One of the MANY joys of motherhood is breastfeeding your baby. Boy oh boy! *all pun intended* Giving birth to my son has taught me so many amazing things about my body that I honestly had no clue about and has shown me strength I never knew I had. First, I want to say Congratulations to ALL mamas #BreastFed or #FormulaFed -as long as your baby is fed, however this post is dedicated to breastfeeding mamas! I know #WorldBreastfeedingWeek was last week but WE deserve to be recognized daily. This is FULL TIME WORK or should I say around the clock work.
Womb – World:
My experience has been a beautiful journey.
When I found out I was pregnant, I made it my duty to research and become knowledgeable on the topic. I knew that God had blessed me with an amazing gift and I wanted to nourish he/she as best as possible. I read countless hours books, blogs, articles, etc. and attending classes with daddy. What to Expect the First Year is a great one to have handy.
At the hospital
The beginning of our breastfeeding journey was so challenging. At the hospital Sincere would only latch to one boob, which as mamas know the other side would be engorged, OMG so painful. So thankfully, daddy played a huge role we literally had to pump that one side and feed our son out of a syringe. This brought so many tears to my eyes because I thought I failed my child for sure. But God and daddy reassured me that everything would be just fine. We went home from the hospital and I was up, not getting any rest, nursing from one side and daddy feeding from the syringe and continuing to read because I was so sad and frustrated, not understanding why my baby wouldn’t feed from both.
The Joy
After a few days, I decided to reach out to someone I consider a big sister for advice and she recommended purchasing nipple shields. Listen, EBONY sis, you saved our life. So daddy got those immediately and Sincere was able to latch to that boob. *I literally was praising God, hallelujah* after literally a week of using the shield, one day I was getting ready to nurse and sundered just thought I was taking way too long to get this shield on and HE LATCHED all by himself on that same boob he originally couldn’t. *Tears of joy were running down my face* I sat all the time there is power in prayer and how GREAT God is ave this is just another one of my million reasons why. Thankfully nursing my son has never physically been painful and I can advocate and encourage other mommies to remain strong no matter what. Many ask how long I will breastfeed and my honest answer is always, “However long God is willing, I don’t think you can put a time frame on this.”
Helpful Tips:
1. When creating your Baby Registry Check out my Amazon Baby Registry! Add things for mommy on there, the gifts don’t have to be all direct use for baby. They still benefit when mama is prepared as well.
2. Nourish your mind, body, and spirit daily! I don’t know about you but I thrive off ENERGY! - - When I have a million and one thoughts running through my mind, I get anxiety and it’s not good for me or baby. So, I take a step back, make a priority list and arrange things on the calendar.
- Please have a healthy balance between EATING and EXERCISING, when I don’t eat a balanced meal or maybe skip a meal, I feel my body not functioning 100% as it should. Exercise doesn’t have to be anything extensive, simply stretch, take a morning or afternoon walk or yoga.
- My spirit has to be filled throughout the day, so I always start my morning with daily devotion and prayer to God (sometimes alone or with family). Affirmations to myself and son are super important, positive quotes and quick prayers throughout the day and family prayer at night. I know some days will be harder than others but keep in mind that energy is contagious, your baby will feel everything that you feel.
#PositiveVibesOnly anything or anyone that doesn’t align MUST go.
3. DON’T feel guilty, #MomGuilt is definitely a thing and can lead to depression if you don’t get it under control. Talk through your feelings or things that are on your mind with your support system.
- Pump and store, so that you can get out the house for a couple of hours. Just because you don’t exclusively breastfeed DOES NOT make you a bad mom. Baby is still getting all nutrients when you pump for a love one to watch him/her. I know this is so cliche but #SelfCare is important for you, however that may look different for everyone. I’m just saying take the time that you need!
My prayers are that at least one mama felt encouraged to either start breastfeeding or keep going! Comment below if this helped you in anyway or if you would like to share any tips. Happy 7 months breastfeeding to Sincere and I.
You can learn more about World Breastfeeding Week here.“Empower parents, enable breastfeeding”