My 6 Months Breastfeeding Mission (Operation No Formula! No Water!)

Like everything else in life, the beginning may be difficult but it gets easier as you continue.

6 months don waka and we still dey carry go, la la la…….. Yay! I did it! 
My baby is 10 months old now and she was on breastmilk exclusively for the 1^st 6 months.

Why am I so thrilled? Kini big deal?

She’s my third child and it’s the first time I am able to do an exclusive. Having had two kids before, it was a mission I intended to accomplish this time with all the #babyFriendly campaigns in the hospitals. I’ve seen people feed their babies effortlessly and even known people that have to put a cup on one breast to collect excess milk while the baby latch on the other one. I thought it was just natural for everyone to start lactating immediately the baby comes out.

But hey no! For me, breastfeeding wasn’t always easy from the start. My milk flow is always delayed for like 1-2 weeks. So, I do start my babies on formula while I wait for milk to start flowing. Most times, I  would try all I could to make milk (now I know I wasn’t persistent enough) like drinking pap, tea, but I always reached for the formula when crying for food becomes unbearable.  Never had I imagined that it would be difficult for me to produce milk and so when other mothers tell me they did an exclusive, I will just turn my nose and be like na true! e easy? So this time I said if other people can do this thing, kemi you can do it.

So how did it work for me?

The answers are simply;

1.     Patience, Determination and more Patience.

If you fall into my category and milk does not come out immediately you put to bed, you are not alone but you have to be determined to make it work.  I made her latch on as soon as I had rested after delivery, After 1-2 days, there was no milk as usual. I had a lactation consultant who encouraged me to use a breast pump, but e no work o. So after 3 days, when baby started becoming fussy, we started giving formula (as usual). When I went back home from the hospital, I relaxed and was going to give up like before. One of my sisters who was with me started urging me to keep the baby “latched on” whether milk was coming out or not and to keep using the breast pump when baby is asleep but I will be like, you see she keeps sucking and nothing comes out. Finally, I took her advice and kept latching her on. I decided to have faith in myself and in the baby. All that work didn’t go down the drain, so when baby was like 8-9 days old, I became more determined, I kept her to the breast all day long and all night long and I reduced the number of bottles (formula) per day and finally decided not to reach for it as I usually did when I get tired.

Oh Yes, I didn’t sleep and yes, baby cried (a gimmick that had always made me go the formula route), but I soothed her by keeping her latched on for several hours, she will fall asleep, wake up to start crying and I will latch her on again. I kept vigil, no sleep, watching her through the night, my other instinct telling me to reach for the formula so I could get some sleep but I didn’t.  I noticed the milk coming out in drops and she will suck for several hours before falling back asleep. Night vigil continued for like 3 days and I kept using the breast pump when she falls asleep. After 3 days and night, my daughter pulled out one large gulp and I could see the satisfaction on her face.  I didn’t stop there, I pumped again when she slept and I got my first full bottle, then more bottles and more bottles.

That was how I won the war (yes war against formula) and she was never fed formula again. No formula! no water! She gets enough milk, it was difficult not to notice she’s always satisfied. I thought I was going to get tired after 3 months exclusive but I was determined to go on. Like everything else in life, the beginning is always difficult but it gets easier as you continue and I loved breastfeeding more than I thought possible.

She was sleeping so well at night by the time she was 6 months old and might not even wake up for a feed in 5-6hrs. Sometimes, I had to wake her up to feed her and she would gratefully accept.

2.     Keep hydrated

Drink lots of any liquid you love; water, tea, pap, yoghurt, juice (natural). Drink enough to satisfy your thirst, I usually keep a filled bottle that I can easily reach for when I need to drink, it’s not uncommon to want to drink a glass of water while you are breastfeeding your baby.

3.     Eat well

Eat well balanced meals but abeg don’t join the bandwagon of eating for two (so that you don’t gain unnecessary weight). I learnt that nature has designed our body in such a way that fat gained during pregnancy can be lost if you exclusively breastfeed your baby (It happened to me) - read here. So why cheat on nature and not lose the fat the natural way? You don’t produce milk by the quantity of food you eat, it’s better to eat healthy (your normal portion of food) keep your self hydrated all the time and you will be just fine.

Yours truly,

Happy #WorldBreastfeedingWeek. Join the Celebration.

Moms, do you have a breastfeeding story/challenge? Share your breastfeeding experience, let others learn how you overcame this challenge.

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All contents here are opinions only. Please seek advice from your own doctor or other health practitioners regarding any issues concerning your own health or health of others.