying to have a milk bank since I would be a stay-at-home mom.

I'm not quite sure where this story is headed, but I sincerely hope I'm making sense to a mom or soon-to-be mom out there – there are some things you really shouldn't stress about. If formula is better for you, that doesn't mean you are a bad mom. Don't let anyone guilt trip you or make you feel like less – just do whatever works for you.

For those who would like to know, here is the affirmation I spoke about earlier;

"I trust my body to produce the right amount of milk my child needs to develop well and healthy."

We are moving on to the 6th month soon, and this mom has started another research on semi-solids – it just never ends.

New phase, new challenges, and new worries.

Thank you for reading my monthly rant; sending lots of love from me and mines. See you in the next episode.

P.S. I would like to know what y'all will prefer to read, either short stories about my experience or random rants.

I really hope you enjoyed reading this.