Happy Heart

'Happy heart' is how Milan describes any heart shapes with bright colours.

Reading this entry from Puteri makes me wanna blog about the same thing too. I've been wanting to write about my experience bf'ing' Sophie but i put so much thought that i ended up not writing anything at all. I truly understand the pressure every mother has to face when it comes to breastfeeding. And i don't want to be that kind of woman who make it sound so easy.

Like all mothers, i am very supportive of breastfeeding. I support my friends too. And i talked to two mothers whom breastfed their daughters for 2 years. Homemaker and no EBM. Direct feeding all the way. And let me share with you their success key: "Fikiran kena kosong masa breastfeeding. Let it happen naturally". And i believe them. When i was bf'ing' Milan i keep on watching her anxiously. Whether there's milk flowing out, whether it is enough until next feeding. So many things going through my head.

And my milk don't come early. Only on the 3rd day. And adalah suara2 sumbang mengatakan "you ni tak cukup makan, tu la takda milk", "makan ikan yu then your milk will come out" etc...Well, this time i take things easily. I buat pekak je. Sebabnya, orang yang bagi nasihat tu tak breastfeeding langsung pun. And then, i memang takde dah sibuk2 nak cari forum ke discussion website about breastfeeding. It's true what Puteri mentioned in her blog, if you baca apa yg those people write there memang pressure nak be on par with them. So, i avoid those sites.

Breastpump pulak. My hand pump, Avent apa ntah tu macam dah tak elok. Macam dah tak kuat je grip. So, i've decided to use my own pump, the best in town. Jenama SOPHIE. Takde pump lain yang dapat menandingi pump ni. Very efficient. Confirm takde engorgement. Again, from forums and blogs, i used to compare my EBM amount with others. Kan ada kan, orang yg pump boleh dapat 8oz or more sekali pump. Tangkap gambar nih. Again, i ignored those.

Up until now, masih ada lagi la suara2 sumbang. Like "ada ke ur milk ni?", "cukup ke ur milk tu?". As long as my girl don't cry her heart out to show she needs more, that's mean she has enough. Lantaklah, kadang2 memang perasan masa dia suckle tu takdalah air susu melimpah2 kan. Ignore lagi.

Pasal formula pulak. Sophie is supplemented with formula. Kalau betul2 macam dia nangis tak tahu sebab and looks like she is hungry. And guess what, i don't fell bad at all. Thanks to Papa. For his support on that part. Antara ayat2 yang memberi semangat untuk tak feel down "...we are not those people and it is not the end of the world if you can't do it". And there is one article he got for me too, saying something like "the baby don't really need to fully breastfeed to get all the benefit from bf". Kira kalau boleh fully bf, betterla. Tapi kalau campur2 pun takpe. It is just that kalau campur ni, slowly will affect production je.

Sophie is 3kgs upon birth and during her 1month check up, she was 4.1kgs. And she is 99% breastfed. So, bolehlah kan. Kira cukuplah my milk yg taklah sampai mencurah2. And we are still happily breastfeeding and there are times when my mom insisted on feeding her with formula. And lucky me, Sophie hates the rubber nipples. So, everytime she is given formula mesti macam tak reti nak hisap, so byk terkeluar2. Then, she hates pacifier too! Tapi, bila takda pacifier...memang kena layan her needs to suckle. Like very very frequent. Takpelah, bukan pegi mana2 pun i ni kan.

I don't set or aim any time frame so as to give myself  "fikiran kosong". Again, like Puteri said, nak breastfeed baby sampai titisan terakhir. So, if you are a mother that needs to feed your baby with formula, don't feel bad about it. It won't make you a bad mommy ya. Chin up!!!

Loves...