Following Cues: Breastfeeding Journey
After finishing her Masters in Biotechnology, Vaishali B realized that she had zero patience for research and decided to explore her first love of teaching! She got a chance to do so during her stint at the TeachIndia campaign, and she is a high school Biology teacher, now on a sabbatical. Having lived almost all her life in Mumbai and suddenly shifting to Chennai after marriage, Vaishali had a lot of time in hand to pursue reading, writing and cooking. However, she believes that motherhood has changed her. She has become more hands-on and deeply influenced by natural as well as scientific parenting. And that led to the start of her blog on early learning, the books she reads with her daughter, Montessori education and gentle parenting. You can read more about the dynamic mother-daughter duo on Amma Today on their website, Instagram and Facebook (FB). Vaishali currently freelances from home and plans to get back to teaching once the little one starts full day school. In the meanwhile, Vivikthya, her 2 year old, keeps her on her toes, mind active and teaches her new lessons in patience, thinking and love every day. 1. Vaishali, you had a great support system in the form of your doctor during your pregnancy. Could you tell us about your birthing experience? During pregnancy, I focused only on my bump, the kicks, and the delivery that I did not pay attention to breastfeeding. I have been truly blessed and lucky to have found a supportive gynaecologist who conducted monthly prenatal classes. One session had a paediatrician cover the basics of breastfeeding – the whys and hows. In fact, she also emphasized on nursing in public (NIP) being absolutely normal and how to take ‘milk supply is not enough’ comments in our stride. I had a beautiful pregnancy surrounded by family, friends and chirpy students. Everyone predicted an early delivery; so imagine my disappointment when 2 days past my expected delivery date (edd) there were no signs of labour. My gynaecologist was supportive of a natural birth process but since I had oligohydraminos (water level had reduced greatly), she induced me using a Folley balloon catheter. After 11 hours of labour, my girl made a dramatic entry, vaginally. 2. I am glad you had a delivery, free of unnecessary interventions. How was your first experience with breastfeeding? The doctors were particular that I be the first one to hold her for a second before she was sent off to get cleaned. She was then brought back to be fed within the golden hour. The nurses, doctors and residents ensured I had no issues in breastfeeding. The first latch, to be honest, was painful. And all I could see were 2 drops. I did worry if it was enough. The gynaecs and support staff helped me with the latch immediately. The first few days were awkward. Plus V was a chomper and cluster fed a lot. I think I broke down on day 2 when I was already having a hard time, and the hospital’s Lactation Consultant (LC) came for rounds and announced to my husband, “Doodh enough nahi hai (There is not enough milk). Ask her to nurse more. Or else the baby will keep crying.” Well, that was just the beginning. V had acute colic, and has been almost singularly only with me since birth. It seemed like we were nursing for major part of the day. To add to it, random people would stop me and advise me about my milk supply on hearing her cries. At about 6 weeks, there was a week when she slept through the night and I woke with heavy breasts. That was when I saw with my own eyes that there was enough milk and decided to turn a deaf ear to unwelcome suggestions. A pediatrician advised to have galactagogue; I wish I hadn’t done that, simply because there was no need. One fine day I decided to stop as I kept gaining weight steadily after having them. Guess what? My supply primarily depended on V’s suckling. Hence, not affected. 3. You did struggle a bit during the initial few weeks. How did you manage? My husband had to go back to his work city the day after we got back home from the hospital. My dad had to go back to work and mom developed a condition in her shoulder because of which she couldn’t move her hands for the next couple of weeks. Thus, although we had help for other chores, baby care primarily fell on my shoulders. My girl had severe colic. I used to dread the 4-10p.m window. She refused anybody else and had to be carried and rocked the entire time. The first few weeks were hard. Due to cluster feeding, I had sore nipples and my back hurt. But once I started nursing lying down, and babywearing her, I think I got some of my sanity back. Everybody helped in whatever little way they could, whenever they could. My mum looked up lactation friendly recipes and my dad massaged my back while I nursed V during her infant days. After I went back to my husband, he would get up at nights to help burp the baby. He even cooked the next day because I was exhausted from being awake the whole night. That’s how I managed! 4. It is amazing when you have your family as your little army of support! Absolutely! I also have to mention the Breastfeeding Support for Indian Mothers (BSIM) FB group which has time and again given me the will to continue on extremely hard days. They made me realize that full term breastfeeding should not be a taboo. And last but not the least, I have to mention my mommy tribe – my gang of girls to whom I vented out on hard days. They made it seem like it’s okay because, they are going through it too. I don’t think I can
The Learning Curve: Breastfeeding Journey
A doting mother to Kayalvizhi, her 2 years and 3 months old, Sinduja loves to bake and read; her companions to get through difficult parenting days with ease. She says, “My kindle was and is still my savior during late night feeding sessions, growth spurts and cluster feedings. Sinduja is a software professional for 7 years and is absolutely rocking the balance between work and home. Read her successful journey to the top of the learning curve. 1. Sinduja, you seemed to have prepared yourself for breastfeeding in the few months leading up to your delivery. I have always seen my cousins feeding their kids. So my initial knowledge about breastfeeding was that it is a natural process and milk secretion will begin as soon as the baby comes out. I had no idea about the complexities surrounding it. Luckily for me, my close friend Manju added me to a Facebook support group, Breastfeeding Support for Indian Mothers (BSIM), when I was 5 months pregnant. Since I have a passion for reading, I just started reading through the various documents in the group. This played a major role in my breastfeeding journey. I got to know that WHO recommends breastfeeding exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and with solids for a minimum of 2 years. The posts from other members regarding issues they face created awareness for me. I learnt about growth spurts, cluster feedings, nipple pain, engorgement, etc and also got to know the various myths associated with feeding. This was all in total contrast to what I had originally known about breastfeeding. Based on the information provided on the group, I knew I had short and flat nipples and I learnt the deep latching techniques to prepare myself. “I concluded that breastfeeding is an art which has a learning curve associated with it; to be mastered by the mother and child.” 2. Wow, that’s just truly commendable! So did all the knowledge and preparation help when it came down to actually breastfeeding? Apart from a few hiccups, it was a pretty smooth journey from day 1. I had an induced vaginal delivery using vacuum and had an epidural as well. I started feeding my daughter within 2 hours of birth. Luckily for me, she latched like a pro from the beginning and I also had a good supply. In spite of all this, she had lost more than 12% of her birth weight. So, a ‘namesake’ Lactation Consultant (LC) from the hospital checked and advised me to use a nipple shield. Since I had already read about the cons of using a shield I refused to use it. Due to neonatal jaundice, they kept my daughter inside a phototherapy glass box . They asked me to give her top feed (formula) with my pumped milk since she was not gaining weight. They also prescribed galactogogues. Though I knew pumping wasn’t advisable in the initial days and galactogogues may mess up my supply, the mom in me refused to budge. Instead I continued to give her my pumped milk as a top feed and fortunately she started gaining weight from the next day. We had another setback when she stopped pooping from the time she was kept inside the phototherapy box. Everyone constantly kept saying that the jaundice will reduce only when she poops. They gave her anal stimulation. She pooped once bringing down the jaundice level leading to our discharge. But the struggle was after we got home. She wasn’t pooping and that is when I began to doubt my supply. Thankfully, there was no pressure to give formula. I went to a certified LC, Swati Jagdish, in Coimbatore (India). She helped me understand how breast milk works with babies easing my tensions. Coincidentally, my daughter started pooping regularly from then. 3. You went back to work when your daughter turned 6 months. How did you manage to continue breastfeeding? Nothing would have been possible without my awesome support system – my parents, sister and husband. They were all equally involved in taking care of the baby and all I had to do was nurse her. When I came to Bangalore (India) after 6 months, my mom accompanied me and continues to stay with us as I have a full time job. I had flexible working hours and I could choose between working out of home or office. Till she turned 11 months, I pumped once in the morning which was sufficient for 2 feeds. I would be home for lunch by the time the pumped milk got over and continued to work from home. Since she had taken well to solids by then, I slowly increased my hours at the office. Till she was 15 months, I pumped in the mornings and then transitioned her to cow’s milk. We breastfed directly when together. 4. A solid support system does make a whole lot of difference in a breastfeeding journey. But there came in a point in your journey when you had nursing aversions. How did you overcome it? Things were going good until we hit the 18th month growth spurt. She demanded to be fed every 5 mins when together. While some days went well, some days were really rough. At one point the nursing aversions were at its peak. I ended up staying longer hours in the office only to avoid breastfeeding. Honestly, I was on the verge of quitting but kept telling myself that this is just a phase. The online support groups were my savior. They gave me the necessary push to carry on. And just like that, we crossed the big milestone of nursing for 2 years. And I take pride in saying that we haven’t visited a hospital even once for anything other than vaccinations in these 2 years. All thanks to the immunity built through breastfeeding. Things are a lot better now and she understands when I say I can’t feed her as I’m tired. The journey has become a lot
Willpower & Perseverance: Breastfeeding Journey
Dia Jadwani is a practising Certified Lactation Counsellor (LC), in Ahmedabad (India). She is an Electronics and Communication engineer with a Masters degree in Engineering Business Management from Warwick University, United Kingdom (U.K). While in London, she also got the opportunity to work for a year at the International Digital Lab. Dia married in 2010 and switched jobs from being a homemaker to a manager at her husband’s hotel. She was a visiting lecturer at the IIPM University before turning into a full-time mom. At present, she’s content with her new designation; a full time mommy and a part time LC. Read Dia Jadwani’s journey to know how her willpower and perseverance kept her going. 1. Dia, although you had a great start to your breastfeeding journey, the bumps were just around the corner. My breastfeeding journey began on 26th June 2014. The start was actually miraculously easy. My baby latched on to me beautifully with very little help of a loving nurse at the hospital. The hospital (doctors and staff) appeared to be supportive of breastfeeding. Well, they even had a box of formula ready to feed the baby. They emphasized on how it was normal to give the baby formula in the first two days post-delivery. The hospital completely lacked the means to counsel a new mother. They told me that it would take few days for the milk to come in. There was nobody to teach me how to latch and its importance in the following days. I was unaware of what to expect in the coming days. I clearly remember how scared I was to leave the hospital with a new-born. Although, she latched on well, I was still scared. I did not know what I was supposed to do or what was expected of me as a mother! Very soon, we met with our line of hurdles; severe engorgement on the third day to De Quervain disease, baby blues (mild postpartum depression (PPD)) and mastitis at 18 months. I could not even lift my baby when I was suffering from De Quervain. It felt like I had seen it all. I was a naïve mother with no knowledge of anything related to breastfeeding as I didn’t read much. The only thing I knew was that I had to breastfeed my daughter for the first six months. My mother and cousin (brother) asked me to do so. And I did it. I live in a nuclear set up and that kind of helped me take decisions without any outside interference. 2. That sounds really rough. How did you motivate yourself to keep going? I struggled due to lack of sleep during growth spurts. I would be up from 1-5 am just nursing, but I wouldn’t budge. And I exclusively breastfed her for six months. Then came the unwanted advice by well-meaning friends and adults to wean her off breast milk by around the tenth month. I even bought formula (1 kg pack) to introduce at 8 months, which eventually got dumped. Something didn’t feel right so I began educating myself about breastfeeding. I started reading and even posted my queries in various Facebook support groups. That led me to a wonderful group, “Breastfeeding support for Indian Mothers (BSIM)”. I got answers to my queries by asking and by reading several posts in the group. I realised so many mothers are nursing their 2 and 3 year olds. It motivated me to go beyond the stipulated breastfeeding timeline made by our society. BSIM changed everything for me in a positive way. It helped me breastfeed my daughter much longer than I had anticipated and I even found a career in it. It is very rarely that we come across a mother who has not been subjected to weaning advice. Do you fall in the rare group? There were so many people coming in with unsolicited advice that it was becoming difficult to function. I was bombarded with several myths. Eat more ghee and drink more milk to make more milk! Nurse only after an interval of 2 hours else it would cause gas to the baby. I wasn’t allowed to nurse after washing my hair. Basically they just wanted to let the baby cry I guess! If the baby demanded milk frequently or fed for a longer duration I was told that I wasn’t making enough. Looking back, I realised that people love to make a new mother’s life difficult instead of providing actual support. The one myth that affected me the most was feeding at intervals, an advice given by the paediatrician. I believed the doctor as Vihaana (my daughter) was already a colicky baby. I still remember putting her through a difficult time where she would cry and I would watch the clock. My mother had to drive some sense into me when my brain had actually stopped functioning. She reasoned with me and asked.“If you do not feed her then how exactly are you planning to make her quiet? Do you want to start formula? Does your doctor know how to stop a hungry baby from crying when all other methods are exhausted?” That struck a bell! From then, it was only nursing on demand even if it meant just after a gap of 15 minutes. And that was the last time I ever took advice from a paediatrician about breastfeeding. I just followed my instinct as I understood that there was nothing better available than a mother’s own milk. 3. Tell us a little more about the obstacles you faced during breastfeeding. The initial months were based on gut instincts and no support. And I admit, I made mistakes along the way. As most new mothers, I doubted my supply when my daughter nursed like a new born through growth spurts. I dint even know this term back then and ended up having supplements to boost my supply. Religious intake of the supplements for a month led to engorgement and plugged ducts due to oversupply. I
Perfect – Imperfect Journey: Breastfeeding Journey
Priya Kathpal is a nutritionist by profession. She says, “It happened during the college years while exploring career options and interests 🙂 I must mention here that I am a big time foodie at heart. Being a nutritionist actually helps me balance things :P. I can’t really say I was unaware about so and so food effects :D”. Read on to know about Priya Kathpal’s perfect – imperfect breastfeeding journey.
Sailing through hurdles: Breastfeeding Journey
Zoya Khan has two degrees and one masters to her credit; a Bachelors in Technology (B.Tech), Bachelors in Commerce (B.Com) and Masters in Business Administration (MBA). She had the opportunity to work with dyslexic kids and be a part of their life’s journey when she decided to do a few certificate courses. Zoya did a few workshops for teaching special needs children. She counselled parents of differently-abled kids as they weren’t ready to accept them. At one of the meets, she met a person who helped abuse (all kinds) victims. Zoya moved on to assist with counselling them too. After shifting base to Hyderabad (India), she has not been affiliated with any organisation. But Zoya continues to help victims of abuse through online counselings. She is currently pursuing a course in Clinical Psychology. Zoya has also developed her passion in crocheting into a business and CuddliciousZ was born. Her breastfeeding journey was no cakewalk, but sail through the hurdles she did.
A bittersweet journey: Breastfeeding Journey
Raksha Raghavan was born and raised in Bangalore before she moved to Singapore after marriage. She did her engineering in information technology and worked with IBM, Bangalore for around 2.5yrs. After moving to Singapore, she worked for BNP Paribas for 1.5 years before moving to London in the same job for another 2 yrs. Raksha later joined an American bank for 1.5 years before she went on her maternity leave. After the government stipulated leave period of 12 months, she is back to building her career with JP Morgan. Raksha is an avid reader and a crochet artist. She also used to write a lot until a couple of years ago. Apart from the above mentioned Raksha is a crusader for breastfeeding and is a certified Breastfeeding Mother Supporter. Read on to know more about Raksha’s bittersweet breastfeeding journey.
Trust yourself and carry on: Breastfeeding Journey
Sneha Dutta is an Electronics and Communications engineer by education. She was hired by Deloitte Consulting India Pvt Ltd straight from campus. In her 7.5 years with them, Sneha developed into a SAP Human Capital Management consultant. She had several short and long stints abroad but was based out of Hyderabad. Let’s hear it from her, “It was a different life. I was very performance oriented and devoted most of my time to work. Incidentally, the first day of office as a full time employee was when I also met the gentleman who would go on to be my husband.” Read Sneha Dutta’s to know how important it is to trust yourself.
Let it be your decision: Breastfeeding Journey
Uma Bhalerao was born and brought up in Thane (Mumbai, India). She has done her Masters in French, specialising in Translations. She moved to Bangalore in 2006 where she began her career at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. Later on, she moved to her job at the French Consulate as the Assistant to the Consul General of France. Uma quit her job after her first born arrived. She is now a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) to her two adorable sons, Siddharth and Trikay. Uma is a certified Babywearing Educator and does consultations from home to help caregivers learn about the concept of Babywearing. She also runs a small business – The Owl Mama, where she sells customised, hand knit products, designed and knit by her. Uma believes that your decision to breastfeed should not be influenced by anybody.
Breastfeeding And Migraines: Breastfeeding Journey
Dreamer. Technology Enthusiast. Marketer. Traveller. Potter were terms that Dhannya Sreekumar tried using to define herself. But then her daughter came along and motherhood gave her a new Avatar. Slowing down of the 10 years of corporate madness was a blessing in disguise, as it gave her fresh insights and enthusiasm to build https://www.mommypower.in/, a technology driven information platform for new age Indian moms. She now looks for technology led solutions that will make a mom’s life easier and will help her make better decisions for her child. Dhannya’s journey with breastfeeding and migraines is inspiring.
A smooth breastfeeding experience: Breastfeeding Journey
Divya Shori is a Marketing and PR professional. She has a career spanning 12 years and is currently working currently for a MNC which is into Management Consulting. Over the years, she has switched many hats from Support Service to IT to PMO and finally found her passion in Marketing and PR. Divya is a PGDBA in Marketing. She is a doting mother to a 2.5 year old girl, Vanshika. Divya is one of the lucky mothers to have a smooth breastfeeding experience.
