A Breastfeeding Mom Needs All Your Support

This video reminded me of my breastfeeding days. Breastfeeding takes a toll on every new mom and if you are a working mom, then it gets several notches tougher. I am glad a brand like Nestle is bringing up the topic and portraying it in such a simple yet effective way. If you are not a mom you may not even realise why it’s so important.

Just like the video shows it takes an entire village to raise a child and I wish I knew it when I was a first-time mom.

I had these illusions of being a hands-on mom and doing everything myself and trust me, I was the most irritated, frustrated person around. I would cry at the drop of a hat and didn’t know how these uber calm moms managed to smile through it all. I vividly remember that in one week of delivery I had dark circles and eye bags due to lack of sleep and when one night my mom suggested I feed my baby lying down so that both of us catch our sleep, that night my baby did not leave me at all!!

I woke up at 5 am to realise he had been feeding on me throughout. I had been replaced for a soother and the saga of the sleepless night continued there on for the lack of better know-how. It was not the fairy tale motherhood story at all.

I really thought I was a bad mom and then I became smarter. By the time I had my second baby, I knew the process, the requirements and the needs.

I knew breastfeeding my baby exclusively for first 6 months was a priority and no one could replace that for me, but I found out about breast pumps.

While this was our bonding time, doing it in and out left me with no time for myself and added to my frustration so I would feed the baby fixed times in a day and for the other times, I would pump and hand the baby over to my mom, my hubby whoever wanted to bond with the baby at that time. It also gave me the flexibility to step out once in a while with or without baby in toe.

Though it raised a few eyebrows initially from my mom, she had seen me upset if I didn’t get enough rest, she let me try it out and soon she realised the system was working well. My mom is from the old school of thoughts but with some logical convincing, she was ready to make amends. My hubby has always been supportive so he just complied.

Also, read Weaning Tips for Breastfeeding Mothers

While breastfeeding I started reading books to enjoy my time or even watching TV. I got one installed in my room. I got a footrest for myslf which gave me space to spread my legs and be comfortable.

What it really did was make me a happier and a calmer mom. I looked forward to spending time with my baby rather than trying to get away as much as possible. That was me with my first baby.

Cleaning and bathing the baby I realised are jobs that could be outsourced easily. I had a massage lady come in who my baby in his tender age would look forward to. She would give him a nice massage and then bathe him and swaddle him into a baby bundle. He would then sleep for hours on end and wake up a happy baby. Totally win, win. A lot of moms massage the baby themselves which is absolutely fine too.

I also by now knew that babies cry for mainly hunger, sleep or soiled diapers. So I would not go into panic modes every time my baby cried. I would first rule out the three points and if the crying was still not stopping consult a doctor. In 99% of the cases, I never had to call the doctor.

Everyone in my house from my hubby to my mom and even my elder one had been trained by the end of it to change diapers. In fact, I had told my elder one that the baby is his and as an elder brother, he is responsible for the baby. Even without me having to ask him, he would change a heavy diaper with pride. Of course, ‘potty time’ was not so appealing still. This helped my elder one to adopt the new baby in his life in a more natural way.

Like many moms, I went through issues of chipped nipples, feeling like a cow with all the feeding and many emotional ups and downs. While I waded through these issues myself my family, my friends and my hubby were always there to support my idiosyncrasies. Moms and especially new moms go through a lot of hormonal changes, emotional turmoils as a family member, friend or spouse, we need to support them as much as possible.

Afterall, as I said it takes a whole village.