Breastfeeding (Not for Everyone)
The topic is close to every mothers heart (whether to breastfeed or not).
I reckon it is a good thing if you are able to as mother's milk is the best for human babies. There are situations which will not allow a mother to nurse of course but I am not referring to those situations. I know mothers who chose not to nurse because they find that it is not convenient to do so (selfish???). It bothers me but then again the baby is not mine and I suppose it is their prerogative not to if they do not wish to.
Let me tell you that it is not easy to nurse a child. Before I have my first child I watched several nursing videos and read ample of books, but oh boy it sure did not prepare me for the real thing. You see, babies drink milk but babies do not actually automatically start breastfeeding until they are taught to (like how to latch and etc). Yah, some people may give some bullshit telling you that it's a natural thing but NO, babies and mommies have to learn it together.
Usually after much wailing from the child between attempts to feed from bruised (cracked or bleeding) nipples from the mother, with anxiety and stress level looming high - the mother decided it's time to give up. I mean childbirth is hard enough and within hours you have to start nursing your child - so many mothers relented due to some ill advise from relatives, friends, nurses and went to formula instead.
Seriously the benefits far outweighs the stress at the end of the day. The word is perseverance and coupled with lots of love, understanding and support from the spouse, friends and family members. (If you encounter some shitty advises from any of these bunch of people, just make sure you throw them out from your ward).
As for me, it is not easy but am glad I did it. H ('Husband') is indifferent to breastfeeding. H almost ask me to throw in the towel after the birth of my first child because he saw that I was having this major case of engorgement on the fourth day after delivering our son. Yes it HURTS and I cried but we are built to be tougher than this. As for my second child, I had engorgement issues again and it was bad too. I had minor infection (minor mastitis) and had to to be treated with antibiotics. Not easy but I managed to nurse my children until they are 15 months. I finally stopped my nursing chapter like one week ago and the last milk production from my Medela Electric Double Pump* as below. This is for you my son and daughter.
*Quick Review on Medela Electric Double Pump
I reckon the Pump is alright provided you do not mind the sound (it's a bit loud). Easy to pack (to work)and it works (suction power is good and gentle). This is the cheaper double pump in the Medela category as other version like 'Swing' costs like double the price of this one. This is the older model and Medela no longer produces this version anymore (I bought this for RM799-00 (the first pump in 2010) and the second one for RM549-00 in the beginning of 2013. The only issue I face with this Pump is that milk tend to flow in the tubes easily. Once it flows into the tubes, you have to turn off the pump or the milk will flow right into the motor. It happened to my first pump and the one I borrowed from my sister in law. The current one that I am using have yet to encounter that problem though. I do believe that there are better pumps out there but I have yet to try it and it may be well above the price that you are willing to spend. So good luck to all new mothers :)
