Buzz
I used to fret about my 'super-flat screen' and the discouraging remarks from others about 'small breasts not producing milk'. Throughout my pregnancy, this worry plagued me as my 'flat screen' couldn't transform into the 'curved screen' I dreamed of.
I was taken aback reading articles about the escalating milk prices. The cost of each foreign milk carton advertised as cool, non-constipating, equaled only 1/10 of my civil servant salary.
One day, I stumbled upon a friend's advice about storing milk for babies. From then on, I became curious and delved into research to reinforce my knowledge...
After 38 weeks, a drop of colostrum dripped from my 'flat screen.' Overjoyed, I exclaimed loudly and felt more confident. I continuously reviewed crucial knowledge and lessons about breastfeeding.
My childbirth kit lacked bottles of formula, containing only a breast pump and a few milliliters of milk graciously donated by a friend who had given birth a few days earlier. My delivery faced numerous challenges, fetal distress, high blood pressure, medication allergies,... before I could even lay eyes on my baby, they rushed him away for emergency oxygen, and I lay there with low blood pressure. Thus, the first breastfeeding session remained incomplete.
After a few hours, my baby returned to my arms, and I continued with the second lesson. Though I had memorized the material, holding my baby still felt awkward. Due to the low milk supply, both my baby and I wrestled through the night.
My grandmother felt sorry for me and my baby, intending to buy formula milk, but I firmly refused knowing the importance of colostrum. I stayed awake all night due to irregular breastfeeding sessions. I realized I had been breastfeeding and holding my baby incorrectly but didn't know how to fix it. Luckily, a relative visited, saw us struggling, and patiently taught me proper techniques. My baby became healthier, I felt less pain, and even managed to pump an extra 40ml for storage. At this point, I can confidently say: I can exclusively breastfeed my baby.
With an abundant milk supply, I have donated nearly 350 bags of milk to other babies and exclusively breastfed my own. My baby is now 9 months and 27 days old, marking 9 months and 27 days of pure maternal love.
After giving birth, I didn't manage to complete the skin-to-skin exercise, but I made an effort to complete the golden 72 hours of colostrum and exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months, introducing solids at 181 days old.
