Breastfeeding

Hey mumma’s,

I hope that you are doing well & if you are not, keep going!! 🤗

Black breastfeeding week was some weeks ago and seeing as I am a breastfeeding mum, I couldn’t pass the opportunity to do a blog post on the topic of breastfeeding! 🤱🏾

Breastfeeding, also referred to as nursing, involves feeding human breast milk to a child, via the breast or by expressing the milk from the breast and bottle-feeding it to the child. 👶🏾🍼

Here’s my experience which all came as a surprise:

1. The extra hard (engorged) breasts which are impossible to ignore (especially when asleep)

2. The throbbing feeling that you get when your breast milk begins to flow; which forces you to get baby to feed or rush to express!

3. The yellow ‘golden milk’ that you initially get

4. The leaking breasts and having to wear breast pads

5. The whole concept of expressing

6. The sensitive and sometimes lumpy (weird shaped) breasts

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.

Rajneesh

I have been breastfeeding for just over 11 months now. My baby absolutely loves breast milk and loves to feed directly from my breast.

In all honestly, despite the above, which all came mainly at the start of my journey, I have not had any issues with breastfeeding. However, prior to this experience, I never knew that all this was involved in being committed to breastfeeding… 😮

*To educate,* Some common issues which other woman experience include: baby not latching, not having enough breast milk to feed the baby, breast milk ‘drying up’ early, sore or cracked nipples and blocked milk duct.

On the other hand, this blog post is not in any way created to make mothers feel less than or stigmatised. Following this, one of my fellow mumma’s was kind enough to share her experience with breastfeeding below:

“Prior to the arrival of my baby I was so sure I was going to breastfeed her. However, I just didn’t seem to produce enough milk to feed her when she came. Doctors advised that I gave her formula while I kept on trying.

I tried everything I knew as well as recommendations from fellow mummies and loved ones. I tried lactation treats, fenugreek, fennel seeds, pap, oatmeal with lots of water yet, there was no substantial increase. I got frustrated a couple of times as I felt I wasn’t giving my baby the best.

However, with time I realised that Fed is best. She was/is growing beautifully. Very healthy and happy which is the most important thing.”

Tolulope

In a nutshell, this blog post is to celebrate breastfeeding/ black breastfeeding mumma’s; as well as share common issues which everyone may not be aware of.

If you are on the breastfeeding journey or soon to embark on the journey, remember that Fed is best, as Tolulope has also said 😊. Be patient with yourself mumma, you are doing a great job!

With love,

ANJ TALKS ♡

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