Saturday, March 08, 2008

Sweet memory

Found this in Ummiku Sayang archives - what a fuss breastfeeding was, yet I would give birth again just to experience it again.

** From Ummiku-Sayang Yahoogroup Archives **

Dear Ummis,

Thanks for all the congratulatory notes I got from Aidu, Intan, Hani, Ummihafiz (Yati?) and Norliza. Do I miss anybody?

I've been back at work for two weeks and am trying to continue giving breastmilk to Naufal. During Irsyad's time I didn't do it since I was teaching half-day and school's staffroom do not have the convenience of a refrigerator. Now, since I work 8-5 I try hard to continue supplying my breastmilk to Naufal eventhough I am away at work.

I've tried the manual pumping only to find out that it takes such a long time to produce not so much milk. I've bought the cheapest battery-operated breastpump by Care for RM120 stg, which is better in the sense that it cuts down half the time and able to extract more milk, sometimes up to 5 oz in 20 minutes. However sometimes it's painful and it uses a lot of batteries. The Energizer AA batteries can only be used for pumping twice and they are already weak by the third time I try to pump out my milk in the day. That means I have to spend like RM5.50 per day to change those 2 AA batteries. Some friends recommend the AVENT ISIS pump. I reckon that it's a bit expensive for me but I have read some good comments on it on the net and I thot I'll give it a shot. Anyone here has regretted buying it?

Hope you can tell me before I spend my next salary on it!

Secondly about this milking at work thingy is that people ard me have not been that encouraging sometimes. Mom has been nagging that I should have started feeding my son's formula even during my confinement period so that it won't be hard for me when I go back to work. Sister has been a kinda spokeperson for Similac IQ. She gives her daughter this brand of milk since Day 4 or so and d lil' gal is developing very fast that she's already turned ard on her tummy since 3-month old. So she's kinda promoting the formula and puts down my own milk, saying things like my milk causes him to have colics and not that nutritious since it doesn't look as thick as the formula and so on.

At work it's quite tiring to sneak out to express my milk too. I have to find a place that enables me to extract the milk in discreet. Since I'm not the boss, I don't have the luxury of having a room for myself. Now, students are in their sem break so sometimes I'm able to go to one of the empty classrooms and do the job there. Even that, there would be ppl who need to enter the c/room and would be knocking and trying to turn the knobs and causing me to become agitated.

Toilets are limited and shared by so many people, males and females, so besides being unhygienic, people will be very irritated should I spend 15-20 minutes inside. And I'll be carrying my little pail with bottles and hot water inside here and there to look for places. Then after it's done I'll be carrying the filled bottle to the staffroom's refrigerator. Some colleagues have already asked "until when will this have to go on?". It sounds just like a disapproval to me. I just can't imagine once classes commence and I have to rush milking in between classes and preparing for classes. It certainly would be exhausting for me to juggle everything.

It'll be easy to consider it to quit but then I'm all into breastfeeding. I am aware of all the benefits that both the baby and I will get out of it, and the most important thing is I love doing it. I love having the baby in my arms and the bond that you feel when he's feeding from your breast is priceless. Providing him with the breast milk, though I'm away makes me feel like I am actually there for him, and that's cure my working mom's guilt feeling syndrome. Furthermore, when we really think of it, the babies have only a short time of their life to be breastfed by their mommies. Irsyad had my breastmilk only for 6 months due to some technical errors and my inexperience as a new mother, and I do not want to make the same mistake with Naufal. Sometimes I wonder whether I should take a long break from work to provide Naufal with exclusive breastfeeding, but the fact that the family do need my contribution of salary and Irsyad starting primary school in Jan., wipe out all thoughts of it. Hah... so much easier to be a working father than a working mother! Wink

I would be interested to read what others' experience has been. Has anybody here been successful continuing breastfeeding and working at the same time? Thank you in advance.

Wassallam,
Mima
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UmmikuSayang.com
"Celebrating Motherhood, the Islamic Way"

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